Drying Cloth Diapers

Our cloth diapers just turned three this month! Our cloth diaper routine has stayed mostly the same as I detailed in this post. The only real difference is that we use fleece liners in the diapers instead of disposable ones. And we use cloth wipes exclusively now. I still keep a pack of wet wipes in the diaper bag, but I've literally only bought one pack of wipes in 12 months. I love the savings and love that I've gotten rid of needing to buy another disposable product!

We recently added to our cloth diaper drying routine with this hanging clothes dryer from Ikea (Pressa).

Love this! We call it the octopus -- 8 arms and 16 clips. We tend to hang our bumGenius covers on this instead of the absorbant liners because they dry quicker. Things are a little tight if you hang the liners, so we only hang 8 or 10 if that is what needs drying.

And the best part? It's amazingly portable! It folds up and is perfect for travel.

My only regret with this hanger? We only bought one. I'm planning to get 2 more the next time we're near an Ikea. They're $4.99 each, and I think that is a great deal.

Ikea didn't pay me to say any of this; I just love how their product makes my cloth diaper drying easier!

For more information about cloth diapers, check out my guest post on The Frugal Girl for an overview of cloth. And while we love bumGenius and Flip diapers, there are tons of other brands out there too. The important thing about cloth diapering is to make it work for you!

Cloth Diaper News from Cotton Babies

Check out this new product video from Cotton Babies, makers of the cloth diapers that we use and love, Bum Genius and Flip. I am so excited to see this new flip "pull-up"...wow!

Cloth Diaper Sale: Cotton Babies

Cotton Babies routinely runs sales on "seconds", merchandise that is not perfect, but has minor enough flaws that it is still functional. Right now there are a number of items on Clearance from Cotton Babies, which is a great way to add to your cloth diaper supply. 

The Flip covers for $9 caught my eye, as well as the bum Genius 4.0 covers for $10! Neither of these come with inserts, so be aware of that. There are some organic flip inserts on sale as well. 

When we went from one to two in cloth diapers, we opted for the Flip system. Not only is it cheaper than the full pocket diapers, but you need less covers since they can be reused without washing, and since the Flip is a bit more streamlined, it fits a little bigger than the pocket diaper. For more of my thoughts on the Flip diapers, check out this post.

I really would love to upgrade some of my 3.0 bum Genius diapers to those new 4.0 covers that are just $10, and it is so tempting when Cotton Babies runs a great sale like this. We decided that our diapers, while showing a good bit of wear, still have plenty of life left in them. And now that E is potty trained except for overnight, we have extra diapers on hand! So I'm passing up another great deal because for us right now the thriftier option is to spend nothing, even when it's on clearance.

Garden Update - May

Our garden is coming along nicely right now! The weather has been fairly moderate and we are getting a ton of rain. I'm going to be spoiled when I have to water again because I am totally out of the habit.

I've also been adding coffee grounds to my garden! I keep a tub in my fridge and dump my coffee grounds into it every day. When I have a substantial tub-full, I spread it around my little plants. I did this two years ago with grounds from Starbucks (they had big bags sitting by the door for your garden, but I haven't seen them at our Starbucks since) and I felt like it helped my plants a ton. I did a little research and it sounds like coffee grounds are especially helpful when the soil is more clay-like, which is exactly what we have here in Delaware.

We have 6 nice looking zucchini plants

And a bunch of tomato plants. I opted to not thin them out too much yet, but I probably will need to soon.

We have a happy little pot full of basil...yum!

And our lettuce is amazing! Its been a real treat to snip off lettuce before dinner. We've had salad several times, as well as tacos.

I bought a package of Impations seeds and was shocked to find a whopping 4 seeds when I opened it! Does anyone know if that is normal? I am thinking of writing to the company because it seemed so strange. I'm not really upset -- I'd mostly like to know if it was an accident. If it was not an accident, I've learned my lesson and I will just buy the plants next time!

We also have a ton of marigolds growing throughout our raised bed. I've read that marigolds are a natural deterrant for bugs, so I am excited that they are coming in so well. I'm planning to move some to our front yard once they get a little bigger and I need some more room for my growing squash and tomato plants.

Loving the new Bum Genius!

Yesterday I got a package from Cotton Babies...the new diaper and Baby Legs that I won from their blog giveaway!

(FYI: Cotton Babies is giving away cloth wipe prize packs on thier blog today. You don't have to buy cloth wipes though; we use homemade ones!) 

These are really cute diapers, and are on sale this month if you are in the market for some cloth diapers!

Having a new diaper makes it abundantly clear that our 2 year old diapers are showing some wear, but I am staying strong and resisting the temptation to buy new ones!

The major change in the new diapers is the improved velcro in the laundry tabs. Here's a look at my old diaper:

And my new diaper:

I think these new velcro tabs are going to hold up WAY better, and I am so excited to see that Cotton Babies listened to their customers and improved their product to make cloth diapering even easier and simpler.

I've got a great model...Couldn't resist taking one more picture of him!

I am not associated with Cotton Babies or compensated by them for anything I say; all opinions are 100% my own.

Guest Post on The Frugal Girl

Be sure to head on over to The Frugal Girl today to check out my guest post about cloth diapers! I am very excited to be able to share our family's cloth diaper experience with Kristen's readers.

If you are visiting Thrifty Living from The Frugal Girl, welcome! Have a look around, and please, please let me know if I can be a help with any cloth diaper questions. When we started using cloth we didn't have anyone to talk to about it, and I really want to be that resource for anyone who is considering cloth diapers!

Cotton Babies Blog

I've written about cloth diapering resources before, but I wanted to highlight a new(er) resource since I first posted that list: the Cotton Babies blog!

The blog is written by several of the staff members at Cotton Babies and features discussions about cloth diapering as well as many other parenting topics.

Additionally, Cotton Babies often hosts giveaways for their products on the blog. I usually enter these just for fun. I've never won an online giveaway...until last week! I won a new Bum Genius 4.0 in the new Tiny Socialite Collection, along with a pair of Baby Legs!

The Tiny Socialite Collection is the first Bum Genius to have a pattern, and comes in both snap closure (above) and velcro closure. These diapers normally run $2 more than the solid color Bum Genius, but are on sale for the month of March! You can get 2 diapers for $33.99 or 5 for $76.99...great prices!

I picked out the red print (Concrete Jungle) for my free diaper. I can't wait for it to get here...I am really looking forward to trying the 4.0 diaper!

Be sure to check out the Cotton Babies blog for cloth diapering advice and future giveaways!

Cuter in Cloth

I mentioned in last week's reflections on two in cloth diapers how much I love that both my kids can wear the same diapers. Here's a look at a 2 year old and a 3 month old in bumGenius one-size diapers:

I have all the snaps fastened for my little one and none of the snaps fastened for my oldest. I just love the way cloth look compared to disposables!

If you are thinking about trying cloth diapers and have questions about anything, please don't hesitate to ask!

Refelctions on 2 in cloth

I've posted many times about cloth diapers on this blog, and we have used them exclusively (save for a few vacations, etc) with our daughter. When our son was born, we were given a large amount of disposables, so that I did not have to worry with washing diapers daily in those early weeks.

I loved having the disposables...change the diaper and toss it...nothing else to do! So I was actually starting to worry that I would not want to switch to cloth with our son because I was so accustomed to the simplicity of disposables. It turns out that the opposite is actually true!

I love our bumGenius!

We primarily use bumGenius one-size pocket diapers. I love that my 25-pound two-year-old and 12-pound three-month-old can wear the same diapers!

In order to have enough cloth diapers for 2, we invested in some bumGenius Flip diapers. These are a more streamlined version of the one-size diapers; the insert simply lays inside the cover (see below). Because of the waterproof nature of the cover, I can toss the wet insert into my diaper pail, wipe down the cover, and reuse it without having to wash it. We have 4 flip covers and 10 inserts. The Flip diapers also feature snap closure instead of velcro.

The insert has small, medium, and large markings to help you know where to fold for the correct size diaper. The 'stay dry' insert wicks away moisture from the child's skin.

This is the large size (which my daughter uses) with all of the snaps open.

This is the small size that we use for our son, with all the snaps closed. We still prefer to use the bumGenius with the velcro on our son because we are able to get a tighter fit since he is still itty bitty.

If you are trying to decide between snaps and velcro (now that you can get the bumGenius one-size in either), I think that it is really a matter of preference, so my best advice is to try them before you make a huge investment! I love the ease of the velcro. Our diapers are 2 years old, and while the velcro is not as strong as it was when the diapers were new, it is still fine and more than just usable. The new bumGenius 4.0 diaper has reinforced velcro that is amazing, and I believe that velcro will hold up much longer than the ones I have. Snaps are more durable for sure, but I have not been able to get as tight of a fit on my children's diapers with snaps. I much prefer velcro for smaller children. I do use the snaps on my son from time to time, but they are much more prone to leaks because of gaps.

Given the option of cloth or disposables for my children, I would go with cloth nearly every time now! Cloth diapers hold newborn poop way better than disposables. Cloth diapers keep rashes away much better than disposables. If there is redness because of a diaper left on too long, it is nearly always gone by the next diaper change, and usually without the use of any cream. The routine of washing cloth can be challenging at first, but if it is what you have determined to do, than it will simply become another part of your routine, even with two in cloth!

Cloth Wipes

We have been using cloth diapers for nearly 2 years now. I tried to use cloth wipes a few different times but without much success, probably because we were using just baby washcloths that were not super soft. We started using cloth wipes exclusively in the last few months, and I do not see us going back to disposables.

The two main reasons for the switch were 1) with two in diapers we were going through a ton of wipes and 2) the disposable wipes seem to be giving our daughter a rash.

The cloth wipes are WAY better for newborn poop, which is really wet and runny. The wipes absorb more, instead of just pushing it around! A nurse at our pediatrician's office suggested using water and a cloth instead of the alcohol based disposable wipes, and this really helped to keep the rash away too! We keep a spray bottle on the change table and just spray a wipe before using it.

Our cloth wipes are nothing fancy; just some fleece cut into small pieces. We cut ours into two different sizes. The wipes are the pile on the right. And the pile on the left is our liners. We put the liners in our daughter's diapers for two reasons. If she has a poopy diaper, the fleece liner makes it way easier to get the poop off. Also, if we need to use some diaper cream, the fleece acts as a barrier. We just wash the liners with cream in a load separate from our diapers.

You can purchase cloth wipes and liners made out of fleece, but our simple fleece works so well that I don't see any need to buy something fancier.

The liners just lay in the diapers!



If you cloth diaper, cloth wipes are the easy way to go! And if you use disposable diapers, but have issues with rashes, cloth wipes (and diapers!) are a great alternative.

I forgot to add earlier today...

More information about the new bumGenius can be found on the Cotton Babies blog! The most recent blog post is written by the founder and creator of bumGenius and is a further explanation of the new changes and why Cotton Babies made the changes.

New BumGenius!

Yesterday, Cotton Babies (the maker of bumGenius) announced the new version of their famous Bumgenius diapers. This diaper is an updated version of the bumGenius version 3 (that I recommend and use). The new features for the updated bumGenius include (from Cotton Babies):

NEW! Generous sizing accommodates larger babies.
NEW! Easily replaceable elastic keeps your diapers fresh.
3x3 snap down design adjusts the sizing to fit small, medium and large sizes (approximately 7-35+ pounds).
Trim, snug and comfortable stretchy tabs provide a custom fit.
Waterproof insert stopper prevents leaking at the tummy.
Diapers are bundled with two inserts: a newborn insert for newborns and a one-size insert for your older baby.
Wide slot opening makes it easy to stuff and remove insert.
Slot cover protects your baby from wetness.

(all images via Cotton Babies)

The other exciting new feature is that bumGenius now offers their one-size diaper in snaps. I think snaps work well for older children, but definitely prefer the velcro closure for young babies.

Another new feature is that the velcro fasteners have been improved to be more durable and remain sticky longer. One of the only complaints that I have had with my bumGenius is that the velcro fasteners are not quite as sticky as when they were brand new. I think its great that bumGenius listened to their customers and really sought to make an improved product!

Since Cotton Babies is fazing out the bumGenius version 3 diapers, they have a special sale on them (while supplies last)!

This is a great time to get started with cloth diapering for a discounted price. While the new bumGenius and definitely improved, I still recommend the version 3 bumGenius also. They have worked very well for us, and this sale is a great deal.

Remember, Cotton Babies has a lifetime warranty on all of their diapers!

If you have any questions about using cloth diapers, especially bumGenius, let me know! When we wanted to start cloth diapers, the biggest thing holding us back was that we didn't know anyone else who used cloth diapers. I want to be a resource for you because I have benefited so much from using cloth diapers!

Our Cloth Diaper Routine

This post is mostly going to be an overview of how we do cloth diapers on a day to day basis. If you have any specific questions, please feel free to ask.

We chose to use bumGenius one-size pocket diapers, and we have 14 of these. When we first started we also used 2 gdiapers (size small) with prefolds so we had 16 diapers. We also decided that we would wash our diapers every other day instead of trying to do it every day. We wash the diapers in the evening so that they can air dry overnight.

We usually lay the shells out on our upstairs banister

And the inserts we hand up to dry in the laundry room. Sometimes the shells get hung up and we throw the liners in the dryer. We used to put the shells in too from time to time, but this really beats up the velcro. Our velcro has stayed much stickier by letting the shells air dry.

The liners still are pretty white, even after a year of continuous use. This is the "worst" of our stains, and even it is hard to make out.

One thing I've tried to do is use cloth wipes. This has been more difficult than using cloth diapers. My wipes are just baby washclothes (the box on the left) and I keep a spray bottle with water by the changing table to wet the diapers. In theory, cloth wipes are much easier because they go right in the diaper pail with the diapers. But it is still habit to grab a disposable wipe for us. We have cut back on the wipes we go through, so I still consider that to be progress!

A life-saver for us since our daughter began solid foods is flushable liners. We bought the toddler size of these liners and tear each one into 3 pieces. The smaller pieces fit into the diaper well, and we get triple the use out of each liner! These liners look a lot like a dryer sheet, but stiffer when they are new. If your child just has a wet diaper, they go into the diaper pail and get washed along with the rest of the diapers. If there is a bowl movement, the waste sticks to the liner and falls out of the diaper easily into the toilet. After a few washings (and always air dry, the dryer breaks them down much quicker) the liners begin to get very soft and start to fall apart. Usually we end up flushing them before that happens, but sometimes we get one that looks like this:

The only complaint we have with the liners is that sometimes they seem to give our daughter diaper rash quicker. If she has a very messy bowl movement, she will get red quicker than in a disposable, which we think is because the liner keeps the waste closer to her body. The good thing about this is that she seems to be quickly learning to tell us if she has pooped - at least she will confirm it if we ask her.

The mornings after the diapers have been washed, I try to stuff all of them so they are ready to go for the next two days. I am notoriously bad at remembering to do this (even though it takes maybe 5 minutes!) and so many days I stuff each diaper as needed.

When we change a diaper, the used one goes right into our diaper pail (we don't use a fancy one) which is a trash can with a wet bag in it. The wet bag is fantastic!

We have a Blueberry one that has a draw string closure. When its full, we dump the diapers into the washer and throw the wetbag in after them.

I prewash our diapers with cold water, and then add a Tablespoon of my homemade laundry detergent and wash with hot water. I am so thankful for my HE washing machine that makes it super affordable to wash diapers every two days. After washing, we pull out our clean-smelling diapers and hang them to dry for the next day!

I do try to strip the diapers every month (its more like every other month or every other other month) by washing with bleach. This helps keep any smell from building up when the diapers are wet and helps them to stay absorbent.

One of the main complaints with bumGenius diapers is that the velcro wears out. While this is probably the biggest problem that we've had with them too, it is not something that makes us regret choosing this style. As I stated above, line drying the diapers has really helped to keep up the velcro. The velcro is what makes these diapers just as easy to use as disposables also! When we did our diaper trial, we tried fuzzibunz (which is very similar to bumGenius except for snap closures) and did not feel like we could get as good a fit on our daughter. Of course, other people may have different experiences too!

Here is a picture of my worst looking diaper. The velcro on the front has pulled away from the diaper shell. Actually, it should be a really quick fix with my sewing machine, I just need to do it!

One of the main things that people ask when they hear we use cloth diapers is "But isn't that so much extra work??" While washing diapers every other day or every day may be more actual work, the way I've found to make it work for our family is to make it just part of the routine. I do not keep a lot of disposable diapers on hand, so I have to wash diapers if my daughter is going to have something to wear!

The flip side to this all is that I rarely have to shop for diapers. I do keep my eyes open in the drug store ads so that I can pick up a pack for cheap or free every few months, but other than that, cloth diapering saves me the time of buying diapers!

If you use cloth diapers and have anything to add, please feel free to do so in the comments. As always, any questions are welcome too!

Cloth Diapers: Helpful Resources

We have used cloth diapers on our daughter for over a year now! I see this as a huge accomplishment, because now we are so used to using cloth that is has become second nature. One of my first posts on this blog was about how we made the decision to use cloth diapers. I wanted to share a little bit more about our decision process in choosing cloth diapers, as well as some cloth diapering resources that I have found useful over the many months of cloth diapering!


I used Baby cheapskate to find some of my first cloth diapering resources. It was there that I was introduced to Jillian's Drawers - where I buy my cloth diapers. Jillian's Drawers has a program where you can test cloth diapers in your home for 3 weeks. At the end of the 3 weeks you can return everything and only pay $10!

I have since found a few other similar programs. Franklin Goose is does a month long cloth diaper trial program for $10. Diaper Daisy has a program where you only have to pay return shipping on the diapers in the 2 week trial. I'm sure there are many other trials out there too!


Another resource I've found is the ladies that write Prayer of Hannah. Many of them use cloth diapers on their children and share their experiences from many different lifestyles (including washing their cloth diapers in apartment complexes where the laundry is down the hall!).


Cotton Babies, the makers of bumGenius (our favorites), often will have items on sale, Sometimes they sell 'seconds' -- diapers with slight defects -- for discounted prices as well!

Diaper Pin is a website filled with cloth diapering resources. On the main page is a list of cloth diapering sales. There are also a number of forums where you can get information about cloth diapers from others who use them, including a place to buy and sell used diapers. You can also check out reviews on tons of different diapers, which could help the decision process!

The biggest thing that helped us to make a smooth transition to cloth diapering was the trial program. I totally recommend doing an in-home trial of diapers before investing the money. The best part for us was that we were able to see how it felt to used cloth diapers all day long, wash them at night, and them use them again the next day. We also were able to see several different cloth diapers and figure out which kind we preferred.

One of the scariest things about beginning to cloth diaper for us was that we knew no one who used cloth. Since starting cloth, we have met many people who use cloth diapers too (many of them bumGenius like we do). We've also been able to encourage several friends to try cloth and they have had great results!

If you have any questions about starting to cloth diaper or any of the resources that I mentioned, please let me know. On Wednesday I'll be going over our routine for daily use, care, and washing of our cloth diapers.

Cloth Diapers

My husband and I have a 7 month old girl. Before she was born we talked about cloth diapers, mostly because it seemed like they could save us a lot of money. I did A TON of research and ended up feeling rather overwhelmed most of the time. Probably some of that was related to the anticipation of having our first child, but also the unknown void that seemed to encompass all things related to cloth diapering. We knew no one who had used cloth diapers and half the time I mentioned that we were thinking about it I received the knowing looks from experienced parents who told us that it was a hassle and besides, who wants to fold little white cloths and stick their child with a pin!

We weren't completely scared away from the prospect of cloth diapers, but not exactly ready to dive right into it either. When our daughter was born, we planned to use disposables during the adjustment faze, so that we weren't jumping into first-time parenthood with all sorts of other first-time things. Through the generosity of family and friends, we had a bunch of newborn disposable diapers that we were given, and during the 2 months we used disposables exclusively, I believe we only spent $10 or so ourselves.

After our daughter arrived, I continued to research, this time a little more seriously - it was for real now! And the research did help us out a lot. I was able to find out about several different programs that let you try cloth diapers on your child without having to buy them! This sounded ideal for us because we had no idea what was good or bad or anything! The program that we went with is through Jillians Drawers, a company that encourages all kinds of natural parenting techniques and is based in Ithaca, NY. We can say without a doubt that it is because of Jillians Drawers that we are such fans of cloth diapers!!

This program let us try 7 different kinds of (brand new!) cloth diapers for 3 weeks for just $10! And they have an 800 number that is basically an ask anything line because they want you to succeed with cloth! That was sooooo helpful for me, especially with not having anyone who had done this before. I remember when I got my diapers in the mail (the day after ordering) I looked at the different washing instructions and was COMPLETELY overwhelmed. I called Jillians Drawers and they talked with me for probably 10 minutes about the different ways to wash, how to take care of them, etc. Since my daughter was little, I thought my diapers were going to be too big and I wanted wait a couples weeks to start, and they said that was no problem - just let them know when I started using the diapers, and they would count my 3 weeks from then, not from when I got the diapers.

I could go on and on. We have been using cloth for nearly 6 months all day everyday. We use them out at the store and even on weekend trips away. The two times we've traveled out of the state (to Florida and Vermont) we opted for disposables. And both times we were so ready to get our daughter back in cloth! Our total investment in cloth has been about $250 for 14 diapers and a washable diaper bag. We've spent $10 for disposables for our week in Vermont. This is our 23rd week using cloth. Do a little math and we are just 2 weeks away from paying for ALL our cloth diapers supplies! Not too shabby. Actually, I would say that is rather thrifty!

More installments about our cloth diaper adventure in the weeks to come!