You may think it counter-intuitive that I’ve included cloth diapering in a series about being the laziest mom ever. But hear me out. I never run out of diapers. We don’t have to put them on the grocery list. There have been no 2 a.m. runs to the 24 hour CVS for diapers. Most importantly, cloth has helped me potty train my kids quickly and easily.
I encourage all new and pregnant moms to consider cloth diapering at least. I know it sounds overwhelming, but once you start, it’s really not a heavy lift. It’s only a couple of extra loads of laundry and a different set of products and prep. The payoff for the environment and your wallet is enormous.
Over the course of diapering two kids, I have saved literally thousands of dollars and thousands of diapers from ending up in a landfill.
There are many different types and brands of cloth diapers and accessories. You could spend a lifetime trying them all, but there’s no need for that. I recommend starting with a stash of pre-folds, flats, and covers. You can make your own cloth wipes out of any old fabric cut up. Cloth diapering a newborn is seriously so easy there’s no good reason not to try it. Breastfed poop is water-soluble, so you don’t even have to rinse diapers before throwing them right in the machine. Once they start solids, things become a bit more challenging but still totally worth the effort. Here’s a sample shopping list. Give it a shot!
This will be enough for most people to do a wash every other day. If you’re nervous about cloth, buy half of this to start and go with a part-time cloth before jumping all the way in. And after you’ve found out what you like, you can buy more if you want.
Starter stash for newborns:
-15 newborn size pre-folds diapers
-10 small flat diapers
-4 extra small diaper covers
I decided to cloth diaper for the environmental benefits, but I stuck with it because of the immense financial savings. For both reasons, I think cloth diapers are awesome even if they’re not at the top of the list of lazy mama practices.
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