Punkinbutt.com

I found this incred website called "punkinbutt.com" that has all kinds of goodies relating to cloth diapering. There's so much to learn, and I have so much to tell. I can only tell Hugh so much, so ya'll are my best listeners. It has great diaper washing recipes, special alternatives to nix the smell in diapers after they've been washed, cost comps on disposibles and cloth,..oh, I could spend hours on there, and I'm sure I will. They have this article called The Diaper Dollar. Here are the highlights, and if you're wanting more, I'll post the website so you can read the fine print of the page.

$The Diaper Dollar$The finacial cost of diapering your baby.

We’ve broken it down to three basic diapering phases over an estimated 30 months of diapering(some children potty train sooner, many potty train later).

The Financial Cost of Disposable Diapers
We chose Huggies Supreme, a popular pick for many parents
Totals 6,750 diapers $2,327

You will spend $2,327 to diaper your baby with nearly 7,000 disposables for her first 30 months! To wipe Baby’s bottom clean, you’ll spend about $4.50/80 wipes, averaging about 1.5 packs/month. (I, Hollie, use WAY more, b/c I'm a wipe-a-hol-ic! hee-hee!)
That’s $6.75/month X 30 months = $203 for wipes.

Here's a Huggies spending budget for the first 2.5 years:

0 – 3 months strong>10-12 diaper changes/day*
Size 1 disponsibles -- $16.99/76 diapers or $.22/diaper
10 diapers/day X 30 days 3 months = 900 diapers 900 diapers X $.22/diaper =$198

3 – 12 months7-9 diaper changes/day*
Size 3 -- $16.99/54 diapers or $.31/diaper
9 diapers/day X 30 days X 10 months =2,700 diapers
2,700 diapers X $.31/diaper =$837

(My head's already hurting!! -Hollie)

12 - 30 months 6-7 diaper changes/day*
Size 5 --$16.99/42 diapers or $.41/diaper
7 diapers/day X 30 days X 18 months =3,150 diapers
3,150 diapers X $.41/diaper =$1,292


Totals
6750 diapers $2,327 + $203 (wipes)=
$2530 total

That’s an average of $84 per monthor $.37 per diaper change
to diaper and wipe your little baby’s bum for 2 1/2 years with throwaway products! It should come as no surprise that the disposable diapering business is worth $400 million a year–and growing!


The Financial Cost of Cloth Diapers
There are several variables involved in calculating the cost of diapering your child in cloth. First,there is the cost of the diapers themselves, and then there is the detergent, energy, and water to wash and dry them. There is a wide range of quality, style and price of cloth diapers and diapering products available. There is still quite a range in the style and price of diapering products you might choose.
Children typically potty train at about 30 months of age (2 1⁄2 years). Your cloth diapers will last well beyond this time frame, but we have used this 30 month period in calculating the cost of detergent,energy, and water you would use to clean and dry your diapers.

Buying Cloth Diapers
The following package gives you an idea of what you could purchase to diaper your baby until she ispotty trained. We took an average package for our cost comparison. The different combinations of
diaper types and quantities are endless.

Average financial cost of purchasing cloth diapers
over 30 months = $505.05

0-3 months
8-12 changes/day Price/each Total
36 Infant Chinese Prefolds Standard (4x6x4 ply) $1.35 = $48.50
8 Super Whisper Wraps, small $9.50 = $76.00
4 hemp inserts, small $4.00 = $16.00
2 Stacinators, small (for night time) $17.50 = $35.00
6 6- packs hemp washies $5.00 =$30.00
2 small Nylon Totes $6.00 = $12.00
1 large Nylon Totes $14.95 = $14.95
total $202.45

5 – 15 months
7-9 changes/day
36 Regular Premium Chinese Prefolds (4x8x4 ply) $2.10 = $75.60
6 Super Whisper Wraps, medium $9.50 = $57.00
4 hemp inserts, medium $4.50 = $18.00
2 Stacinators, medium (for night time) $17.50 = $35.00
total $185.60

15- 30 months
7-9 changes/day
6 Super Whisper Wraps, large $9.50 = $57.00
4 hemp inserts, large $5.00 = $20.00
2 Stacinators, large (for night time) $17.50 = $35.00
total $112.00

Washing Cloth Diapers
Baking soda $3.00/50 loads x 240 loads =$14.40
Detergent $6.00/50 loads x 240 loads =$28.80
TOTAL cost baking soda and detergent for 30 months=$43.00


Water breakdown:
80 gal/load (2 washes) x loads/week =160 gal/week
160 gal/week x 52 weeks per year =8320 gal/year
8320 gal/year over 2.5 years =20,800 gal total
$.85/1000 gal x 20,800 gal =$17.68

Note: Front-loading machines us HALF the water of top-loading washers.

Summary of energy, water, and detergent costs for 30 months:Top-loading machine:
Detergent: baking soda + detergent =$43.00
Energy: $.70/Easy Wash load x 240 loads =$170.00
Water:$.85/1000 gal x 20,800 gal =$17.68
Total detergent, energy and water for 30 months =$230.00
or less than $8.00/month!
Front-loading machine: $145
or less than $5.00/month!

The Diaper Dollar at a Glance
TOTAL FinancialCost for 6,750 diaper changes
Cloth Diapers- Home Laundered $778.05 or 12 ¢ per change
Cloth Diaper Service $2,133.00 or 31 ¢ per change
Disposables $2,530.00 or 37 ¢ per change

Whoa, Whoa, Whoa....MAJOR money saving going on, even if you have someone else do your laundering...you'll STILL save money, help the environment and save your baby's bum from so much pain and irritation.

If you'd like to read the fine print and more details/explanations to the info above, go to: Diaper Dollar

I'm so happy that they've done the math for us. Yippie! I am such a bargain girl at heart, and saving money plus the other benefits makes cloth diapering THAT much more attractive to me.