Gearing Up for the Flats Challenge

Are you as excited as I am about this challenge?  I started with one cotton hemp flat that I used exclusively as a pocket insert.  I now have 19 "t-shirt flats," dug out my Gerber (read junky) birdseye flats, and will probably add a flannel flat or two. I have a couple of snappis already and a friend is loaning me a couple of boingos.  I already had my econobum one size covers, but I dug out my pocket diapers, too.  I tested my camp-style washer Thursday, just washing the 3 flats I had used Wednesday and line dried them.  Washing was so fast I was seriously surprised.  Drying was pretty good, too, except for the darn bird that dared POO on my clean diaper!  One of the risks, I suppose.

Now that I'm looking at my calendar for that week, it should be pretty interesting.  I've got a couple of places to be and we're ending the week with a camping trip.  Since camping was one of the reasons I wanted to learn flats, this will be good for me, right? Right?!  I'm a little nervous, but I pledged to do it, so it'll work out!  I'll just have to bring my washer, detergent, and a clothesline when we go.  Or wash them all before we go and after we get back.  I don't know.  I'll figure it out.

If you're planning to do the challenge, what have you done to prepare?

Wonderful Uses and Benefits of Coconut Oil

I told you in this post that I could make an entire post about how much I love coconut oil, what's so great about it, and what I use it for.  Well, here it is!  The Marathon Mom made her own list of 23 uses for coconut oil and I agree with it.  Plus, she links to yummy recipes.  But she skips on telling WHY it's so great other than that it's so versatile. So I'll start by telling you what I know, then direct you to people who are way smarter than I am. You should definitely check out The Marathon Mom, too.  She's pretty amazing.

 Coconut oil is full of nourishing goodness.

My favorite unrefined
coconut oil. I hope you try it!

• It has anti-microbial/anti-bacterial properties.  
• It helps you to detox by dissolving toxins into itself.  
• The unrefined varieties smell amazing (if you like coconut) and they taste amazing.  
• It moisturizes skin, hair, and nails without getting greasy, if used sparingly.  
• It heals broken, dry, sunburned, and  scarred skin, whether consumed internally or applied topically.  
• It can be used as a sunscreen.
• It can be used alone as a make up remover, cleanser, and moisturizer in one.  
• Alone or combined with baking soda and other ingredients it works wonders as a natural deodorant. 
• Alone or with baking soda and flavorings, it can be used as a toothpaste.  It can also be used in "oil pulling."  Search for "oil pulling" in your favorite search engine.  Pretty cool stuff.
• It can be used in place of any oil in baking and cooking, though it usually needs melted since it's usually solid at room temperature.  
• While it is a saturated fat, it actually helps you lose weight because it's mostly short and medium length fatty acids, which your body can use more efficiently.
• If a tablespoon or so is swirled into a smoothie, you get this amazing taste and texture, with the added health benefits.
• You can use it to make your own "Magic Shell" ice cream topping.
• You can use it to "cut" essential oils.  In this way I have made my own "Vapor Rub," bug repellent, bug bite remedy, baby bedtime food rub, diaper rash ointment, and headache treatment.
• It can also be used alone with good effect for bug bite remedy, diaper rash ointment, and various forms and thrush and yeast infections.
• I can't say enough how it helps skin issues!  It helps burns, psoriasis, eczema, dandruff, ringworm/thrush/yeast infection/athlete's foot, dry/cracked skin, ingrown hairs, diaper rash, scrapes/scratches, and so on.

Seriously, the list goes on. Basically, if there's a health issue, I usually think about whether coconut oil can help it.  My next step is homeopathy.  I use it in much of my cooking, though I still use butter, olive oil, and canola oil for various purposes and benefits.  I even love cooking my popcorn in coconut oil.

For a really good list of benefits from coconut oil, check here.  A good place to buy and to learn about the great benefits of all forms of coconut, check here. You should also check their facebook page.

Unfortunately, there are some, like my sister-in-law, who are allergic to this miracle food!  I currently have no direction for those people.  I feel so bad for them because this stuff is AWESOME!  So, since it's possible, I suggest you start slow.  If you feel any itching, burning, nausea, or stomach upsets when using this product, it's possible you're allergic.  It's pretty uncommon, but still possible, so you've been warned.  However, if you're like most of us and can use it, whoot for you!

Refined, no odor/flavor,
but still has great benefits.

One I'll definitely try in the future.

Don't forget to enter my CollageItPro upgrade giveaway!

Disclosure:  This post contains affiliate links, which will take you to the Amazon website where I make a small percentage of your purchase price.  It also contain links to other bloggers whom I respect, as well as some pages I only visited for reference. Do your own due diligence on whatever information you find there, please.

Cloth Diaper Basics Part 4: Everything else

Okay, so you've selected your diaper stash.  You know how to actually put it on your baby. And you know how to wash the diapers.  Believe it or not, that's not all.  Strange little things pop up that you'll want to deal with.

When you first get your fluff

When you receive your diapers, unless they're used, they need special treatment to get the best absorbency from them (and to remove any factory residue).  There are many ways to do this, but basically they need really hot water washes and agitation.  Follow the manufacturers recommendations, if they include them.  If not try one of these ideas.

1. You can put them in a big pot and boil them for about 30 minutes while stirring (do NOT do this with your snap covers because it could melt the snaps if they rest on the side of the pot).  
2. You can turn up your water heater temporarily and do a HOT wash on the highest water level and longest wash cycle.  Depending on the temperature, you may need to repeat this.  
3. You can try putting them through your clean dishwasher.  The temperature in it is intended to be hot enough to sanitize dishes, so it is definitely hot enough for this job.  

At any rate, they need washed and fluffed.  No need to dry between washes.

What about diaper rash?

Diaper rash is less common with cloth diapers, but it does happen.  The most common creams available will stain your cloth and cause them to repel liquids and leak.  They were intended for disposable diapers, which will be thrown away, obviously.  If you already used it, don't fret.  You can strip your diapers to remove that residue.  

Natural oils are wonderful for preventing rashes.  Be sure to focus on the "crack-y places."  My personal favorite is coconut oil.  I prefer the unrefined variety, but the cheap refined Lou Ana type is fine, too.  Or extra virgin olive oil. Take a about 1/2 teaspoon of your oil (let it melt if it's not already liquid) and smear it all over baby bottom.  This works for keeping those newborn tarry meconium poops from sticking to baby butts, too.  Adding a couple drops of pure lavendar essential oil or tea tree oil to your "butt oil" stash is a great idea.  It helps calm baby and kills germs.  

Some things to consider:

Are you changing the diapers often enough?  Sitting in a wet/dirty diaper is not good for baby skin.  

Do your diapers have a strong ammonia odor?  This can lead to chemical burns.  It looks like a sunburn at first.  Then the skin starts to crack and split if it continues.  It's easy to deal with on laundry day.  Just neutralize the urine with baking soda in the first rinse cycle and vinegar in the final rinse cycle.

Is it yeast?  If you or baby have thrush or baby has been colicky, look out for yeast diaper rash.  They present as scattered tiny red blisters.  If you don't get it under control, those blisters get bigger, burst, bleed, and eventually turn to a purple nasty painful area.  Please, if you think baby has a yeasty diaper, start fixing it now! Again, coconut and tea tree oil are both antibacterial and antifungal.  Yeast is a fungus, by the way.  Anything with probiotics is a good idea, too.  Some plain yogurt directly on the bottom feels pretty good and fights the yeast.  I believe it's important to take internally, as well.  If baby is old enough for solid foods, yogurt is a good one to try.  Talk to your pediatrician if you're worried about allergies.  For my kids, I had no problems.  All the milk sugars have been eaten away by the probiotics to make it into yogurt.  Babies love the tangy flavor and just a teaspoon a day is effective for a baby.  Or you can by some powdered "baby biotics" and put a scoop or two in the baby bottle, water, or juice.  If you're breastfeeding, I strongly suggest treating both of you, since it's possible and easy to have yeast even without the painful symptoms.

"Stripping" diapers

About once a month it's a good idea to "strip" your diapers.  It removes any residues that may have built up on the diapers.  Again, there are several ways to do this. 

Start with clean diapers; don't worry about drying.  Then pick one:

1. Add about a tablespoon of dish soap to the wash and run rinse cycles until all bubbles are gone.
2. Run another rinse cycle with a cup of vinegar.  Rinse or wash again if there's any lingering odor.
3. Run a wash cycle with 1/4 to 1/2 cup of bleach.  Rinse or wash again if there's ANY lingering odor.
4. Boil diapers in a large pot. Again, be careful about doing this if your diapers have snaps.
5. Run diapers through dishwasher on hot cycle.

Different strip methods work for different needs, so you may need to try a few things to figure out which method is best for you.

Extras

Some people like to use disposable or reusable liners in their diapers.  These are thin pieces of flannel or toilet paper-like sheets that go between the absorbent layer and the baby's bottom.  If baby poops, you can peel off the material and shake that alone or flush the disposables with the poop attached and save the trouble of shaking or scraping the diapers and the stains that sometimes happen from them.  Some people adore them.  Some find them a waste of time and money.  It's worth the experiment.  They're pretty cheap.

There is also a device that attaches to the water supply of your toilet that is similar to the sprayer on your kitchen sink.  It's entire function is to make removing poop from diapers easier.  Again, some swear by it.  Others find it a waste of money.  If you're having trouble, it's worth the set up.  If you're happy with your current arrangement, why bother? They cost $40-60 or you can build your own at a hardware store for about $30.

If you have flats and want to hand wash (or want to try to hand wash other diapers), check out this post about making a camp-style washer.

Did I miss anything?  What other questions do you have if you're new to cloth diapers?  Or if you are a veteran, what advice can you offer?

Thanks for following me to the end.  I hope I was able to help you feel more confident starting cloth diapers.

Cloth Diapering Basics Part 3: How to Launder

Let's talk dirty (diapers, that is)

I didn't know where else to discuss this, so the "laundering" page seems a good place to touch on it.  When you baby soils the diaper, you need "shake off" any poop in the toilet and you need a place to put the diaper until wash day.  Some people are blessed with an extra washing machine and just store their dirties in there until it's full.  Good for them.  I don't have that option.  Nor do I have the room for such a thing.  Most people have a large wet bag or pail with a lid that holds the dirties until wash day.

There are two main ways to go here, too.  Either your pail is wet or dry, meaning you either keep it full of water and some sort of stain fighter or you keep it dry (or as dry as is possible with wet diapers).  I go the dry route because I have babies and there's this whole concern about a baby drowning in a bucket.  Toddlers are top heavy AND love to play with water.  Somewhere someday there's bound to be a lid isn't on just right and while drowning would be awful and sad, who would want their child to drown in sewage?  So, that's my two cents.  There is merit to both sides, but this is my opinion.

Some people put some baking soda or vinegar in the bottom of the pail to help with the stink.  Either is really fine, though if I put vinegar in, I'd want to be sure the covers weren't directly in the bottom, since it CAN make the laminate deteriorate more quickly.  There are also some great commercially available products you can add to your pail.

At any rate, it's probably best to wash at least every 2 to 3 days.  Some people wait as long as a week, but there is a significant build up of bacteria that you'll have to deal with.  You should consider this if you plan to only wash weekly.
 

So, you've changed a diaper.  If it's a "wet" you can usually hang the cover to air dry and re-use several times.  If it was a "dirty" you usually need to wash the cover, especially if "it" got on the cover.

Washing is very simple, actually.  I have a rhythm down now, so I don't even hardly think about it.  Your machine has to go through several cycles to get it all cleaned right, but that's one reason you have light, medium, and heavy cycles and why you have temperature settings. :-)  Detergent is an important factor, as well.  You can't use most regular laundry detergents because the chemicals will react with the urine and feces and cause chemical burns.  You can either buy the special cloth diaper detergent, which I'm told is miraculous, or you can make your own detergent.  The basic recipe that's been on pinterest for years is perfectly fine.  I've used it on my cloth diapers from day 1 and it's been great.  You don't need to use extra detergent when washing cloth.  In fact, extra detergent is a problem.  Use a regular scoop or whatever your commercial available cloth diaper box recommends.  Experiment a little.  You may need to use as much as 1/2 as much as for regular clothes.  Or you may use the same amount.

Here's my cycle for anything except wool:
1. Wash the diapers on COLD with NO detergent for at least one cycle, so light to medium setting, with the highest water setting.  This is the first rinse cycle.  It gets down the excess poop and urine.  Ammonia from the urine will react with detergent and makes poisonous gas when mixed with bleach.  If you're having extra stinky diapers, you can add 1/4 to 1 full cup of vinegar in this rinse to neutralize those odors.
2.  Wash on HOT WITH detergent for 3 cycles or the Heavy setting with highest water setting.
3.  Rinse on HOT, no detergent with the highest water setting.  This is the 2nd rinse cycle. It gets out all the extra soap.  You may choose to wash with 1/4 cup of vinegar in this cycle as well as it removes soap quite well.
If you ANY smell remains, you need to wash more.  If they stink, repeat steps 2 and 3.  If they smell like soap AT ALL, repeat step 3 and next time add vinegar if you didn't before.  If you had used vinegar before, cut down on the soap next time.
4.  When drying, dry on the HOTTEST setting for at least 70 minutes. If the diapers are still at all wet, dry some more.  This is the sanitizing step.  As often as possible, dry them in the sun.  This helps with any and all stains and does a great sanitizing job, too.

A friend showed me this great trick.  When hanging your covers to dry, just snap or Velcro them to themselves.  This way you can hang them anywhere, with or without clothespins.  To keep them from getting scrunched together from the wind, I pin my cloth wipes in between them.

For wool, it's simplest to get specialized lanolin soap and wash and re-lanolinize at once.  Honestly, I never spent the money for the special soaps.  I just checked handy Pinterest for ideas on how to make my own.  I can't find that particular pin, at the moment, so I'll tell you as best I can how to make it.  Lanolin is the waterproof oil naturally made by sheep.  When it contacts urine, it actually chemically changes to salt water.  The wool absorbs a LOT of liquid before feeling wet and can air dry quite well, so when the wool cover gets wet, it absorbs the urine, the lanolin converts it to salt water, and the water evaporates.  That means, eventually the lanolin runs out and the diaper starts to get an odd odor.  This means it's time to wash. 

To make your own lanolin soap, you'll need a small container that can handle heat with a tight fitting lid (I used an old baby food jar.), some lanolin (I used my container of Lansinoh I got for breastfeeding.), some HOT water, and some mild soap, like baby shampoo.   Place a pea-sized amount of lanolin in the container with water as hot as you can get it to melt and disperse it a little.  When it's liquid, add about a bit of soap.  A teaspoon is plenty.  You can always add more when you're washing, if needed.  Shake the mixture to disperse the oil throughout the water and soap.  It's a good idea to use this fresh because as the water cools the oil tends to clump again.

To wash your wool, consider washing only 1-3 items in the above mixture.  If it's a large pair of longies, you should wash it alone.  Fill a large container such as a bucket or large bowl with lukewarm water.  Hot or very cold water and vigorous agitation can cause wool to shrink.  That's the whole point of this handwashing.  Pour in your soap to disperse.  Add your wool and begin handwashing.  I usually just kneaded the wet cover like bread then lift it out of the water and squeeze the water out.  Repeat this until the water the drips off is coming off cleaner.  Any bubbles are fine.  Allow it to soak in the solution at least 20-30 minutes to allow the lanolin to absorb into the wool properly.  Then gently squeeze out the water without wringing your wool.  When it's no longer dripping, lay out a towel and place the wool on it.  Then roll the towel with the wool inside and squeeze out more water.  When you're satisfied that you've gotten as much water out as possible without wringing, unroll the towel and lay out your wool where it may dry for about 24 hours.  Try to keep it away from heat sources and cold drafts to prevent shrinkage.  I just left mine on the top shelf of the bathroom cabinet or on the shelf in the laundry room.

Did I miss your favorite washing method or hint?  Please tell me!

Next time: Everything else

Cloth Diapering Basics Part 2: How to Diaper

Last time, we talked about all the different types of diapers, pros and cons, and my recommendations.  Today, let's talk about how exactly to use each of these types.  If you get lost on the jargon or abbreviations, check the previous post.

First, most covers have either snap or hook-and-loop (Velcro) closure.  It's really your preference.  I like the snaps because they don't come undone.  Others like hook-and-loop because they're quicker to change.  The  Velcro can eventually wear-out, but there's also a small chance a snap will malfunction.




All-in-One (AIO) diapers Seriously, you just take off the dirty diaper, clean your baby, then put on this diaper.  Close the snaps or hook and loop just as you would for a disposable diaper.  Easy. Closure goes in front.




Pocket diapers These usually come with inserts, but you can also use a tri-folded prefold, a folded flat sheet, or a doubler, if needed.  The diaper may have one pocket or two.  This is for ease of laundering.  You  don't have to remove the insert if there are two pockets since it will agitate out in the wash.  If there's only one pocket, you may have to remove the insert before washing, unless the manufacturer says otherwise.  I've heard men and women with large hands prefer the two pocket type.  The one-pocket is sometimes easier because it's less complicated with placing the insert.  Either way, simply slip the insert into the pocket.  It should fit along the length of the diaper.  If it's too long, you generally fold the excess in front for boys and in back for girls. You may find that your baby's "pee range" is different.  Adjust accordingly.  Then, you attach it as for the AIO.

Prefold and Fitted There are a variety of ways to use this style of diaper with varying absorbent areas and closure types. If using a Snappi, you need to have "Snappi-able" material.  This is just a material with enough weave to allow the "claws" to grab on. I refer you back to this site for simple directions.  As I've never used pins, I'd have to refer you elsewhere for directions, too. Try this one. When you have your diaper closed, you can slip on the woolies just like pants/shorts or snap or Velcro the cover on.  If you prefer no closures, you still have many choices.  Here are my favorites.  Lay your cover down.

 This is a tri-fold.  Just take one side and fold 1/3 across.  Then take the other side and fold the rest of the way across.  This makes a nice absorbent layer in the middle.  The down side is if baby poops, you'll probably get it on the cover, so you'll need to wash it.  The upside is it's easy to store them this way.

 This is a triangle fold or a "poop pocket."  Baby's bottom will go right in the middle, so if baby poops, most of that will go straight into the pocket.

 If you do a tri-fold and it's too long, as it is here, you can either fold down the excess, which makes for a giant fluff butt, or.....

 Just twist it in the middle like here.  It gives extra absorbency right where it's needed and keeps the diaper from spilling out of the cover.  The downside, again, is if they poop it will get on the cover.

 Another option is simply laying the diaper flat into the cover and scrunching it to fit within the elastic areas. This provides a nice gusset to keep out any "explosions" that sometimes happens, though I've found that the cloth does a fine job of slowing those down anyway.

Once it's laying how you like it, lay baby down and close up your diaper.

Flat diapers  I've already said I have never mastered folding these, mostly because I never tried, but a friend yesterday showed me that it really doesn't have to be that complicated.  She uses some of the same techniques I use with my prefolds, like the twist above, but then she uses a Boingo fastener. Or, if you want to try the "special folds," here is a really easy step by step photo tutorial to try.  If you need more help, check youtube.  I'm inspired to try these myself!  The bonus is you can use them anywhere, even camping, because they are super simple to wash and dry and not that complicated to use. Click here to read about my adventure in flat diapers and find out what I decided about them.

Would you like to add anything?  Any questions or suggestions I didn't include?
Next time: Laundering

Disclosure:  This post contains affiliate links.  If you click them you will be directed to Amazon where I will make a small percentage of your purchase.

3rd Annual Flats and Handwashing Challenge!

In response to my friend's assurance that flats are OK, I've decided to take the Dirty Diaper Laundry's 3rd Annual 7-day Flats and Handwashing Challenge May 20-26.  Basically, you commit to exclusively using flats and covers (and to handwash them) for a week to show the world that it's possible to cloth diaper no matter your financial situation.  This challenge was started to bring awareness to families who were reusing disposable diapers because they couldn't afford to buy new ones.  How sad!  Find the rules here and sign up here. It's only a week and you have plenty of time to get ready.  And maybe you'll love it!  Or maybe it will encourage you to cloth diaper part time.  Let's do this!  To make your own flats from t-shirts, try this.  Or you can use flour sacks or buy your flats, or even use towels.  You WILL need covers for this challenge.  I'm excited.

Cloth Diapering Basics Part 1: Diaper Types

Are you interested in trying cloth diapers but are so confused about it all that you don't even know where to start?  Maybe you want to save money.  I can show you how to do that.  Maybe you want to save the landfills from another huge pile of disposable diapers.  I can help you find a way to do that. Maybe you want to keep your baby free of the chemicals used to make disposable diapers more absorbent.  Or perhaps you've heard that cloth can be better at containing the "explosions" that sometimes happen. In my experience, it's true.  I've found that if a cloth diaper leaks poop, a disposable would have leaked worse.  But if it leaks pee, it just needs an extra absorbent layer (such as overnight) or to be changed more often. Or maybe you've seen all the cute designs available and just want to have your very own fluffy butt. :)

Any diaper, whether cloth or disposable should be changed every time it is soiled and not wait until it is as full as possible.  There are parts of urine and feces that can literally cause chemical burns if left too long!  But we'll get to all that later.  Today, let's break down the types of cloth diapers available today.

First some jargon and abbreviations:

• AIO = all in one diaper, everything you need is already there, simply put it on
• AI2 = all in two; a blend of AIO and pocket diaper, the shell is somewhat absorbent and you simply lay in the absorbent insert.  I'm not addressing these below.
• OS = one size; usually fits a wide range of weights, such as 8lbs to 35lbs.  This will get most kids from birth through potty training.  They tend to cost more per diaper than the sized, but you can use them each longer. Usually a one-size diaper has an adjustable rise, see below.
• sized = preemie, newborn, small, medium, large, extra-large, and toddler sizes; or may be sized in numbers with preemie being 0, small is 1 and so on.  Each brand has it's own weight range for each size.
• insert = absorbent rectangle of material used in pocket diapers; may also be used in other diapers as a doubler.
• doubler = additional absorbent layer
• prefold = a square or rectangle diaper with a thicker layer in the middle 1/3.  It is called a prefold in reference to flat diapers that were originally folded into this shape and pinned.  These come in a range of sizes from preemie to toddler, but many can be used as doublers for the next sizes up.
• flat diaper = thin piece of cloth, usually birds eye or flannel that is folded in one of several ways to absorb soils
• fitted diaper = an absorbent (but not waterproof) diaper that is cut to allow for leg curves; usually sized.
• cover = waterproof or water-resistant layer that goes between the diaper and the baby's clothes; may be plastic, polyurethane laminate (PUL), wool, or other material.
• wool "shorties" and "longies" = a cover made of wool that is waterproofed using lanolin. Shorties are short like hotpants and longies are knee-length or longer.  These require special care in laundering but are wonderful, especially for those with plastic sensitivities.
• Snappi = a special diaper closure-alternative to pins.  Required for use with prefolds and wool covers and is convenient for use with fitted diapers and/or PUL covers. They come in baby size and toddler size and a variety of colors.
• sposies = disposable and/or paper diapers
• liner = a reusable or flushable strip of material that lines the diapers to make laundering easier
• rise = the distance from the front of the diaper, through baby's legs to the back of the diaper.  A diaper with adjustable rise can fit a wider range of baby sizes.
• "shake-off" = shake, dip, scrap, or spray the solid poop off the diaper into the toilet.  Some people have a dedicated spatula, toilet attachment sprayer, or rubber gloves for this purpose.  I just shake and dip, then place in the pail and wash my hands.
• wet bag = waterproof bag for carrying soiled diapers.  There are a variety to choose from: zippered, drawstring, button closure, and double-sided (has two pockets: one for wet/dirty and one for dry and clean) all come to mind.  There are travel size (good for a day out) and pail size that can be used as a liner for your diaper pail or hung in your bathroom.  It's worth having a good wet bag or 4.  If you're just testing out, having a good supply of shopping bags is fine for when you're out, but you NEED some sort of large container to hold until wash day.

"This a'int your grandma's cloth diaper."

Today there are a variety of styles you can choose from.  Here's a basic breakdown of pros and cons and my recommendations.

"All-in-one" (AIO) is exactly like a disposable diaper, except that you toss it in the wash instead of in the trash.  They tend to be a bit pricier to get started and can be "sized"  or one-size.  I prefer one-size (OS) because even if I have two in diapers I only have to carry a couple diapers when I go out and not a variety of sizes. I also don't have a huge pile of diapers we're not using because they're the wrong size for us now.  And I feel I get way more life out of them.  Some people prefer the "sized." Honestly, you'd have to talk to someone who prefers those to get the pros. ;)  I do like using the newborn sized diapers, though, so baby isn't wearing a HUGE diaper. Some AIOs have a pocket for adding absorbent layers as a child grows or for overnights. Technically, these are called "hybrids," but I still refer to them as AIOs.  I keep about 4 OS AIOs for babysitters and for ease of outings. I got my favorites from www.totwraps.com.

Prefolds and covers are one of the most economical choices and are not difficult to learn.  A prefold is basically a few layers of absorbent material surged together, with a thicker layer in the middle 1/3.  In my opinion, there are only 3 types. 1) Gerber brand is utter garbage when it comes to using as a diaper.  The middle layer which is supposed to be absorbent is polyester, which is not absorbent at all! If you're looking for something to use as burp rags or cleaning cloths, they're fine. But if you want to actually use them as diapers, take a word from experience and try option 2 or 3. 2) Indian cotton or Chinese prefolds are the gold standard.  They cost a little more than Gerber, but they actually work!  And they last! 3) Homemade cost almost nothing and work really well, especially if you're just getting started and want to try them out.  You can make your diapers from flannel blankets, flannel shirts, old cotton t-shirts, etc. If you have a surger, they'll last a bit longer, but even still, my homemade diapers lasted 2 years before I had to start tossing them into the rag pile. I haven't counted my stash but I'd guess I have at least a dozen homemade tshirt prefolds and at least 3 dozen other high quality prefolds being used now with my 15 month old.  I also have newborn and toddler prefolds in my storage for the future.  This size of stash is not necessary for my one in diapers but makes it convenient when washing day doesn't go as planned and WAS necessary when I had two in diapers.

Since prefolds are absorbent and NOT waterproof, you'll need something to protect your clothes and floor and so on.  There are many choices here, too.  It basically winds down to using pins/snappi closures with wool shorties/longies or using a cover with snaps or velcro. Pins are simple, cheap, and effective, though you have to be careful not to stick the baby.  Snappi closures are nice, but I found I didn't need them, since I used my PUL covers.  Many people swear by either choice.  You really have to try it out to decide, but basically go with what you're comfortable with. Also, when you're not leaving the house, you can often get away with using just a prefold and snappi or pins and just change diapers as soon as they're soiled.

So back to choices about covers.  You can have wool, which is great, but requires some extra care in laundering.  You CANNOT put these in the washer/drier, unless you WANT them a size smaller.  Period.  You need to hand wash and re-lanolin-ize on occasion, which means you have to plan on about 24 hours of drying time, so you need to have at least 3 in your stash if you choose wool.  A bonus is that you can use the shorties or longies as pants!  As long as you're not using onesie shirts. ;)  You can knit your own woolies, make them from upcyled wool sweater, or buy them premade.  You can use PUL, which is basically a laminated fabric to make it waterproof. These work great, are fairly inexpensive, and last.  They can be laundered with your cloth diapers or with your regular laundry.  You should limit the amount of bleach and vinegar used in the wash with these as it eventually breaks down the laminate. Another option are the old school plastic vinyl covers.  These can work fine, but the elastic can be irritating to the skin and I found they just didn't fit right so they leaked more. Other people have had great success with them.  Another style is using minky, a very soft and absorbent material, or other fabric on the outside with PUL or other plastic on the interior where it doesn't contact your child's skin.  These are really nice, too. There are new materials coming out all the time that have pros and cons, but I think  you get the idea here. For my family, I bought 7 Econobum PUL OS covers and that worked well for a newborn and toddler in diapers, with my other newborn diapers and OS AIOs in rotation as well.

Flats and covers are the most economical way to cloth diaper.  They can easily be hand-washed and line-dried quickly in the sun or on a drying rack inside.  See how I did. Many people in various areas of the world with and without access to modern laundering facilities use flats with great success.  Flats use pins/snappis (or not) and covers just like prefolds. Flannel receiving blankets (like those purchased for baby showers) are perfect for using with toddlers and preschoolers.  You could probably cut them down or fold them smaller for smaller babies.  Flour sack towels are also excellent.  If you like to "upcycle," considering making t-shirt flats by cutting the front and back apart from a t-shirt and using that.




Edit: There's a new diaper fastener in town!  It's called the Boingo. Visit this website, to order one.  They look pretty great and easy to use without the worry of scratching baby's private parts with the snappi!

Did I miss anything?  Do you have questions I didn't answer here?  Do you have suggestions or points I didn't make already?

Next time: How to actually get them on

Disclosure:  This post contains affiliate links.  If you click them you will be directed to Amazon where I will make a small percentage of your purchase. I normally only post the images, but since money is definitely a deciding factor for many people, I felt it was important.