Q&A ways to start cloth diapers at a lower and for some no cost.

The question brought up today was "I have never before thought about cloth diapers, What is the best/cheapest way to start cloth diapers?
To me any cloth diaper is better then none.... Well that's not true, there is one brand who shall remain unnamed, but let's just say they need to stick to making baby food.
The cheapest way to start is prefolds and covers. The simplest kit I have found that will get you the most for the least is the Econobum(Cottonbabies.com, Diapers.com, and a sea of online cloth diaper sellers carry it) 2 boxes which set you up in cloth diapers with the basic one size (os) cover with snaps and the prefold diaper themselves for under $100. For a little more included kind of kit of everything you need to start using I recommend the bummus box . It comes with prefolds, covers, wet bag, fleece liners, and more. I bought this set local not online, but it was about $160.
If your looking for an inexpensive diaper a little more like the popular Pocket diapers then I would say Sunbaby found on eBay. I know they have recently updated their line to include super cute prints as well but I can say the sunbaby brand got me my start. I got 20 pocket diapers and 30 inserts for $105 w/free shipping, it came from china but only took a week to arrive to me. I haven't looked at if the price has changed all that much but it is a OS diaper so you will not need to keep buying new sizes.
Another brand to look at that I have yet to use myself (yet :) my name is Amanda and I am addicted to cloth diapers) is the Kawaii brand they have been a little harder for me to find per say in that I haven't found but a small handful of sites that have them and have the prints i want in stock but this is the one that has been referred to me the most http://www.theluvyourbaby.com/there the diaper starts out at $6.99.
The next cheapest option is to buy used. Used is not a bad thing when it comes to cloth diapers in fact to me there is some pro's like the fact they have been prepped at some point so no need to prep. Cloth diapers have a good following now so the resale is good. You may even find the diaper you buy was not used that much due to mom having a large stash, maybe mom didn't like the fit to well or baby had to many leaks do to sizing of the diapers or any number of reasons. The best deal I have found is when little ones out grow theirs and mom is destashing to buy the next size or potty train. There are many sites aside from eBay and craigslist that you can find these deals http://www.diaperswappers.com/ is a popular one but as for personal experience I have none with diaperswappers, not to say anything negative about it I just have used CafeMom.com more there are many forms on this site and I have even found mom's willing to make trades like baby cloths for cloth diapers. Another way to buy used that I like is the cottonbabies.com repairable sales cotton babies offer a trade in program and when a diaper needs minimum repair ie: Velcro (hook and loop) replaced or the elastic then they will sell it as is and make a repair kit available for a dollar. If you are handy with a basic stitch this is a great way to get a good diaper at low cost.
When repairable are for sale this is the link to where I have found them on their site.
http://www.cottonbabies.com/index.php?cPath=51
The next way I would mention is Seconds sale!! If you hear of a site having a seconds sale then that's a sale you should really look at. Seconds just mean second quality ,maybe a stitch is off or it was dropped and has a smudge for what ever reason the seller has deemed it not top quality so it is offered in a Seconds sale at a very low cost. Act fast if you come across one of these. By signing up for a few brands you likes newsletter and or liking their facebook page you will hear about these sales.

There are so many ways to get started for less but these are the ones I have heard used the most.
My advice when looking at starting cloth diapers on a budget is to start by watching some video reviews on you tube to better see all the options cloth diapers have to offer and then starting your search for the diaper you feel will best fill your need. You don't want to spend to much money buying a lot of diapers that you are not going to like.
For the family interested in making the switch to cloth diapers but may not be able to afford the up front cost, there is still one more site I would recommend the cloth diaper foundation is a non profit that excepts donations of cloth diaper and sends them out to families who have filled out and application an are found eligible Application are open at different times of the year but by checking this link
http://www.clothdiaperfoundation.org/application/
Or adding the cloth diaper foundation to your facebook you can easily see when they are taking apps. Cloth diapers are sent to families for just the cost of shipping.

I hope this has given some info that answers a few questions and please remember I am always will to answer question so if you have anymore just leave them in the comments or ask me on any of the forms you find me on.



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Why I use Cloth Diaper By Amanda M.

This seems to be a question asked of me a lot so in an effort to get more involved with my blog I decided to blog my answer out or as my husband puts it ," I wrote an Essay" on it. ( In putting that way I kinda feel like I am in fifth grade again and I'm writing my " What I did this summer" paper.

So for the countless number of people who ask me this is my reply(Essay)


Why I use Cloth Diapers
By Amanda M :)

I choose cloth diapers not only for the benefits to both the
enviroment and the health of my children, but more so I choose it
because as a mother in this era I feel that in some ways we as a
society have taken steps backwards. Everyone at one time or another
has talked about back in the day when things where different or
simpler. Yet no steps are ever taken to simplify life in ways similar
to those times. We as a society are alway looking for the next big
thing. I myself am guilty of falling for the newest, biggest,
greatest, most awesome must have in new mommy/baby items. But when it
comes to disposable diapers it is my opinion we are stepping in the
wrong direction. I feel we are only exposing our growing children to
more then we need to by allowing the numerous chemicals to be freely
used in the making of disposable diapers to "improve" the diapers
purpose.
There are a great number of improved choices in cloth diapers these
days that are not brought to light nearly enough.
16 years ago when I had my first kid I only knew one person who used
cloth diapers. Prefolds and safety pins was what she used.
Fast forward a few years to when I was a single parent with another
baby on the way and I was given some of those same style prefolds. My
honest thought was that no one used these any more but I would stumble
through using one if I could't afford diapers for a day or two. And I
do mean stumble because I was brought up knowing only disposable
diapers.
I was blown away by the choices cloth diapers offer now-a-days when 14
months ago I revisited the idea of cloth diapering as an Eco-Friendly
alternative to disposable, as opposed to a way to streach my budget. I
was shocked to say the least and even a little upset when I learned
more about what goes into making a disposable diaper and started
thinking a little more toxic-free/baby-friendly as a result. And I
happily made the switch when I realized it could not only be doing my
part for the enviroment and healthier for my baby, but also a way for
me to revisit a simpler time introducing myself to a way of caring for
my baby that has truly shown improvement in a positive way.
Parents before me used cloth because that is what there was and what
they knew growing up and by choosing cloth for my children now, it is
my hope that they will grow up to accept cloth as the normal way of
diapering and that they will do the same for their children.







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What we have here is a failure to communicate........

My life is Epic right now full of some Win's and some fails. I need an out let and you would think i would be better and this blogging thing right out the gate cause lets face it I talk to myself a lot and what is blogging when you first get started other then talking to your self and maybe a couple of friends that are kind enough to read your blog when you ask them too (p.s. to those of you that do god love ya I have some great friends don't I).
But in an effort to get things moving for me and adding to my blogs and  getting what I have to say out there I am asking for a little bit of help. One of the number one things I get asked about or "tag" to talk about is Cloth diapers and more times then not by the time I shut up I have written enough for two blogs so what I am asking of you, yes you the one up while you should be sleeping cause its late at night or it's nap time in your house in which case that's a tough call naps are great I am a firm believer in "sleep when baby sleeps" but any who if you,would like to know a little more about something or if you have a Cloth diaper question or a question in general that I maybe able to answer . Please just post it below in comments, It is my hope you maybe get some more of my ramblings on here and to answer more questions this way.Thanks for your help in my humble beganings I am not looking to be this next super blogger but I really would love you get more in to getting the thoughts from my head to this page.