In my dream world, we could all afford top-of-the-line, made-in-Canada cloth diapers, hand-sewn from silk spun from free-range unicorn tears. Alas, such is not the case. I will settle for getting as many families into cloth diapers as possible, regardless of budget constraints. Why? Because as soon as you start, you start saving money, and you start saving this little planet we call home.
I went to Dollarama the other day to scope out some very inexpensive items that can be used to save money while cloth diapering.
Fleece blankets
Polyester fleece is used in cloth diapering to create a “stay dry” layer against baby’s bum. Once urine passes through the fleece, the water-repellant nature of the fabric leaves the top of the diaper feeling dry to the touch. With this $4 blanket, you can cut rectangular liners that will fit perfectly inside whatever diapers you use. For babies who are sensitive to wetness, placing a liner on top of the diaper is a great solution if you are using diapers without a built-in stay dry layer, such as those made with cotton, bamboo or hemp. You might also want to use a fleece liner to make post-poop clean up a bit easier. You can pick up the liner and easily dump solids into the toilet. The third purpose of a fleece liner would be to protect diapers from a non-cloth diaper safe ointment that you may need to apply to baby’s bum. If you need to treat a diaper rash with zinc cream or anything that might stain or build up on the diapers, no need to switch to disposables—use a fleece liner!
Note that sometimes using fleece liners can cause leaks. This is because it takes a bit of pressure for urine to pass through the liner and be absorbed into the diaper. Without pressure, liquid will pearl on top and can roll out and leak. I found that using fleece liners with a newborn, who is never seated (and therefore never putting any pressure on the diaper), often caused leaks. There’s no special treatment to make fleece absorbent; it’s really just a matter of pressure. Diapers are more likely to leak if you use a fleece liner on top of a pocket diaper that also uses fleece: that’s an extra layer of fleece that the urine has to penetrate!
Microfibre Towels
Microfibre is the most common and most inexpensive material used for absorbency in cloth diapers. BumGenius pocket diapers? Rumparooz? Both come with microfibre inserts. It’s the same microfibre that we use to clean and dust at home. Note that you do NOT put microfibre directly against baby’s skin because it’s too abrasive and drying. You can either use these microfibre towels in the pocket of a pocket diaper, or wrap a natural fibre towel around the microfibre so it isn’t in contact with baby’s skin.
Microfibre Makeup Cloths
Just like the towels above, these cloths can be used in place of inserts or even to increase the absorbency of diapers. Folded in half, these particular ones are the same dimensions and thickness as the newborn-sized insert that comes with a BumGenius pocket diaper. I like to put a microfibre booster on top of a natural fibre insert in my pocket diapers; the microfibre absorbs quickly and the natural fibre insert holds the liquid in. This is the how I stuff our diapers for daycare: microfibre on top of an Öko Créations hemp insert. We never get leaks! The picture below compares one of these makeup cloths to a BumGenius booster, then shows how I stuff a pocket diaper using microfibre on top of an Öko insert.
Flannel Pillow Cases
I couldn’t find flannel receiving blankets at the dollar store, but I did find these 2-packs of flannel pillow cases. You can fold them into inserts to use in diapers (you could wrap them around the microfibre towels for a really absorbent solution), or you can cut them up and make wipes. I have a lot of wipes that I’ve made out of old pajama pants, and they aren’t sewn at the edges, just cut. They do fray a bit, but honestly they make perfectly functional wipes.
Baby Wash Cloths
For $3, you get six baby wash cloths that you can use as cloth bum wipes. If you already cloth diaper but are still using disposable wipes, get yourself a stash of cloth wipes (36 would be a great amount) and never buy wet wipes again! You don’t need to use a fancy spray to use cloth wipes; water is perfectly fine. Personally, I use liniment!
Cosmetic Pouch
This $3 cosmetic pouch is perfect for storing cloth wipes, bum cream and bum spray in your diaper bag. It even has little handles so you can hang it over the edge of the restroom change table.
Travel Bottles
This pack of travel bottles contains the coveted spray bottle! If you can find an individually packaged spray bottle, even better. The spray bottle is a cloth diaperer’s best friend! You can fill it with plain water to moisten cloth wipes on the go, or fill it with a homemade or store-bought wipe solution.
Travel Squeeze Bottle
As long as it’s not hot outside, you can use this travel bottle to store coconut oil for easy application at diaper change. You could also put liniment in it if you buy the large format for use at home and need a smaller bottle for the diaper bag.
Nylon Laundry Bag
You can definitely use this nylon laundry bag instead of a large hanging pail or pail liner to store dirty diapers. It’s not as waterproof as PUL bags on the market, but it will do the job! I tested out an identical bag like this from IKEA and didn’t have any issues. The washing instructions say to air dry, so I just had to remember to pull it out of the wash before transferring everything to the dryer. This bag is plenty large enough for three days of diapers, and the drawstring closure will allow for air circulation to help prevent stink. It may seem counterintuitive, but you do NOT want to store dirty diapers in an airtight bag or bucket, which will make them stinkier!
Diana C says
This is my kind of post, as I definitely did some splurging over the weekend!
Ashley says
Thanks for sharing this. It’ll be useful for my friends/family who only see the start-up costs of more expensive cloth diapers.
Eunice says
This is great!! I loved all your tips!
Sarah Gilbert says
I have those cloths, great bum wipes!
KD says
This is genius! I needed a new pail liner. I’m headed to Dollarama instead!
Amie M says
This is a great resource for those wanting to cloth diaper, but are intimidated by the startup costs. Using items like these to see if it’s for them can really help a family out.
It is also important to note that there are a lot of used cloth available on kijiji that won’t break the bank, and are good quality products. The resale on brandname cloth when your kids are done with them is really good, and can help recuperate the startup costs.
Ashley says
Thank You So Much For This!! I have been searching and searching for input and reviews and I have to say this is one of the best ones i have came across for my own made inserts!!
Micah Alegre says
Thanks for this. We don’t have a dollar store but I can definitely find these in the malls here in the Philippines. ☺
Angel says
You can break down the water barrier in fleece 🙂 I use fleece bedding for my guinea pigs. You have to wash the fleece anywhere from 3 to 6 times in hot water. Its the same prep you should do when you buy brand new cloth diapers. You can check the water barrier just by poring a small amount of water on the fleece after each drying cycle. When it runs straight through and doesnt pool the water barrier, which is caused by natural oils on the fleece, is gone. Just make sure not to use fabric softener or it will replace the water barrier.
Sandra says
Thanks! These ideas are great. Happy to spend only $3 on a diaper pail bag instead of $20. Would rather buy great diapers and save on things that aren’t going directly on baby’s skin!
Kayleigh says
Brilliant! These are some really great ideas. I’ve also taken old-school (think early 2000s) velour sweatpants and cut them up into wipes. They work great! Repinned : )
Marga says
WOW! I wish I have found this sooner. Now im fully equipped with cloth diapers but definitely some can still be of use. Amazing, thanks for sharing!