Saving money is not the main reason why I cloth diaper, although it’s partly why I started. At my husband’s query, I recently calculated how much I have spent on cloth diapers. I broke the news to him by prefacing my answer to his probing question with the following statement:

Just, please keep in mind that in the past 3 years I have spent only $45 on shoes.

Honestly, cloth diapers have evolved into both a hobby and sport for me. I truly love my cloth diapers. I love using them, I love washing them, I love buying them and I really, really love talking about them. Cloth diapers? They’re my thing. We passed the money-saving threshold ages ago, but my other motives for starting cloth still hold strong: I’m still keeping waste out of landfills and I’m still limiting my baby’s exposure to chemicals.

How Much DID I Spend?

Aside from carriers, nursing bras, accessories, etc., the grand total that I have spent on my journey fits somewhere around $1,800. This is over a period of two and a half years and two children, and doesn’t factor in laundering costs.

It could easily have been a few thousands more. I love wool covers and wool pants. These are not cheap and if I went wild, I could fill closets with them! I also love diaper prints and every time my favourite brands come out with new prints or colours I am so very tempted to buy all the diapers!

I HAVE sold about $250-$300 worth of diapers in my stash over the years, but I spent it all on more diapers. I know, I’m weak. Don’t judge me.

I justify all this money spent by saying things like “But I’ll sell them all one day” and “I have used them on two children” and “I never buy things for myself. I don’t even go to hair salons.”

How much did I NEED to spend?

I sat and filled a shopping cart with what I feel are the bare-minimum, but good quality items that I would need to successfully cloth diaper my baby, from birth to potty. The total was about $500. It includes bamboo flats (the only true one size diaper option), snappis, one sized covers, a few boosters, wipes, pail liner and wetbags.

To be even more honest, I could probably do it even cheaper. Flannel receiving blankets or T-Shirts work great as flats, I could make my own wipes, and I could buy used instead of new with the covers and wetbags. I could have probably diapered both my boys from birth to potty with a $250 budget. My husband is crying at that thought.

Will I stop spending?

Nope. I could try and promise that I won’t, but I know I will. I absolutely love trying new diapers and reviewing them and plan to continue with my cloth diaper blogging adventures until I have no bums left to diaper and even beyond that! I’ll just have to rope in some outside models and testers. Or keep having babies until I am old and grey. Oooh! Grandkids too!

I also love buying them to give them away to you lovely people! So go ahead and enable my addiction for your own personal gain 😉