Am I really saving?

Okay so as you know I am attempting to do cloth diapers with Alyeska. I wanted to see if the savings were really worth it because I heard that after the cost of washing and drying it may not be worth the convenience of disposable. So I went out to research a little bit. I waited until now to Blog because I wanted to try cloth diapering for a while to see it I liked it. I do like it and it really isn't that hard. My diapers are really easy to put on Alyeska, it is an all in one diaper so I don't have to fold or pin anything and I don't need a diaper cover, I just snap it on her waste just like you would a disposable diapers but it just snaps instead of that velcrow. I also like it because she had a lot of poopy blow outs in the disposables that stained some of her clothes if I didn't soak them fast. She was really good at those blow outs :) The cloth diapers absorb the poop so I haven't had any blowouts yet in the month that I have been cloth diapering, I have had a few leaks (I started the cloth diapers at 3 months old, she is now 5 months). After the diaper is dirty I put it in a wet bag that keeps the smell and wetness until I am ready to wash a whole load of diapers. Then after I wash them in the washer I lay them out to dry on our deck because I don't have a line. So yes of course it does take a little bit of work.

The cost of cloth diapers: We bought 32 diapers for $190. I bought all-in-one diapers so these diapers will fit Alyeska until she is done with diapers. The snaps make it small enough for newborns and big enough until she is potty trained... up to 2-3 years old. The diapers are so adorable with so many different colors and prints. I got 12 Kawaii brands and 20 ebay brands which are basically the same kind of diaper. So I got all my diapers for $190 for the next 2-3 years (hopefully).

The cost of laundry: So lots of people think by the time you wash/dry and pay for the detergent you aren't saving enough money for the convenience of disposable. So I did a little research on how much it costs to wash diapers a year including laundry detergent. I found a website that calculates the cost of electric, water, and laundry detergent for a front loading washer. BTW We just got a front loader washer last year which uses less energy and water. The website is http://michaelbluejay.com/electricity/laundry.html. From what the website says it will cost $23 a year to wash diapers an average of 2 times a week using cold water and the average cost of the laundry detergent I buy. If I were to pay a little more for a better detergent like Tide and want to wash with Warm water the price would go up to $33 a year which isn't bad at all.

Final Savings: I am not using the dryer to dry my cloth diapers because the sun bleaches the stains, it saves money and the diapers will last longer. It costs much more money to use the drier then the washer per year. So the price for cloth diapering our baby for 1 year including washing and detergent will be $213 or for 3 years if she isn't potty trained before that will be $269. WOW!!!

Cost of disposable diapers: Now I did a little research on the cost of disposable diapers. As you know some parents change their babies more than others. A newborn baby is usually changed 9-12 times a day. My baby is 4 months old and I change her 6-8 times a day. Now the times decrease a little as the baby gets older so I thought I would just take an average of 5-6 times a day for the first year. So 6 X 365 days in the year= 2190 diaper changes in a year. Okay so lets look at brands of diapers.

Huggies cost an average of .27 cents per diaper so that would equal= $591 per year
Pampers cost an average of .23 cents per diaper so that would equal= $503 per year
Luvs cost an average of .20 cents per diaper so that would equal= $438 per year
Parent Choice cost an average of .12 cents per diaper so that would equal= $262 per year
My math: So the way I found the average of each diaper was I looked at a Walmart which is usually suppose to have the best prices and I just divided how many diapers for the amount of money it cost for the box. Of course people can get diapers for sale or get them in bulk but I just did an average. The cost of diapers also differs depending on the size of the diaper. Also some moms may disagree that their babies are changed 6 times a day on average, maybe some moms think this number is higher or even lower. Lastly the cost of bigger diapers go up but maybe the baby doesn't get changed as often so numbers will change obviously. It is amazing how much more money it is if I said a baby is changed even 7 times a day.

Comparisons: So here is my final comparison.
Cloth diapers including washing them for 2 years= $246
Average Disposable diapers= $500 a year depending on the brand, so for 2 years that would be $1,000.

Conclusion: I believe most moms would say I am going very lenient on the cost of disposible diapers above and they actually spend more than $500 a year. If you read my blog I would love it if you know how much a year you spend on diapers if you keep records. One friend on facebook said she spends $720 on Cosco Huggies a year not including the wipes. So the conclusion to my question of "Am I really saving money?" The answer is YES! If our baby were to wear cloth diapers for only 2 years we would save $750 at the very least by choosing cloth. I would save even more by doing cloth wipes and making my own laundry detergent but I am not that ambitious yet.
I am curious on other ways your family makes huge savings?

Thanks to Steve and Trisha (Andy's parents) our diapers were actually FREE, because they bought them all. I have great in-laws.