Real Simple, Real Diapers... Savings

I'm joining The Eco Chic for The Real Diaper Week Blog Hop! The Real Diaper Week Blog Hop is the kick-off for the 2nd Annual Great Cloth Diaper Change which takes place world-wide on April 21st! Feel free to join the discussion and link-up! Join the fun and celebration of Real Diaper Week! The link-up is at the bottom of the post!

The Great Cloth Diaper Change is a world-wide event that will be held on April 21st.  Participating families will attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the most cloth diapers changed simultaneously. The Great Cloth Diaper Change event's purpose is to not only break the Guinness World Record, but to also help spread awareness that cloth diapering is truly the best diapering option for your baby. It's eco-friendly and eliminates unnecessary waste in our landfills. Cloth diapering is also budget friendly and will save families thousands of dollars during the years they diaper their children. There are many families who struggle to buy diapers, and cloth diapers could help these struggling families as it's a budget friendly diapering option that could save them so much money.  Cloth diapering can save a family over $2,000 per child.  Imagine how saving that type of money could impact a family.  A family could pay off debt sooner, establish a nice savings account, nest egg.  Cloth diapers could literally change a family's quality of life.

In my blog posting about coffee with Jennifer Labit last summer, I mentioned the Cotton Babies Change 3 Things Challenge. If you visit the Cotton Babies web site, you can purchase a 3-pack of cloth diapers to join the challenge. The challenge is simple: Commit to using 3 cloth diapers a day instead of disposables for 1 year. Every cloth diaper saves about $.25 (depending on what brand of disposables you buy). If you save $.75 a day, it may not seem like much, but those three diapers can save you approximately $260 over the upcoming year. In addition to the savings per diaper, you can save yourself time, money and gas for those emergency trips to the store when you run out of diapers. Change you, your baby & your planet. When you change your BABY's diaper, YOU create a new habit, save money and prevent unnecessary waste on your PLANET.  Even just changing 3 cloth diapers a day could make a difference in your bank account and help our planet!

There's another way cloth diapering can save you money... cloth wipes and a homemade wipe cleansing solution.

I have used a few brands of cloth wipes and there are many great brands of cloth diaper wipes to choose from.  However, you can make your own cloth wipes or simply use baby wash cloths. The Feminist Breeder recently shared a wonderful blog post about "How To Make Pop-Up Cloth Wipes" using baby wash cloths that she purchased from Target. Check out the blog posting here which includes pictures and easy step-by-step instructions! 

Making your own wipe cleanser solution is easy. I discovered the easy formula from Earth Mama Angel Baby's web site where they have a video posted showing you how to make your own cloth wipes and wipe cleanser solution. Click here to view. So, to make your own wipe cleanser solution, just use 1 cup of water, 1 tablespoon of baby wash and 1/2 - 1 tablespoon of baby oil. I simply mixed the ingredients together and put them in a small squirt bottle. At diaper changes, I simply squirt the wipe cleanser on my little one's bottom and then wipe clean with the cloth diaper wipes. Of course, you can use any brand of baby wash and baby oil, but I prefer to use Earth Mama Angel Baby products. Their Angel Baby Wash and Angel Baby Oil is awesome. My little one smells heavenly because Angel Baby Wash smells of vanilla and orange. Here's an image for you... think of an orange creamsicle. Your little one's bottom is not only clean, thanks to the Angel Baby Wash, but is also soft, thanks to the Angel Baby Oil. Definitely worth mentioning, Earth Mama Angel Baby products are organic, zero-toxin, and contain no artificial fragrances, dyes or artificial preservatives.

Now, I still keep disposable wipes on hand, however, I've noticed a huge difference though in our usage in disposable wipes... it's decreased drastically. My husband's pocket book has noticed some savings, too. Win, win, I think.

I'm getting so very excited about the Tulsa, Oklahoma Great Cloth Diaper Change!  We have 80+ giveaway prizes for our event and 100 fabulous swag bags.  Hosting has been a lot of work, but has been a labor of love and excitement!

Happy Blogging!

Toni The Chic Momma