We had a baby in late July and I’m taking some time off to welcome him to the world. I am grateful to friends and fellow bloggers who are helping out with guest posts.  This article is by MakingTime of What There’s Time For.

In the past three and a half years, I have used cloth diapers in four countries, on day trips and overnight trips, even on months-long trips.  I’ve used flat pre-folds and contour diapers, all-in-ones, a diaper service, and sewed my own with elastic leg gussets. (I promise you I’m not crazy! I use disposables on airplane trips, on medium-length trips, when moving, usually for sleeping, and, now that we have two kids, sometimes just because.)

For most of that time, I figured I must be saving money (even if I did make a few mistakes, like buying 30 yards of organic cotton/hemp terry cloth to get the full bolt discount – that’s about 27 yards more than I needed… someday everyone I know will get bathrobes for Christmas) and I really hoped I was doing something good for the environment.

With our second baby, I bought a whole new set of diapers (knowing better what would work for me) and at the same time used them less often (we’re now living in Europe – our washing machine and dryer are small and slow). I started to worry maybe I wasn’t saving money anymore.

Then Amy asked me to write a guest post for Frugal Mama and I happily offered to write about cloth diapers… then quickly realized I’d better do some math!

Here’s the good news: Using cloth diapers, even only part of the time, is good for the environment (for a quick rundown on the debate – yes, there is one – check out this article on Slate). And it can save you a lot of money, depending on how you do it. It’s also a whole lot easier than you probably think.

How Cloth Diapers Save You Money

As big a price range as you can find with disposable diapers, cloth diapers are even more dramatic — you can get a cloth diaper for free (by making it yourself from old towels or sweatshirts or whatever you’ve got), for less than $5 (by buying second-hand or going with prefolds, the cheapest style of diaper), or for more than $20 (by buying a fancy new organic all-in-one that goes on and off exactly like a disposable).

If you can get your cloth diapers for free (you’ll need covers, too — you can make them yourself from old wool sweaters — but, no, I haven’t done it) and wash them for free (maybe you do your laundry at your mom’s or something?) and you never use a disposable diaper, you could save $1600-$2300 by the time your baby is potty-trained, according to SureBaby.

If you have to buy your diapers and you’re washing them on your own dime, you save less, but still a lot as long as you don’t succumb to the lure of disposables too often. And if you have more than one child in the plans, you will save even more by choosing durable diapers (where the absorbent part, which lasts an age, separates from the waterproof cover, which wears out faster).

Let’s take our family as an example. With my son, I used cloth diapers almost all the time. I did a load of diapers nearly every other day and there were typically 20 diapers in a load (he was a prolific outputer and did not like feeling wet). I wash on hot (some people don’t think that’s necessary, but I feel better about it). I also usually dry my diapers in the dryer because line-drying leaves them pretty darn stiff. (I do line-dry them when it’s too hot in our un-air-conditioned European apartment to run the dryer).

Using some sample numbers from Michael Bluejay and knowing that when we buy disposables, we spend about $0.26 per diaper, every load of diapers I ran for my son was saving me $5.20 while costing me $1.44 (possibly less), for a net savings of at least $3.76.

Saying (conservatively) I ran 3 loads of diapers per week, I had covered the approximately $300 cost of the diapers (that includes the silly fabric over-buy and several different kinds and sizes of covers) within 27 weeks. Since I used cloth with him at that rate for about 100 weeks, I figure I saved close to $1000. In reality, it was probably more, since I’m pretty sure I’m overestimating the laundry costs. (Although, I haven’t accounted for detergent – diapers should be washed with very little detergent, anyway.)

With my daughter, I try to use cloth about half the time. I bought 12 contour diapers (that means they’re shaped like a diaper, but don’t have any elastic) and 4 covers in her current size (which she’ll be wearing for a good long time) for $126.88. When I’m in my cloth groove, I do about three loads of diapers per week (12 diapers is a reasonable load for our tiny European machine, but with a bigger washer, you would probably want 24 diapers for a full load).

Using sample numbers like I did above, I figure I’ve paid back that cost after 16 to 25 weeks of 3 loads per week (depending on how efficient our washer/dryer really is). So, yes, we will be saving a chunk of cash by the time she’s out of diapers, even if we need a few larger covers before then.

5 Reasons Cloth Diapers Make Me Happy

Maybe you’re thinking, Gee, I don’t think I want to do all that work just to save a few hundred dollars over several years! And maybe you don’t. But before you go, let me tell you why I love using cloth diapers.

1. My house smells better.

Seriously. We don’t soak our diapers, just get the poop off (into the toilet – my daughter’s just shake out, my son’s required more effort and a dedicated “poo stick” that we stored in the toilet brush holder) and toss them in the pail. There’s a lid on the pail that provides all the odor-containment we need, even though it isn’t air-tight. Disposables, though? One poopy in the kitchen trash really stinks up the place. Even the wet ones can smell.

2. The laundry is easy.

I have a reusable liner in the pail that can withstand hot washing, and I just turn it inside-out into the machine so I never touch the dirty diapers. I often start the load (on super-duper cycle) at night and put them in the dryer in the morning. The jumble of diapers and covers can go straight into the diaper basket. Simple.

3. I don’t have to buy diapers as often.

I don’t have to carry them from the car to the elevator and from the elevator to our apartment. Or, worse, lug them all the way up the hill from the drugstore while also pushing two kids in a stroller. Doing the laundry is honestly easier.

4. It’s easier to go green (and cheap!) for other yucky stuff.

I use washable microfiber wipes for my floors and to clean the bathroom, including the toilet every day (my son is potty training) and they go straight in the diaper pail. Any peed or pooped on underwear goes in the pail, too (did I mention my son is potty training?). I guess I could put all those things in the regular laundry, but it’s nice to have a full yucky load every few days for all the yucky stuff.

5. They’re cute and they feel nice.

Cloth diapers are nice to touch and see; disposables, not so much.

Getting Started with Cloth

There is a lot of information out there on the web about using cloth diapers and plenty of forums with dedicated cloth diaperers thrilled to answer your questions. The biggest problem, in my experience, is deciding which diapers to try since there are so many choices! As with most things, more expensive does not mean better.

I highly recommend contour diapers because they are not too expensive, give a reasonably trim fit, and wash and dry easily. They will also last well because there’s no waterproofed fabric attached (which can only take so many washes before it’s not waterproof anymore), no velcro (which gets gunked up over time), and no elastic (which can also wear out after lots of hot washes).

Get a few waterproof covers in each size (I wouldn’t recommend one-size-fits-all diapers; they don’t) and you’re good to go! Make sure to get covers that can be washed on hot if you don’t want to wash them separately.

If you’re still not sure about cloth, consider waiting until your baby is 3 months old – they should stay in that size for a while, giving you a better return on your investment, and the first crazy months of adapting to parenthood will be behind you.

Have fun diapering!

MakingTime blogs at What There’s Time For about the sublime, the surreal, the mundane, and the hilarious of life as a stay-at-home mom to two in Vienna, Austria.

Ever since I wrote about saving money on diapers, I knew we needed to open up the cloth discussion. How do you feel about cloth vs. disposables? Please let me know in the comments section below.