Perspective: A family's journey into cloth diapers

My motivation for cloth diapering?

It was an image of a giant heap of disposable diapers in a landfill. Soiled diapers piled up for miles, with scavenging birds soaring above, and monstrous machines pushing garbage back and forth.

Before having kids, I knew that I wanted to try cloth diapering. My journey to live more sustainably is very, very imperfect, but I decided that I was going to champion cloth diapering.

After many months of parenting, many different attempts, and much frustration, we finally found a system that works for our family.

Don’t be discouraged if it takes time and different methods to get it right. Keep experimenting, ask questions and be patient with yourself!

Try No. 1: Diaper service

We started out with a diaper service. The service would take care of cleaning and delivery — huge perks for us as we anticipated loads of diapers with our twins! We filled our drawers with brightly colored diaper covers and got ready for this new adventure.

It took us some time to figure out how to use the diapers most effectively, but overall they worked for us. Every Monday morning, I’d put out a huge bag of soiled prefolds and receive a fresh bag. All was well.

A few months in, the problems started. Our babies started wetting through their diapers more quickly and more often. The folding techniques that previously worked were no longer working. We started using disposables more because cloth was becoming increasingly unreliable. Soon we had to do multiple outfit changes throughout the day. I looked up tips online and talked to experienced friends, but nothing changed.

This system was just no longer working for us.

Try No. 2: Keep trying at home

We canceled the service and decided to try cloth diapering with prefolds at home. We would use a mix of disposable and cloth until we figured out a solution to the leaking diapers. By washing the prefolds at home, we wouldn’t spend money on a service while still also using many disposables.

But there was still no change. The babies needed new outfits all throughout the day, no matter how frequently we changed them.

I hated to admit it, but it just wasn’t working, and I was tired of trying to make it work, so we went back to full-time disposable diapers.

Try No. 3: A new system

Throughout the next few months, I continued to check in with experienced friends, researched different methods, and reached out to groups for advice. Maybe, I thought, cloth diapering just wouldn’t work for our family.

But the waste! I just couldn’t shake it.

I finally decided to try a whole new system, using new diaper covers with cloth inserts instead of traditional prefolded cloth diapers. If it didn’t work for us, we could pass the cloth diapers on to another family and decide what next step to take.

But the system worked!

We’ve been using it for over a year now. As I write this, our toddlers are napping away in cloth diapers.

We keep soiled diapers in a bucket, spray out the poop in the bathtub with our showerhead, and wash them while we watch “Jeopardy!”

It takes extra time and cleaning poop is gross, but it’s a small step our family can take to reduce our garbage creation — and it works for us.

Who knew that cloth diapering could be so challenging? We had many moments of discouragement, but with time and trial, we eventually found a system that works for us without spending a lot of money along the way.

Keep in mind:

What works for you might not work for others
It’s OK to try different methods along the way
It might take longer than you expect to figure out a system that works for you
The system that initially works for you may not work in the future
Seek help. There are endless cloth diapering resources! (If you’re a Facebook user, check out the Seattle Cloth Diaperers group for advice-sharing with local caregivers. You can also do an internet search of “cloth diapering” and find tons of resources from many experienced cloth diaperers.)
You might not use cloth diapers full time. We use disposables at night, and your childcare situation might not accommodate cloth diapers. It’s OK! Even doing cloth diapers just part time makes a difference!