La Paix de Smith

Here are a list of some basics you will need to begin your wonderful cloth diapering journey….

Diapers- Duh right!  The number of diaper you might need will differ from age to age.  A newborn who’s getting his diaper changed every couple of hours, may go through 12 diapers a day.  But here are some numbers Kelly’s Closet put together.

Newborn to 4 months – 20 – 24 diapers
Infant (4 to 10 months) – 16 – 20 diapers
Toddler (10 months to potty training) – 12 – 16 diapers

This will have you doing laundry about every 2-3 days.  It’s recommended that you do not go longer than three days in between washes so that bacteria and nasty smells don’t build up on your diapers.  I’ve personally done longer than that but would definitely recommend every 3 days or so.

Diaper pail- You will need a diaper pail where you most frequently change diapers.  We have one right beside Cosby’s changing table (we did have another one downstairs but it got promoted to a recycling bin).  We just bought a regular trashcan with a swinging lid.  They sell diaper bins that are made specifically for cloth diapers (click here to see) but I never bothered ordering one, they kinda look like hazmat bins.  Having an open bin does leak out some smells from time to time but it lets me know when I need to throw a wash party for my diapers.

Pail Liner- A pail liner is a water proof bag that will line your diaper pail.  You can get them at pretty much any Cloth diaper site.  If you live near me then let me know and I’ll go with you to our local Cloth Diaper Market.  If not you can find some here.  I would recommend getting 2 so that you can have one in the pail during your washings.

Wet Bag- A wet bag is the same concept as a pail liner except it’s for traveling.  It has a waterproof inside and a cute cloth outside and it zips up, so the dirty diapers can escape.  Would also recommend having 2 of these (although, I am currently working with 1).

Diaper Detergent- What detergent you use will depend completely on what works for you and also what kind of washing machine you own.  Here’s a list of detergents Kelly’s Closet recommends.

• Rockin’ Green Cloth Diaper Detergent
• bumGenius Cloth Diaper Detergent
• Tiny Bubbles Cloth Diaper Detergent
• Allen’s Naturally
• Charlie’s Soap
• Country Save
• Planet Ultra (Powdered)

Of these detergents I’ve only tried the Rockin’ Green brand and this is the detergent I most recommend.  I’ve tried a myriad of detergents and they’ve all cause serious build up on my diapers, except Rockin’ Greens.

Here are a few extra items that might make your experience even easier…

Disposable diaper liner- This I almost would put under the MUST  list.  These are liners that you can lay in the diaper when you put it on your baby and when he soils the diaper, you just take it out and flush it.  Easy-Peasy!

Diaper Sprayer- This is a sprayer that attaches to your toilet so that whenever your baby has a BM you can just spray it off into the toilet instead of dunking the diaper (to be honest with you, the whole dunking thing is kinda gross)…. Holy Crap, why don’t I have one of these things!?!

Cloth wipes-  I don’t know that these necessarily make things easier but it’s definitely cheaper than buying wipes all the time.  We go through wipes like a banshee, so spending 40 bucks on 30 cloth wipes definitely pays off in the long run.

Cloth Wipe Solution- I use the Kissaluvs wipe solutionand I love it.  Just a few drops of the solution into water and soak your cloth wipes in it!  It works great and I know that i’m not putting any chemicals onto my baby’s bottom

Clothes line- Ok, this definitely isn’t easier BUT it saves a ton of energy, line drying them as oppose to in the dryer.  It normally take about 70 minutes for my diapers to dry (sometimes more, depending on how many I have in there).  Also, another plus to line drying, the sun has amazing bleaching properties.  If you have diaper stains or smells just stick them in the son for a few hours and presto!