Whether your reasons are environmental, health, monetary, or other, deciding to use cloth diapers is a huge decision and one that takes a bit of pre-planning to make things go smoothly. As we talked about last week, cloth is absolutely fantastic, but there are caveats to watch out for, namely getting too overexcited and overbuying or following the wrong advice. Here at Dream Diapers, cloth diapers is our mainstay, our life blood, it’s what we do. So you know that you’re in good hands when we say we can give you The Ultra Simplified Getting Started with Cloth Shopping List so that you buy only what you need to start out. Simply click the link of the item you want to add to your cart to go to our website to shop for that item! (There’s plenty of time for going overboard on spending once you fall in love with fluff. After all, your kid will most likely be in diapers for more than two years. 🙂 ).

The Ultra Simplified Getting Started with Cloth Shopping List

What You NEED:

√ Cloth Diapers of Your Choice (24 changes worth minimum)

What does that mean “24 changes worth”? Well, you wash diapers every other day, and the average baby potties up to 12 times a day as a newborn. This gives you enough diaper changes to get to wash day and to have some while the others are washing in said scenario. Also, there are different styles of cloth diapers. The style you choose will determine how many diapers you need, which will determine how much you spend in money, time, and effort when changing baby. (If you need more information on the different styles of diapers- as in, what they are and the pros and cons of each, check out this blog post on that very topic. 🙂 )

*AIOs 24 diapers- Popular Brands: Grovia, BumGenius, Thirsties, TotsBots, Bottom Bumpers, Smart Bottoms, and Sweet Pea.

*Pocket Diapers 24 diapers- Popular Brands: Lalabye Baby, AppleCheeks, BumGenius, Tots Bots, Stashologie, Thirsties, SoftBums, FunkyFluff.

*AI2s 24 inserts (of your choice) and around 6-8 shells- Popular Brands: Lalabye Baby, Grovia, SoftBums, FunkyFluff, Stashologie, Best Bottoms, and Flips (BumGenius).

*Fitteds and Covers (Including Wool Covers) 24 fitteds and around 6-8 covers- Popular Brands of Fitteds: Sustainablebabyish/Sloomb, BinkyD, Sweet Pea, Little Boppers, and Tiny Tush. Popular Brands of Covers: Rumparooz, Bummis, Thirsties, Sweet Pea, Tots Bots, Stashologie, Best Bottoms, and Blueberry. Popular Brands of Wool Covers: Sustainablebabyish/Sloomb, and WoollyBottoms.

*Prefolds/Flats and Covers 24 flats/prefolds, 6-8 covers, and 2-4 Snappis or some kind of closure option. Popular Brands of Prefolds: OsoCozy, Sustainablebabyish, Grovia, Bummis, Smart Bottoms, Geffen, Sweet Pea. Popular Brands of Covers: Rumparooz, Flips (BumGenius), Bummis, Thirsties, Sweet Pea, Tots Bots, Stashologie, Best Bottoms, and Blueberry.

If you’re looking for a paperback resource that is great for new cloth diapering parents, I highly suggest Changing Diapers: The Hip Mom’s Guide to Modern Cloth Diapering book by Kelly Wels (you can buy it gently used for like $5). It’s short, has lots of pictures, and is a great way to research cloth without all the advertising or strong individual opinions. It makes researching cloth diapering simple and easy to follow. I gift it to many new moms who are cloth curious!

√ Pail Liners (and a trash can) OR Large Hanging Wet Bags (2)

You need somewhere to put the dirties until wash day. You have two choices: buy a trash can and line it with a pail liner, OR hang a large wet bag from a sturdy hook/the child’s bedroom doorknob. You need at least two- that way when one is in use, the other can be in the wash.

Popular Brands of Pail Liners: Planet Wise and Funky Fluff.

Popular Brands of Hanging Wet Bags: Planet Wise and Funky Fluff.

√ Travel Size Wet Bags (2)

You need somewhere to put the dirties when you’re out and about, and you’re certainly not going to haul around that trash can or that giant hanging wet bag when you travel to the grocery store for milk! You want at least two so that you can use one while the other is in the wash. Frankly, I have a ton of travel size wet bags, simply because I use them for everything- organization, storing wet bathing suits at the pool, storing an extra change of clothes for my toddler, etc. But to start, you only need 2.

Popular Brands: Lalabye Baby, Stashologie, Colibri, Planet Wise, Funky Fluff, Kanga Care, Bumpkins, BumGenius, Thirsties, Logan and Lenora, Smart Bottoms, and Grovia.

√ Laundry detergent

Pick a detergent that is cloth friendly (recommended to avoid brighteners/whiteners/dyes/perfumes) and friendly to your baby’s most sensitive area of skin! Laundering is a hot-button topic in cloth diapering, so if you ask on a chat board, expect a ton of different answers filled with very strong convictions. In our opinion, the same detergent and routine won’t work for every person. So, we recommend listening to the manufacturers and following their instructions. Lalabye Baby, Cotton Babies (BumGenius), Grovia as well as several other brands have plainly laid out these suggestions on their websites for consumers to read. We recommend listening to them first and foremost, as they know diapers best!

√ Diaper Sprayer

I know some people are going to roll their eyes and shake their “poop scrapers” at me in protest, but in MY opinion, a diaper sprayer IS a necessity. This little ditty is the reason why I still cloth diapered my son after he was no longer exclusively breastfed and had started solids. The whole “dunk and swish” thing just never ever appealed to me, and the idea of using a designated kitchen utensil (that I then have to clean off and worry about it ending up in the kitchen somehow *gag*) for helping to plop poop into the toilet just grosses me out. The sprayer attaches to the toilet and uses clean water at high pressure (just like a sink sprayer) so that you can simply spray the poop off the diaper into the toilet (where it belongs), throw the diaper in the pail for wash day, and flush the toilet. The end.

Extras/Niceties:

∗Spray Pal

In complete honesty, I totally wanted to put the Spray Pal on the NEED list more than anything, but in reality, it IS a nicety. This fantastic piece of plastic is a cross between a giant trifold folder and a shield. You clip the dirty diaper near the top and spray downward into the toilet to spray off poopy messes without risking splattering the contents of junior’s dinner onto the shower curtain or your freshly painted walls nearby. Not only does it contain the splatter from spraying, it folds down flat for wringing out the fully sprayed off diaper before tossing it into the pail. After clipping the diaper into the Spray Pal, you can spray off, wring out, and put a formerly poopy diaper into a wetbag/pail without EVER touching the diaper itself. It’s genius. It’s phenomenal. It’s really a necessity if you’re a neat freak like me when it comes to the bathroom.

∗Disposable or Fleece Liners

If you want to forego or simplify the Spray Pal/Sprayer route, you can always use disposable liners or fleece liners to help contain and properly dispose of the poop situations. Simply lift and plop or spray off the liner. If it’s a disposable liner, lift and plop; then you can either flush it or toss it in the trash. (*They say you can flush them, but that obviously depends on your waste management system in your home.*) Liners also prevent staining and make spraying off the end result of a blueberry eating contest a breeze.

Popular Brands: Spray Pal, OsoCozy, Bummis, Smart Bottoms, Blueberry, EcoSprout, Funky Fluff.

∗Cloth Wipes (20-30)

If you’re going to use cloth diapers, might as well save yourself some time and money and use cloth wipes too. You know what my “Newborn Care” instructions that I took home from the hospital said? I kid you not: “Use a cotton ball dampened with water to clean baby’s bottom after each diaper change, as the chemicals in disposable wipes can be irritating.” Cotton balls? Were they serious? I envision it would take handfuls of cotton balls to clean the messes my kid made in those first weeks of life. One cloth wipe can do the job of several disposable wipes, and they’re easily tossed in with your diapers for wash day. Cloth wipes dampened with just water have worked perfectly for us since day one, and we’re on day like 1,095. You can even fold the cloth wipes like this so that they pop up out of a wipes container just like the disposable ones do! Easy, helpful, and fun!

Popular Brands: Grovia (my fave), Sloomb, Thirsties, OsoCozy, Smart Bottoms, Bottom Bumpers, Punkin Butt, Marley’s Monsters, Geffen Baby.

∗A Heavy Duty Spray Bottle

I find that the easiest and cheapest way to do cloth wipes is to simply dampen them as you go by using a spray bottle filled with water. This prevents mold issues or having to spend time mixing up batches of wipe solution. Personally, I really like this Rubbermaid spray bottle; I’ve been using it for three years, and it has yet to fail me (for a whopping $4.99). If you buy a cheapo spray bottle, be prepared to replace it often.

∗Wipe Bits

If you just can’t handle the fact that water can do just fine cleaning baby’s butt (as it does for all the grown up butts in Europe, hello bidets!) and need a wipe solution to make you feel better, wipe bits are the way to go. Easy to mix with water, they create a fast and lovely smelling solution that is easily sprayed onto your wipes or baby’s bottom. If you place an order with Dream Diapers, you will most likely get a wipe bits sample so that you can see for yourself how heavenly they smell! Blue Hawaiian and Pink Sugar are my absolute favorite scents. I use these wipe bits in a small spray bottle downstairs next to the dinner table for cleaning up sticky hands and faces after meals with our cloth wipes. 🙂

Congrats on your decision to #gogreensavegreen ! Hopefully this guide was simple, straightforward, and gave you a cartful of goodies to checkout with at DreamDiapers.com so that you can be ready to diaper your sweet baby!

Remember, when you shop with us, you’ll be invited to join our exclusive Stash Chat Facebook Group where our customers and staff offer friendly and helpful advice and answers to your questions about cloth diapering, babywearing, and beyond!

Happy Shopping, Cloth Newbies!