Frugal February - BumGenius! -#5

Gotta say that I never thought I'd be "that mom" who does cloth diapers, but I love my bumGenius diapers! And...they are a great subject for Frugal February! I was given most of mine, so the initial investment wasn't as much (they usually run $16-$17 each).

Some of the factors that make these great are:

• They grow with the kid (fits 7-35 lbs).
• They each come with two inserts, making them even more customizable...Knowing that Allie fills her diaper more at a certain time of the day allows me to put in the super-duty insert!
  
• They cut down on diaper costs. Check out this diaper calculator to see your savings.
• They can be used for more than one kid!
• They are "greener" than disposables.
• If washed and cared for properly (meaning no stains), they could be resold on consignment websites.
  
• They are cute, cute, cute!

Now, I'm not gonna lie and say they are perfect. Far from it. Here are a couple of downsides:

• Cleaning out dirty ones is a crappy job. Literally. I have had a few incidents where I am up to my elbows in poop. Not many. Thankfully, I have an additional insert that I try to put in that catches the solids and is biodegradable...I can just toss it in and flush. But on those times when I forget to put that in, or if the girls have solids that are, um...less than solid...I have a mess on my hands.
• Storing dirty ones is sometimes stinky. I usually rinse them out and throw them in a pail and wait for them all to get dirty before I do a load (to save water, detergent, energy). This is fine when I am staying home all day and committed to using them. It gets trickier when we are out and about and I have to use disposables, therefore making the time the used ones sit drag out...this is bad for the nose sometimes.
• The velcro straps kind of get pilly after being washed over and over.
• They are bulkier than disposables, so sometimes the girls' clothes don't fit as well when wearing them.
  

All in all, these are great items to have for the stay at home mom who sticks around the house a good bit. I wouldn't send my kids to church or Mother's Morning Out with them on because I feel like it gives the nursery workers more work and can get messy (I'll admit, I don't always check and empty the diaper bags as soon as I get home).

I would say that we have saved $150-$300 since we've been using them.

For more info on cloth diapers, hop on over to my friend and fellow mama, Kelly's site.