Information that may be of interest to you…..
Cost information.
1. Have you thought about how much disposables will cost you?
Disposable nappies vary from about 32c for house-branded nappies all the way up to as expensive as 88c for branded nappies when not on special. So on average around 59c per nappy – think about how often you change your child’s nappy.
So – number crunching…. On average (let’s use $0.59 per nappy and 7-10 changes a day based on a newborn onwards changing schedule), that equates to $4.13 - $5.90 per day, $28.91 - $41.30 per week and $125.62 - $179.46 per month. So for the first 6 months amazingly all those nappies equates to $753.72 - $1,076.76 - that's just for the first 6 months.
As they grow your infant / toddler will decrease to only needing a nappy change about 5 times per day and a night time nappy. That equates to $3.54 per day, $24.78 per week and $107.68 per month. This change schedule phase will last for 2-3 years and costs around $1,292.16 per year.
So, over 2 ½ years disposable nappies could cost you between $3,338.04 - $3,661.08 for one child - amazingly that is around 6,000 nappies over 2 ½ years. Not only a huge cost but also a huge amount of rubbish.
Popular brands of disposable nappies usually sell for about $0.51 per nappy when you buy in bulk online or on special. Did you know if you used just 1 cloth nappy a day for the (average) time your baby is in nappies (2 ½ years) you could save around $460! Just ONE nappy a day can save you that much for very little effort.
2. What is the initial cost of buying Cloth nappies?
It really depends on what brand you buy and the cost of your physical nappy but based on $25 per nappy and having around 20 nappies for full time use – enough for about two days, you might look at outlaying around $500-$700 all up.
The great thing is you don’t have to buy 20 nappies all at once, buy a few to find what suits best for you and then buy one or two every few weeks as you can afford. This is a big part of our business philosophy. Encouraging you to try different brands and styles and then increasing the amount you use them and the number of nappies you own as you feel comfortable. Why not look into a trial pack where you can try a few different brands or closure styles to see what suits your needs.
If you want to get particular about costs you can think about your washing costs including laundry detergent (equates to about $250 for 2.5yrs on a cold cycle), 2 buckets/dry pails or washing bins to put dirty nappies in ($20) and perhaps some extra inserts for winter time or night time use ($80-100). Your total cost is around $1,000. Remember that is the cost of a few months of disposables! We are talking about 2½ years of cloth costing approximately $1,000.
You may add liners as well but I have not included these in calculations as they aren’t used by everyone.
3. Calculate the difference
Not only will cloth nappies save you a lot of money once you are set up you have them for use with subsequent children. It is important to find a nappy that you find easy to use (pocket, AIO, inserts and covers etc) and choose a reputable brand. We stock an extensive range of brands to suit your preferences in terms of style and budget. Remember that the nappies will be washed daily or every second day for the next 2½ years (nearly 1,000 times if you wash daily!) so you want to buy something that will last like those stocked by Chubby Cheeks.
So, overall it is worth the savings. We want you to try out the brands we have, find what fits for you and your child best and then stock up on them as you can afford more. Even the cost savings of using one or two cloth nappies a day is high – consider how much else you could be saving with reusable wipes too. In fact, I find reusable wipes easier than disposables – you are already washing the nappies so you may as well wash the wipes too. With disposable wipes you are often double handling them into a bin.
We also have other great cloth products for mums. Reuseable breast pads are very comfortable and cost-effective and have you ever heard of mama cloth? Check it out here – not everyone’s cup of tea but very comfortable and not that much extra washing and effort. Why not try some liners and see how you feel about it?