30 Day Trial

As Brandon and I venture into the multiple children territory we've been looking for ways to cut costs where ever we can. Since I need to work to help pay our bills and childcare is EXPENSIVE saving money is a must! For the last month I have researched the prospect of cloth diapering. The initial reason was simply curiosity since I had no idea what it meant or would cost. As I ran numbers, based on consumer reviews and articles, the difference between cloth and disposable made my eyes bug out of my head and my jaw crash to the ground.

For the Mann family to diaper 1 child, based on our present grocery/ diaper bills over the last year and a half, for 3 years costs around $3000-$3500. That is diapers and wipes ALONE people for 1 child! We will have 2 children in the fall bringing that total for the next 3-4 years to possibly $7000.

Cloth diapering is an upfront investment; however, the diapers we would use for Andrew we would also use for the next child and possibly any children we have later on. Cloth diaper investments for a woman like me who is more cost efficient than cuteness oriented the diaper ranges from $300-$500 over the same time period. Those numbers are based on discussion with moms I know who cloth diaper and the current cloth diaper pricing of the mid-range diapers. That costs covers enough diapers to do laundry every 3 days and is modified to accommodate the slight increase in water and laundry soap bills.

Those numbers alone caused my Brandon and my head to turn and be seriously willing to consider this option. I've spent hours pouring over emails to friends who cloth, on the phone talking to my dad who used cloth on my sisters, and reading article after article on what to-do and what not-to-do, which diapers to use, how to wash, all the options, and how to save money. Cloth diapering is a culture, it's a lifestyle. This is not to say that we would NEVER purchase or use disposables again; there is a time and place for them. The amount of money spent per year alone on disposables would range around $100 given that I watch for sales and use coupons.

My excitement is purely financial. We have no clue what we are getting ourselves into but the great thing about modern day: 30 day trials baby!!! For less than $80 I got to pick the type and style of diapers that I wanted to try, a little bit of everything out there, and give it a go to see if this culture and life style fits into the Mann mold. The best part is what ever we don't like, even if it's everything, we can send back and are only out the $10-$20 cleaning fee. I'd say $20 is worth the investment of a possible savings over $7000, wouldn't you?

The trial has been ordered and our journey begins. Here goes! :)