Ideas on how to save BIG on cloth diapers

It is no secret that disposable diapers cost money. On average each child will cost about $2,000 to diaper till potty training, but that cost is spread out over two or more years. Cloth diapering can seem intimidating to get started because there is definitely up front costs that you don't have to think about when it comes to disposables. However unlike disposables, they can be used for multiple children, saving you even more money.

I would say that my stash and accessories cost about $1,500, but my husband and I probably only spent about $400 (if that). There are some tricks to getting your stash and accessories without breaking the bank.

Prefold held together with a Snappi without a cover. 

1. If you can, register for them. This is how we saved probably the most money. Since we did not know what we were having the first time around, instead of people buying us outfits, they bought us cloth diapers. And let me just say, at my shower, guests were pretty interested in them. Some thought I was nuts of course, but others really wanted to know why we were cloth diapering. Now, I know some people do not decide to cloth diaper till later on, but if you know early enough, register for items. You never know what people might get you. If you do not have a local store you can register with, I suggest using an online site. Even though I have local options, I still chose to use an online registry because it gave me a few more options. 
2. Prefolds and covers are the cheapest way to go. If you are just getting started and you are not sure how much you want to invest in cloth diapering. Buy yourself some prefolds and covers. These are the types of diapers most people think of when they think of cloth diapers. But even these are improved versions of their ancestors. No pins needed. There are great things called snappis that are so easy to use and give the prefold a great fit on your baby. The covers are usually super cute too. There are so many adorable patterns out there to choose from. We used prefolds and covers when Calan was a newborn. It is hard to get the right fit from a one-size diaper on a newborn, but since they are only that little for a little while, we did not want to invest too much money in specific newborn diapers. I was actually surprised when my husband told me one day that out of our newborn options prefolds were his favorite. Who knew.
3. Follow Baby Half Off and Baby Steals. These websites offer great daily deals on all things kids and sometimes moms. But more specifically, they offer great deals on cloth diapers. Just this week alone I got great deals on night time diapers and pocket diapers for our new baby girl. The deals are at least half-off retail price. Sometimes it is because the manufacturer is introducing a new product or that they are discontinuing certain colors or styles. You name it, I have gotten it off of these sites. Sometimes I just a get one to try out; other times I stock up like I did this week. The only thing negative about these sites is having the self control to say no when so many cute things pop up on them. You can also follow these sites on Facebook. 
4. Make your own. Now I know this option is not for everyone, but if you are crafty enough, I hear that it is so easy to make your own. I am actually going to try and do this before our baby girl gets here, but not sure how it is going to go. I just want to make something for her and I figured this might be a good idea. There are several free patterns online. I have heard people like Rita's Rump Pocket and Ottobre patterns. I just bought diaper kits from diaperkit.com. They are having a sale on the kits and I thought what better way to try it out then to use that. PUL (waterproof fabric used in covers) is hard to find locally, but it is easy to find online. 
5. Buy used. Now, this is another option that will not appeal to everyone, but there is a market out there for used diapers. Sometimes they have only been used once or twice, but did not work for the baby or mom, so the mom sells them off. You can even find brand new ones for sale for various reasons. People sell cloth diapers on Craigslist and Diaperswappers. I did buy some Kissaluv size 0 fitted diapers on Craigslist before Calan was born. They are usually $13 a piece and I got 10 for $70 (plus 6 covers). While I bought them resale, the mother said that they were never used because her baby was too big for them. So there are deals out there.
   On a side note, remember when you are done with your diapers, there is a market out there for resale. You can always sell your diapers, too. Or if a diaper doesn't work for you, try selling it to get money for a diaper that will. 
6. Follow blogs and find giveaways. Cloth diapers are always being given away. There are weekly contests on many, many sites that usually require minimal things to enter. The first diaper I ever got, I won. I couldn't believe it. It was actually the first contest I had ever tried and I won. You never know what might happen, so it is always worth a try. A free diaper is a free diaper. The Cloth Diaper Whisper hosts a giveaway every week (a new one is posted each Friday).
7. Watch for package deals. It is always cheaper to buy cloth diapers in bulk. If you have decided on a diaper that you know that you will like, see if there are package deals out there for that diaper. You can save 15 to 20 percent that way. Also some sites like Kelly's Closet offer a lot of weekly deals. Some deals include if you spend a certain amount, you get a free one-size diaper. Since one-size diapers range between $15 and $20 dollars this is a great steal. 
8. Build as you go. While cloth diapers do require a large initial cost, nothing says that you have to stop there. Once you become an addict, it does make it hard to stop. Do not think that you need everything all at once. You need to have enough to diaper your baby and things to store dirty diapers, but you can always add the cuter more expensive diapers here and there.