Ugh, I am so tired. I have been averaging about 6 1/2 hours of sleep a night, which is not quite enough. I need more like a minimum of 7 to 7 1/2 hours.
More thoughts on diapers…
I was trying to figure out when the cost would even out between cloth and disposable diapers. You know, like Tax Freedom Day (the first day of the year in which the nation as a whole has theoretically earned enough income to fund its annual tax burden). There should be a way to figure it out with a line graph tracking money spent over time on either cloth or disposables. I think that if we used a laundromat for the life of our diapering, it would obviously take longer to reach the point of intersection. On the other hand, we are def. going to move into an apartment with a washer/dryer hookup and will probably have to buy a used washer and dryer, so add in another $300 or so. On the other other hand, we will then use that washer and dryer for more clothes than just diapers, so the cost can’t be completely calculated as a “diaper cost.” I’ll try to keep track of our diapering costs as we go along so I can figure it out. I also think that the real cost of disposable diapers to us would not be as cheap as some estimates online because we would be using the chlorine free, more-natural diapers and wipes, which run more expensive than the big-name brands.
Here is my guesstimate, though:
So, I guess that it really is cheaper to cloth diaper. Huh! That’s a big savings over time. I’m actually surprised. I thought that disposable diapers would be more competitive.
July 1, 2008 at 12:21 pm
Disposable diapers are incredibly expensive. So incredibly expensive. The initial layout of money is absolutely cost effective.
However! I wouldn’t recommend it if you haven’t got on-site laundry. You two might be real laundromat pros, I dunno. But I would definitely try to get a place in Rochester with on-site laundry.
I’m bummed to learn that the diaper service run by some coop customers I knew back in the day has gone under. It’s not really surprising. But Rochester has some great natural parenting community resources; there is definitely breastfeeding, cloth diaper, and that kind of hippie toilet training whose catchphrase I know longer remember communities.
Gotta recommend the hippie toilet training too; my Sufi pseudo-nephew usually knows when he has to go, at 16 months, and being able to hear “pee…peeee” and take off the diaper and pee in the sand at the beach DEFINITELY cuts down on diaper labor and costs.
And the thing about cloth is that you can always supplement with disposables. If you have the infrastructure for cloth you’re giving yourself options, so if Sara Jr. starts having a terrifically messy week, you can just switch rather than have to worry about disinfecting your washer.
You are so big and beautiful, honey! It’s almost time, huh? Gaddam.
July 1, 2008 at 1:45 pm
The phrase you are looking for, I think, is “Elimination Communication” or EC. It would be great if Rochester had a diaper service, but no such luck. Also, using a service is better for the environment because it uses less water per diaper to wash.
We are *SO* getting an apartment with an in-unit washer/dryer! It’s just here in Somerville that we will be using the laundromat.
Another decision making factor in cloth vs. disposable is that I tend to get a heat rash under pads in the summer. If our baby is anything like me, using cloth and changing often is the best option for a not-red bottom.
July 2, 2008 at 8:14 am
Be wary of chlorine free claims for diapers, tissues, towels, coffee filters, and paper items that do not carry third party certification TCF-PCF Mark.
Companies that market items as chlorine free may infact be using chlorine dioxide which creates dioxin rated the most toxic compound ever produced by man. Make sure you and your family are protected look for the Marks of Sustainability.