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Can I share a secret? Up until two weeks ago, I didn’t own a single flat diaper. That’s right, I signed up for Dirty Diaper Laundry Flat & Hand washing challenge without a stash of Flats. I didn’t even have flannel receiving blankets. Check out Why I am Participating in this past post.

Curious about the Flats & Handwashing Challenge? It’s now hosted by the Cloth Diaper Podcast, learn more here. 

What is a Flat Diaper

A Flat diaper is simply a single layer cloth used as a diaper. Typically it is 100% cotton or another absorbent blend (think bamboo or hemp). It can be pretty much anything – commercially prepared, t-shirts, blankets, etcetera.

My Flat Diaper Stash

While I tried to keep this project economical and affordable, I also was curious about different types of flats and options on the market. I wanted to try it all.

I can’t help it, I’m a cloth diaper junkie.

I purchased some of these items new. I purchased some of these items used. I purchased all of these items in Canada, so the prices reflected are CANADIAN dollars.

Flat Diaper

• 7 Flannel Receiving Blankets – $5 (Buy&Sell)
• 5 Flour Sack Towels – $8 (Walmart)
• 3 Flip Daytime Inserts – $23
  one I bought off the BST for $3
  
• 4 Osocozy Flats – $11
  Total Cost: $47 CDN

I purchased the Osocozy Flats from a Canadian Retailer – LagoonBaby

Cloth Diaper Covers

I’ve already purchased and own these from my regular stash. Some of these vary in price point.  I like to have at least 7 covers since my child poops tons! Learn more about cloth diaper covers

• 1 Lanolised Wool Cover – $22
• 1 Flip Cover – Gifted ($22)
• 1 Bummis Cover – $17
• 2 GroVia Covers – Bought Used, $10/each
• 2 Blueberry Capri Covers – $24/each
• 1 Smartbottoms Cover – $26/each
• 1 Rumparooz – Bought Used, $10
  Total Cost: ~ $150 CDN

Cloth Diaper Accessories

Let’s not forget about the other things you need to cloth diaper – because I’ll be traveling while doing this adventure, things are a little different than home, but still the same. 

• Cloth Wipes (because let’s not be silly and waste money on disposable wipes) (I used flannel I had, $5/metre)
• Bottle for Water to wet said wipes. (Dollar store $1.25)
• Diaper Fasteners: Snappi’s, Pins and/or Boingo’s (Snappi, $4.45)
  • Snappi’s 
  • Boingos
• Large Hanging Wetbag (we will be traveling and I feel this will work best for our situation) (Hanging wet bag = $32.95)
• Small Travel Wetbag (this is a DIY project, and for my purse/diaper bag)
• Fleece Liners (to help with poop and wetness sensitivity) (again scraps from my sewing room, but you could use a cheap fleece blanket from Walmart)

On a budget: $4.45 (Snappi’s) + $5 (DIY Flannel Wipes) + FREE (Peri bottle from the hospital) + FREE (Random Bucket/Pail for dirty storage at home) + FREE (use plastic grocery bags for dirty’s on the go) + $5 (DIY Fleece liners ) = $20 in Others

My total cost: $220 CDN

But what about washing diapers. I’m gonna stick to washing by hand in the sink or the tub. Since we are traveling this week, it’s not practical for me to fly with a plunger and a bucket. Lets hope it works. 

On a Budget: Tips

Needless to say, my stash isn’t the picture perfect budget friendly stash. But I hope it points in some directions for quality made products. Even with the higher end products, it still works out to easily under $300. That it is much cheaper than the often quoted $1500-2000 it takes to a diaper a child into toddlerhood.

Here’s a Canadian Budget break down of buying most things new and using quality products that I would recommend…

 

That’s All

That’s my flat diaper stash for this week of fun & hand washing. Can’t wait to touch base with what worked best and how our journey was. Don’t forget you can follow our adventures on instagram!

What’s in your stash? Do you have any flat diaper in your rotation?