My Travel Cloth Diaper Stash – When I travel somewhere with a Washing Machine.

Travelling with cloth diapers is totally easy, and it’s totally worth it.

Over the years, I have taken several different approaches to diapering while on the go, but this travel diaper strategy is my favourite. For the most part, this is what I pack when I travel with cloth diapers, and mostly when I am taking a road trip with toddlers (or flying somewhere with a washing machine).

Take what you have. If you don’t have stash variety this post isn’t for you. This is what I choose to take traveling because it’s easy to clean, easy to use, and takes up less room. this is a great starter stash of cloth diapers.

this post is not sponsored. It does contain affiliate links. 

Benefits to Cloth Diapering on a Trip

There is nothing worse than the shame of filling up someone’s garbage can with disposable diapers.  

Maybe, that’s just a personal emotional experience?

For me, the biggest benefit to cloth diaper while travelling is to reduce our environmental impact. This is one of the primary reasons I cloth diaper and continues to be the drive for me to bring my cloth diapers wherever I go.

I typically stay at my mom’s house. She lives in a community where garbage pick up is every other week. With two kids in diapers, the waste easily adds up and the garbage can is often full from a short visit. Therefore, I like to bring cloth diapers with us so we can save the garbage for the important things. They have a wicked awesome recycling and composting program that runs weekly meaning the garbage they put out is just diapers. 

Other benefits.

• Perfect Fit regardless of growth spurts and sizing.
• Fewer blowouts and disasters.
• No stinky baby.
• The fewer risk for persistent rashes.
• Easier on the pocketbook (money mama).

Diaper Strategy

First, it’s not all or nothing.

Cloth diapering isn’t about being the best holistic, natural and crunchy mom on the planet. It’s about making a difference in your life no matter how big or small.

I use both disposable diapers and cloth diapers when travelling.

Why?

There are times where disposable diapers are just easier. There are times when laundry gets put on the back burner. There are times when disposable diapers are lighter and more convenient. There are times when it just is.

I primarily use disposable diapers for night time because then I don’t have to worry about packing my night time cloth diaper systems with me and can worry less about waking up in a wet bed. I also use them for laundry day.

I mostly rely on disposable diaper inserts like Grovia and/or Flip, or maybe even Charlie Banana. 

My Travel Stash

I choose to bring a small, regular sized stash of cloth diaper inserts and covers for the trip. This takes up less room than a stash of AIO cloth diapers or even pocket cloth diapers. Realistically, my travel stash represents my ideal cloth diaper stash. In past trips, I have brought flat cloth diapers instead of Bummis Prefolds. I don’t pack flats anymore because I prefer prefold cloth diapers; however, a stash of flats is even easier to launder, manage and make work while travelling light.

24 Bummis Prefold Cloth Diapers.

• You already know Bummis Prefold cloth diapers are my favourite. They are easy to launder, fold, and function on a trip.

8 Cloth Diaper Covers. 

• I could work with 6, but I pack 8 because life happens.

Disposable Wipes.

• My routine is out of whack when I travel and disposable wipes is my moment of #justbreathe.

1 Wet Bag.

• The above all fit in one Planet Wise Hanging Wet Bag. I pack more but I use them for other purposes.

1 Package of Disposable Diapers or Disposable Inserts. 

• For whatever purpose you want to use them for – I use them for nights, hikes, and some travel moments.

2 Swim Diapers. 

• That time I packed only one, she pooped before we hit the pool.

During & After.

That’s it.

I take just the basics, I swap out inserts and I do laundry every 2-3 days. You could use any natural fibre insert you want from prefold to flat cloth diapers. I find this reduces the number of diapers I need.

This system is also a little more forgiving if you mess up a wash routine. Flat cloth diapers are definitely more forgiving to failed wash routines. I have flown with flats before. 

What about washing?

I do the same thing I do at my house at my mom’s house. I find a short cycle and then a long cycle. I use a little, in the rinse and more in the big wash.

Do I mess it up? Sure. All the time. Her front loader and soft water mixed with liquid detergent is just all sorts of fun. But, it’s just laundry. And it’s always an easy fix. Usually, it means an extra rinse cycle to churn out the overzealous amount of detergent I used. Sometimes, if I fail bad, when I get home, I do a few hot rinses, and things return to normal.

Staring down a new machine is intimidating. 

 

But you got this, just keep it simple, and remember it’s easy to fix. The goal is to get diapers clean. If you can wash a load of towels, you can wash a load of diapers. Turn on that problem-solving brain of yours and you got this mama.

How do you travel with cloth diapers?