I have been writing a bit about travelling with cloth diapers in the past, but I thought I’d write less about what I bring, and more about how I make it happen.

One of the biggest questions I see is…

How do you even leave the house with cloth diapers?

Honestly, this question confuses because you just do.

Stop over thinking it, and just leave the house.

It’s exactly the same process as going with a disposable diaper, you just pack cloth, and you bring it home with you. You’ll want a wet bag to stick your dirty diaper in, but even that is easy to fudge with a plastic bag or some fancy folding technique.

The idea of bringing home the dirty diaper and carrying it around all day seems to be most troublesome, but honestly, it’s no different than carrying around dirty clothes, or anything else. In a zippered wetbag, it rarely ever stinks, and sometimes I just run it back to the car if it’s easy. Personally, I don’t usually find myself in places with trash cans for disposable diapers, so carrying around my dirty diaper is pretty common and just normal.

Back to the story, this about a few of the life hacks I find make travelling with cloth diapers easier. For reference, I typically tend to road trip with cloth diapers and sometimes I stay in a hotel, sometimes my parent’s house, sometimes camping.

Make a Plan – What type of trip are going on what kind of resources will you have? I plan to bring about 7-8 diapers per day for my kids.
1. Do you want to handwash after a few days?
2. Will you have access to a washing machine?
3. Can you just wash when you get back home?
4. Do you have enough cloth diapers?
5. Do you have the time to wash cloth diapers?
6. Do you have space?
7. Do you have the mental capacity to deal with disposable diapers?
8. Can you afford to bring disposable diapers?
9. What about half and half?
Bring Whatever Diapers You Want, but think about what your options and restraints are.
1. If you’re going to be washing cloth diapers in a hotel room or campsite, you might consider a flat stash like what I used for the Flats & Handwashing Challenge.
2. If you’re going to be flying, then you might consider bringing just the bare minimum and something that takes up less room. For me, this would be my ideal cloth diaper stash.
3. If you’re going to be road tripping, bring whatever you want, like that time I travelled with AIO cloth diapers.
Disposable Liners – I don’t use these at home but when travelling they are totally worth the extra 30 seconds of brain power needed to lay one down in the diaper. Just remember even though they say they are flushable, the only thing that should go down a toilet is human waste and toilet paper, everything else can potentially cause problems to wastewater treatment.
- Do I have a favourite disposable liner? Not yet, but I do dig the Smart Bottoms I bought.
- I do shake whatever poop I can into the toilet (I know a lot of places don’t want you to do that, but I figure if I don’t make a mess, then nobody knows!) and then tuck it into a dog poop bag and throw it in the trash.
Carry Around Dog Poop Bags – this is easy for tossing those flushable liners into the garbage without being rude of other visitors to the washroom facility. Nobody wants to smell your child’s poop until the garbage is taken out.
- It’s also helpful if you don’t have a trash can to put the poop in there and tie it up and then it won’t get squished all over your cloth diapers in the wet bag.
- It’s also helpful if your kid decides to potty train and pop a squat on the side of the road.
Disposable Diapers Inserts – Packing along a few of these to use with your cloth diapers can be a lifesaver. They are great to have on hand if you have a heavy wetter at nights and bringing your night cloth just isnt’ feasible or the best option. They are great to have on hand if you’re going to be somewhere you just don’t want to carry the diapers out and you can still cloth part-time. They are great for when you don’t get to do you laundry on time because too busy having fun.
- I like disposable inserts because I find they are still the same price as eco-friendly disposable diapers and they aren’t size specific.
  - Flip versus GroVia Review.
  - Charlie Banana Disposable Insert Review.
- Disposable diapers work fine too, I typically try to have at least one small package on hand for life’s moments when travelling.
Master your Diaper Change and don’t forget to bring a changing pad if your child likes one. If you roadtrip like me this is helpful because you’re often changing awkwardly in the front seat or on the grass with shoes.
Disposable Wipes or Cloth Wipes – I don’t have a preference. If you’re doing laundry in a machine, then continuing to use cloth wipes is handy and means no additional money spent on wipes or figuring out which ones won’t react to babies bum. Likewise, disposable wipes are pre moistened which is awesome if you’re totally forgetful to have water resources available.
- Learn about the best cloth wipes on the market, and how other cloth wipes compare.
Bring a Pail over a Wet Bag if Roadtripping – If you have space, the diaper pail with a tight lid, like this one, is a better option to bring than a wetbag. Why? Because in my experience the pail allows for more breathing of the cloth diapers and reduces the overall stink without making your vehicle reek.
- However, if you’re flying this isn’t practical and you’ll want to stick with wet bags and the like. This is just one of those nice to have tips for travelling with cloth diapers.
But always have zippered wetbags on hand for when you take day trips and other adventures.
- I really liked the Zipper Wetbag from GroVia. Or if you need more space the wet/dry option from Planet Wise is stellar.
Stop Stressing about the perfect wash routine – If you need to wash your diapers while you’re gone, keep it simple and use your instincts. A few bad washes are easy to fix with a couple of good washes when you get home.
- It’s good to ask around and find out if the water is somewhat soft or hard. I know at my mom’s house the water is soft, so I try to use less detergent otherwise I get some detergent build up. If you know the water is hard, try a little more detergent.
- Do a simple short wash, followed by a long hot wash. Don’t know which cycle is hot and long? Go with whatever the white cycle is. It’s a good first tip.
- But remember, it’s just laundry, and you got this.
- There’s always a super simple Mighty Bubbles wash to set it all back in one wash.