Flats & Handwashing Challenge: Day 2

diapers drying last night..

Today is day 2 of the 2nd annual the Flats and Handwashing Challenge hosted by Dirty Diaper Laundry.  The topic of the day is "what does it take?"

I covered my list of supplies yesterday, but today we can talk $$. These are just MY supplies..  it can be less or more expensive to use flat diapers, and I admittedly have WAY more than i need.  I have 26 flats and yesterday I used 10 (including 2 doubled diapers)

Diapers:

•  5 flannel receiving blankets = FREE, baby gifts from my first baby. Not sure how i only have 5 now, I'm sure if i looked, i'd find more. 

• 12 Target flour sack towels: These were purchased 4 for 3.99, they are squares about 30x30"
• 9 Sam's Club flour sack towels:  12 for 12.something at Sam's club - (I gave 3 to a friend) These are rectangles about 36x29", which i thought would be a problem but it turns out to be AMAZING.  They fit my 4 yr old for one, and they can be folded into a large prefold-shaped rectangle that is super easy to get on my wiggly 20 month old.   

 Covers:

• 3 original thirsties medium: purchased used 3-4 years ago for about $7 each
• 2 original thirsties large: purchased used 5 years ago for $7 each
• 2 flip covers: one purchased new for 13.95, one was free while spending $40 at the cotton babies store in St. Louis.
• 1 econobum, one size, 8.95
• 1 weehugger & 1 blueberry coverall (size 2): oops, i don't know how much these were, they were 2nds from the blueberry clearance store - i bought them because they are owl prints
• 1 thirsties duowrap: christmas present..
•  2 grovia shells - purchased for $17 (WITH 2 inserts not used during the challenge) at a silent auction. amazing. 
• 1 homemade fleece cover *free* or a couple dollars worth of fabric i already had.. 
• a few snappis, some diaper pins, and a pair of boingos  $3-5 each, pins being available the cheapest

So, rather than add up what I paid, and give you a worthless number because no one would go out and buy this exact stash, i'm going to give you what i'd tell someone to expect to spend on a similar stash. (which would work on a newborn - toddler) Without finding any 'good deals' on covers and just buying the cheapest one in my stash (econobum)

....   we have... around $75 - though if you cut corners on the covers it could be a LOT less.  That may sound like a lot (or not, if you've purchased a stash of sized pocket diapers)  but compare that to 2-3 years worth of disposable diapers and you have a GREAT deal. 

For washing I've got a 5 gal. bucket-  I'm using a charlie's soap (because i have a 5 gal bucket of it in my laundry room, that ironically cost more than my proposed diaper stash), plus some borax in the soak water and some oxiclean in the wash 'cycle'  .. and a pair of long rubber gloved.  I have a clothes line tied up on my deck for drying, with clothes pins.   This is all stuff I already had around the house.