My start in cloth

Written by Cornelia on the 30 July 2007

I had my first boy 4 years ago and my answer to cloth, had anyone suggested it, which they didn't, would have been "Life's too short to be washing nappies". So I used all my money off coupons and bought every brand of disposables going, dutifully filling my bin.

Just after he was dry in the day at a little over 2 years our council went to fortnightly rubbish collections and I was so relieved I only had the occasional wet nighttime nappy to throw away, as we only have a small wheelie bin (that's another story). So, last year when I was pregnant I started to worry about how we would cope with all those nappies. I started to read up on cloth and googled until I found some on-line advice and a 2 week free trial in my area. I was so very confused about all the different types though! Just after my second boy was born last October the pack arrived. It contained flat nappies, shaped ones and a selection of wraps. Even though my washing machine broke during those 2 weeks (you couldn't make it up!!) I used them all, washing them at my neighbour's and my sister-in-law's houses. And then the fun started! I gradually bought my own and very soon he was fulltime in cloth.

I have been led astray now and discovered the world of pocket nappies. I try to make myself sell something before I buy another one, but... It's meant to be cheaper is it??!! So with 2 small children we still manage on a small wheelie bin that gets emptied just once a fortnight - bring on those cash incentives to start using cloth say I!