Back to School with Cloth Diapers

Are you a busy parent?  Do you send your kids to day care in cloth diapers? Have an older child heading back to school and a younger child in cloth diapers? Many parents avoid cloth diapers thinking that it's going to be a ton of extra work, but it's just not true.  If WE can do it, ANYONE can!

Save time in your daily routine with these helpful tips. Whether your cloth diapered babe is home with you or at day care, you can use our time saving tips below and be sure to comment with any time savers you've discovered along the way.

For those doing cloth diapers at home:

• If you're looking to save time over money, buy some AIO (All in One) diapers or fitteds and wool.  AIOs and fitteds go on in one piece, so there's no stuffing or set up involved.  Wool covers, which go over fitteds to make them waterproof are actually easier to prep than you'd think.  One lanolizing session every 2 weeks or so, and you're good to go.  Plus, the longies and basewoolies double as adorable pants perfect for Fall!
• Invest in a few extra diapers.  Expanding your stash will benefit you in a few ways.  You can stretch out the amount of time between laundry days if you have more diapers to change.  You'll also be decreasing the wear and tear on your diapers by washing them less frequently, which will help them last longer and get you a better resale value when you're finished with them (or make for a nicer quality donation).
• Get a diaper sprayer and a Spray Pal splatter shield.  This dynamic duo is a definite time saver.  Whether you spray them as they come or save the dirties for the end of the day, using a sprayer on the highest pressure to quickly blast those diapers clean without worrying about messy over-spray is a life saver for us.

For those sending cloth diapers to day care:

• Send enough diapers.  Calculate how many to send based on a diaper change every 2 hours and at least one extra, just in case.  They may not need them all, but it's better to have more than enough ready.
• Keep the communication open and send what they like.  Ask your provider what style of diaper they are most comfortable with.  Many prefer pre-stuffed pockets or AIOs so that they don't have to do any prep, and Velcro/aplix/hook and loop closure.  It's honestly no different than putting on a disposable other than they will toss the dirty diaper into a wetbag to be washed rather than the trash can to sit in a landfill. ;)
• Send two wetbags.  One for the clean diapers and one for the dirties.  Maybe sure they are clearly differentiated, maybe a nice blue or green color for the clean and a red or brown for the dirty diapers?
• Consider a third wetbag specifically for poopy diapers.   You will have to take care of those after you bring them home.  Might as well have them separated out so that you don't have to dig through the other diapers to get to the hidden treasure, so to speak.  This step will save you time at home!
• Invest in a sprayer and Spray Pal splatter shield.   If you are trying to get the poop out of cloth diapers that have been sitting in a wetbag all day, you will make your life a lot easier by clipping them into a Spray Pal and spraying them at full blast with the sprayer. No more spending time hunched over trying to carefully pulse that stuck-on stuff.  Just spray, squeeze the excess water, unclip in wetbag, repeat, then get on with your day!
• Be sure to show them your appreciation.  Not all day care providers are open to the idea of modern cloth diapers (mostly because they probably don't realize how easy they are). If your day care is willing to work with you to do cloth, be sure to be overly thankful!  After all, they are helping #makeclothmainstream. :)
  
  If you have any of your own tips for successfully using cloth diapers at day care, please share them in the comments below!