Resources & Articles: How Many?

Before calculating how many diapers you will need, you’ll need to consider a few questions. How often do I plan on washing my diapers? How old is my child, and how often does his/her diaper need changed? Do I plan on using only cloth diapers? Which kind of cloth diapers will I want to use?

The average person will want to wash their cloth diapers twice a week. So that is what we’ll consider when calculating how many diapers will be needed. A newborn will need their diaper changed a bit more often then a toddler. So we’ll average 10 changes a day for our calculations. Your newborn will more likely need slightly more, your toddler will need slightly less. Some persons, like myself, use cloth diapers full time. This means at night time, a little extra consideration should be taken when picking out an extra-absorbent night time diaper. There are many types of cloth diapers. It is best if you have a selection of the different kinds to see which works best for you. If you buy all of one kind you may be disappointed. Some will work better for you at night, and some will work better when away from home.

So each person really needs to consider what is best for their family and their circumstances. These are just estimates, but this should offer some basic guidelines.

Approx. 2 dozen cloth wipes
1-2 diaper pails ( I use the diaper champ for the wet diapers, and a small pail for the messy ones.)
Approx. 6 covers
Approx 1-2 wool covers for night time
20 doublers
20-30 cloth diapers (This would include a mixture of All in ones, fitted or only pre-folds)