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What will I need?

What will you need to buy if you wish to use cloth nappies full time? The following is a just a guide, you can have more or less nappies, as you feel necessary, and you may prefer to buy special boosters, rather than our suggestion of using muslins. The list is based on our own experience and is what we would buy from the modern cloth nappy market if we were buying for the first time now, therefore it is a personal choice, and only a guide for you. I have placed everything in what I consider to be a rough order of priority. The list seems long, but you don't need to buy everything, only the essential items. You will notice we haven't mentioned a changing mat. We did have one for our older children but always covered it with a flat nappy that could be easily washed if an accident occurred while we changed the nappy. So we didn't buy one for our last child, and found we didn't miss it at all, we just laid her on a terry or prefold to change her, whether that was on the floor, on a lap, or out in a public changing room. If on a tight budget, the first three have the highest priority. 

A cloth nappy system looks like this, you will need these components, then read on....

Colour codes. Red is essential, blue is very useful, green is optional, but nice. 

20 Nappies - Essential. Any nappies, shaped or flat. 20 for full time use will allow you to wash about every other day in the early months, and every third day once baby is older. 15 will mean you have to wash every day, a few more than 20 will allow you to miss the odd washing day without worrying too much. For twins or more, you do not need to have double the amount of nappies, as your washing machine will still have a limit to the number it can wash at a time. We had 1 and 1/2 times the normal amount for our twins, and that worked fine, although inevitably, we did have to wash more often. 

4-6 Wraps - Essential. 4 Wraps for shaped nappies, 6 for flat nappies, and up to 9 for snuggle Naps if you wish to use them as an All-in-One system. You may be able to buy less wraps in the largest size, as by then, you get fewer messy covers. 

Storage Bucket - Essential. One or two buckets, depending on how you prefer to store your nappies. One large bucket will allow you to have all the nappies in one place, or two small buckets if you prefer to soak dirty nappies, but dry store just wet nappies. You can also use a large beer brewing bucket, as we did ourselves. April 2002, I have recently seen some 21 litre American trash can style plastic bins in Poundstretcher, for just £1.99. Not as durable as a proper nappy bucket, and it has no handle for carrying, but it has twist on lid, and would hold 2 or even 3 days nappies. Worth a look if you have a Poundstretcher near you, but they may not always be there. 

Baby gear bag - Essential, although not just nappy related. You will need a bag to transport all your baby's gear for at least 18 months, possibly more. Any bag will do, old or new, so long as it has plenty of space for for all the paraphernalia you will suddenly find essential when travelling with a baby.

10-12 Muslins - Essential as far as I am concerned. These are so versatile, we feel all babies should have some, even those in disposables. They make great burp cloths, general baby mop up cloths, good nappies for very tiny babies, and great boosters when folded into a rectangle pad. No need for special branded boosters, these will work with any nappy system. They can also be used as nappies, maybe 2 or 3 together, if you are running short of clean dry nappies.  Make- shift bibs, and hand wipes also two together make a good nappy changing surface (or use terries for this). Added to this they are so incredibly quick to dry. Also, try tying the corners and the centre into knots, and hey presto, a comfort toy for your little one.

2-5 rolls of flushable liners - Not essential. You may not use flushable liners as your baby gets older and has fewer dirty nappies, but they are very useful in the early months to cut down the work when you change the nappy. Poo is just flushed away down the toilet with the liner, and the nappy placed in the bucket for washing.

Washable wipes, 12 or 20. Not essential but even if you use disposable wipes most of the time, you will still find these very useful for face washing etc. 

Tea Tree Oil - Not essential, but very useful if you wish to soak nappies, even occasionally. Also useful for adding to the rinse if you rinse dirty nappies in the machine before placing back in the bucket until washing. See the washing instructions page for more details.

6 or so Prefolds or flat terries - Not essential, especially if you have chosen not to buy muslins.  Useful for cheaply topping up the number of nappies you have to ease the pressure to wash regularly. Also useful for mopping up if you have chosen not to buy muslins.

Few Packs of Eco Friendly disposables - again, not essential, low priority, but check whether you have to take disposables for your time in hospital. You may like to keep a few of these around for times when you really haven't been able to wash nappies (more likely if you have other young children who need your attention too), or for holidays. Some families prefer to use these for going out and about.

2-3 All-In- One nappies - Not essential, the lowest priority on this list, but useful for changing your baby when out and about, or for leaving with a baby sitter occasionally. Higher priority for families wishing to use no disposables at all. Or see the disposables above.

Phew, that seems rather a lot now I read it back. Sadly babies seem to need more equipment than you could possibly imagine, so since you are considering using cloth nappies, aren't you glad about the money you will save over using disposables! Happy nappying.