So does anyone actually save any money with reusables....

[PootleTheFlump]

...or do they spend any potential savings on more nappies, nicer wraps, fancy wet bags and accessories like I seem to be doing?!! I feel the economic arguement may be losing it's bite in this household!!

Tell me I am not alone!

I got mine second hand then got a subsidy from the council. So didnt cost me much and hav e been used on more than one of my children

Sorry, shouldn't have made the title so provocative! I am more than sure I am saving money (got mine second hand from a kind MNetter) but am now compulsively buying more/coveting wet bags and the like and feel a bit bad!

PS - arguemnet doesn't look right, is it argument??

I'm with you pootle. However where my parents bought me the cot and travel system when preg with DC1, in laws bought £250 starter set of bamboozles birth-to-potty. Didn't like them so sold them (forgot how much for) and bought others, a lot of which were second hand. I used muslins when she was tiny cos she looked ridiculous in the massive nappies. Also got hold of some smaller shaped ones 2nd hand as she grew out of small size. The tots wraps size 1 were rubbish so I swapped my size 2 for ME equivalent with local nappy lady. I bought 12 bumgenius for childcare purposes, helped by council subsidy. DC2 on way and have bought some tiny bumbles/bimbles whatever and smaller wraps. Will be buying motherease to replace size 1 tots wraps. I have had quite an expensive and extensive collection but some were 2nd hand where I saw them and they will have done both my DCs and I also lent my smaller ones to a friend for her baby so she could try them out for free. She used them til her son grew out of them and then bought her own in size 2

I definitely saved on nappies for ds2 as he had a set of preloved one size basic bamboo nappies with 3 airflow wraps.

Unfortunately with dd I have discovered weenotions and the like and have a nappy collection that would honestly do 3 babies full time. I am definitely addicted!

Yes but not a huge amount : when I costed it out it was like 50-100 quid for first child, and 100-200 quid for second child. That saving for the period from birth-age 2.5yo.

I tried to be very thorough in my costings: including stuff like postage, nappies (although many were gifts), Napisan, fabric conditioner, wear and tear on washing machine, etc. It is easy to spend too much on pretty accessories, that's totally true!

I have saved loads I reckon depsite having a slight addiction! 3 children in cloth saves about £3.5K - there is no way I have spent that much lol lol - probably about £700 - bought motherease for ds1 and ds2 wore those plus some huge mistake bambino mios, then some rainbows then som fuzzies - it was ds3 who cost more as had got rid of everything - so he had a wide collected of different nappies but mainly fuzzis throughout as dh likes them.

We have just toilet trained so about to sell them off second hand.

What would be good is to have an account in which I have put all the saved money and then go 'ta-da' look at all my money!!!

The pretty stuff makes it all worthwhile The nice wet bags, the super soft wipes, nice oils, nice sprays, custom covers, soakers and longies ....

I have bought several nappies just because they were very cute and very fluffy

I partly blame you Octo , have just ordered my monkey foots for the nappy wardrobe

Have got into terries over the last couple of days so can see myself coveting some new wraps now! Did pick up 7 nappi nippas from freecycle lat night though, so that helps, doesn't it?

CantSupinate
In your calculations, did you allow for extra bin bags and disposable nappy sacs, as well as disposable wipes (if you use washable wipes) in you savings calulation.

I do find people tend not to think of these but do buy them when working out the costings.

Riven I have a cfew terries and muslins from when we (bro and I) were kids

lol I have saved. I have spent out on pretties over time too, but some of my nappies are on 3rd child now so all is good.

i think even if you buy all brand new, and sell on, the differance is not going to be anywhere near how much 2.5 years in disposables is.

if you buy second hand, you pretty much get back what you spend. (apart from the occasional nappy that gives up the ghost)

the way i justify it to DH is that if i can make a grotty job like nappy changing fun why the hell shouldnt i?

I just got my monkey foot bags & love them!! A new arm to my addiction

I certainly saved money, and I also did NOT tumble dry, just stuck the nappies on radiators in winter and on the line in summer.
I used the "fuzzi bunz" all in one nappies that you inserted pads into, they had lovely little poppers which I could use easily. I had 10 nappies and 12 pads as I recall and just did a small wash each day and it was fine. The liners were pretty cheap and the bucket was £12. I didn't soak them or anything, just put napisan in the wash.

I passed them onto my niece who is using them now for her baby...she is on benefits so she is really pleased not to be shelling out for the throw aways!

We also potty trained pretty early (so I could avoid washing the nappies) so DD was completely out of nappies at 2. She was dry during the day by 18 months (thanks to the nursery being bloody fantastic at toilet training). DD then complained they were too hot at night, so I said "then you have to be grown up and use the toilet all the time" and she said "ok, mummy" and took off her nappy and that was that.

I saved - because I bought them all for £15 when Woolies was closing down and they are now on 2nd child. However, when we go out for the day we use Sainsbury's Basics nappies at £1.99 for 20 so that's not exactly expensive either!

Defo saved - was a sucker for the fluffy pretty ones but was pleasantly pleased with the sell on value when i finally parted with them.

I nappied Dd1 and dd2 (2 years apart) on 3 dozen terries and some rubber pants costing under £30, then I discovered pretty nappies with dd3 and dd4! DD3 potty trained before Christmas and selling off her stash left me in profit and paid for most of Christmas

Yes, if you have 4 DCs and use the same lot for all of them - mind you, some of them were literally rags by the end.

yes, definitely. i have prob spent an awful lot on nappies and accessories in my time, but then I have also sold a lot of them too.

plus they're on their third child lol

Brilliant, looks like I can go on indulging (and maybe get some of those nature babies spotty wraps I have been coveting) without feeling too bad! I have bought nearly all of ours second hand, just a few terries and my wet bags new. I use fleece wipes as well and think Ariela is right - those must make a difference too at £2/pack!

I managed to get from mothercare 20 bumgenius nappies for about £185 - well, if I ever get the 35 quid council cashback through that's what it'll be. The only other outlay has been a sealable bucket (£6 from the local hardware shop), a few quid for a couple of little washbags for out and about and a fiver for some flushable liners that we've hardly used (bf baby so not a lot of point yet) so you don't need to spend loads of accessories. We spent about 20 quid on disposables for the first few weeks but now I am on smp, I am chuffed to bits to not have to buy nappies all the time

I think it'll still save money in the long run...but they are addictive lol. Just bought a bumble bee print one...just because it looked cute haha x

When I started on cloth, I immediately set myself a monthly budget to make sure that what I spent would always be less than a months worth of dispies. I have stuck to it so far but it does mean I have to do without the cute ones a lot of the time.