When I shared back in November about my plans to cloth diaper two babies, my plan was washing every other day with about 26-30 diapers per load. That’s what I did the first week of clothing diapering two and it was way too many diapers {prefolds/inserts/covers/pockets} in my washing machine! I really didn’t want to have to wash diapers every single day so I decided to split the wash.

Here’s a glimpse into my dirty diaper storage system and my diaper washing routine.

Diaper Storage System: 

Once a diaper is used, I bring it to the bathroom where my diaper pail and hanging wet bag are. I pull the prefold/insert out of the cover/pocket diaper.

The prefold/insert goes into the diaper pail. This has a lid that does a fabulous job keeping in odors! As long as it’s closed, you can’t smell anything.

The cover/pocket diaper goes into the hanging wet bag which is hanging on the door. I make sure that they’re folded up so no poo/dampness gets on the bag so I can use the bag multiple times without washing it. I keep the bag unzipped most of the time and there are no major odor issues. If we have company coming, I’ll zip it up, just in case!

Diaper Washing Routine:

I take the hanging wet bag full of covers and pocket diapers and do a cold rinse without detergent. Weston is exclusively breast fed and I don’t rinse his dirty diapers before putting them in the bag so this is to rinse all of that off. I also think this step helps cut down on diaper stains!

After the rinse, I put in 1 scoop of detergent {we’re currently using Charlie’s Soap} and wash on hot.

Once they’ve been washed, I hang them on my hanging drying rack in our guest room. {There were 23  covers/pockets in this particular load.} The drying rack is over our heat vent which is helping them dry faster! They usually take about 6 hours to dry.

After I’ve hung the covers/pockets, it’s time to wash the prefolds/inserts.

I empty the diaper pail into the wash and do a cold rinse. A rinse in this load helps cut down on odors and prevent staining on the prefolds.

When the rinse cycle is over, I put in 2 scoops of detergent and wash on hot.

I follow this hot wash with another hot wash to make sure there’s no detergent residue {which causes buildup resulting in stinky diapers!}

Once they’re washed, I dry them in the dryer. {I know, it’s not very eco-friendly but it’s too cold to hang them on the line and they take a good 12-18 hours to dry and we’re often down to the wire on diapers at this point in the wash routine!}

When the inserts and prefolds are dry, I bring them into the guest room to await folding and stuffing!

Folding and stuffing diapers is actually one of my favorite chores. I know it sounds crazy but I love filling up my clothes basket with a rainbow of colorful clean diapers!

That’s my current wash routine. It evolved over the past 21 months of cloth diapering due to factors such as water hardness at our past two homes and adding a new baby to the mix but it’s what is working for us right now. Once the weather warms up, we’ll be doing most of the drying on the clothesline. And, I’m sure in 6 months, it’ll be different {especially if Paxton is potty trained!}

It seems like it’s a lot of work but honestly, after nearly 2 years of washing diapers, it’s not a hard chore. I love that we’re saving so much money, don’t have stinky trash and that my boys’ bottoms are comfy in cloth!

If you cloth diaper, I’d love to hear about your wash routine! 

{Note: I am a Sweetbottoms Baby Affiliate}

I found out I was expecting baby number two when Paxton was 12.5 months old and I knew I’d be cloth diapering two babies. I spent several months thinking about diapers and trying to figure out how many I would need, how often should I wash and on and on!

One of the big questions was whether or not to invest in a stash of newborn diapers. Paxton was 8 pounds 8 ounces at birth and was in our one-size cloth diapers within a month {and probably could have been in them a few weeks earlier, this first time mama was just intimidated!} I figured our new baby would weigh about the same as his big brother and newborn diapers would be a waste.

Weston arrived 9 days early, weighing 6 pounds 14 ounces! He was teeny tiny {at least to a mama whose first baby was 8 pounds 8 ounces!} While in the hospital, I began thinking about cloth diapers and how many weeks it probably would be before Weston could fit into our diapers. I was ready to order some newborn diapers then and there! My wise husband asked me to wait and ask one of my friends if I could borrow her newborn pre-folds and covers to see if I liked them before investing in our own stash.

When Weston was 11 days old, I started cloth diapering with the borrowed pre-folds and covers as well as a few of her different brands of one-size diapers. After seeing how bulky they were, I decided to try a bumGenius 4.0 with the newborn insert on Weston and it fit the best! I was so excited since our diaper stash is almost exclusively bumGenius pockets with a few Econobum pre-folds/covers for Paxton.

At Weston’s 2 week check up, he was up from 6 pounds 14 ounces to 8 pounds 3 ounces {which is an amazing weight gain for a breastfed baby!} So, he was right around 8 pounds when the bumGenius One-Size diaper started fitting.

The bumGenius 4.0 fits wonderfully! In fact, snapped on the smallest setting and with the newborn insert it actually fits a little trimmer than our bumGenius Small All-in-One!

These diapers are quite a bit bulkier than newborn disposables but I’ve not had any blowouts in them which actually is saving on laundry since I don’t have to change Weston’s clothes 3 or 4 times a day! At 4 weeks, I’m still able to snap newborn bodysuits and sleepers up with the cloth diapers on him, even with the regular insert in {he’s getting to be a heavier wetter and the newborn insert isn’t cutting it!}

Newborn diapers are precious but think long and hard before investing in them! Pre-folds and covers are very bulky and some of the trimmer fitting ones will probably be quickly outgrown! We saved a ton of money by not purchasing newborn diapers since these bumGenius diapers will fit until he’s potty trained!

{Note: I am a Sweetbottoms Baby Affiliate}