Long Beach Moms Guide: Parenthood, but make it sustainable: Cloth Diapering Part 1

Parenthood, but make it sustainable: Cloth Diapering Part 1
by Nicolette Zangari, M.A
a member of Long Beach Moms since 2021

When my husband and I first planned to start a family, we knew we wanted to try our best to make sustainable choices when it came to raising our children. This has always been a strongly held value for us. Some have even called us “crunchy”—a label I fully embrace.

We limit our energy consumption: hang drying our clothes, only using the AC when absolutely necessary, and turning off lights when we leave the room. We reduce waste by home composting all our food scraps, shopping second-hand when possible, and bringing our own containers to carry home restaurant leftovers.

When it came to having a baby, I wasn’t sure it would be possible to uphold these values in the world of child-rearing. I didn’t have any mom friends who had followed the crunchy path, and I didn’t have a lot of information about what that path could look like.

Spending some quality time with Google opened my eyes to the many online resources available for crunchy moms. Whether your thing is zero-waste or non-toxic baby products, there is an Internet community for you! I learned that there is a huge market for second-hand baby stuff since babies spend so little time using any products designed for each developmental stage. There are even dedicated stores that sell gently used baby items!

My next step was figuring out how to tackle the issue of diapers. I was intrigued by the idea of cloth diapers to reduce waste, but I felt totally overwhelmed. I didn’t know anyone who had used them, and I had so many questions: Which cloth diaper system should I use? Would I be able to keep up with the laundry? Would my spouse be on board with this? Would babysitters/in-laws/parents/daycares be open to cloth diapers?

Again, my pal Google did not disappoint. I came across a ton of extremely helpful resources online. Here are some preliminary steps I took to educate myself:

• To figure out how the different systems worked, I watched a bunch of cloth diaper tutorials on YouTube
• I joined Facebook groups full of helpful moms who know a ton about cloth diapers and parenting in general
• I found some informational websites with helpful FAQs

One of the best pieces of advice I got was not to invest in a large stash of cloth diapers right away. Instead, I was advised to buy one or two of a few different brands and styles or get my hands on a second-hand stash to try them out before spending a bunch of money.

On Facebook marketplace, I scored some gently used diapers from other local parents who very generously answered many of my questions. I also had great success finding diapers at big second-hand consignment sales.

Once I had a good sense of the cloth diapering systems that I thought would work best for us, I took the plunge and invested in several new ones from various brands on Amazon to see what I liked best. We are now two years into our cloth diaper journey and we have used lots of different types of systems for various reasons and for various stages.

I have learned SO much from cloth diapering. I know way more than I ever expected to know about water softness/hardness, laundry routines, the absorbency of different organic fibers, and how different foods affect poop consistency. By leaning on my fellow moms who had been there before, I am able to live my values as I raise my family.

Be sure to watch the blog for more tips on the nitty gritty of cloth diapers coming soon!