Cloth nappy diary – a week in the life of a cloth bum mum
Cloth nappy routine
For Real Nappy Week this year I thought it would be a good idea to take a look at exactly what it takes to be a cloth bum mum. I’ve used cloth nappies on all three of my children and so it is all part of my routine. Using cloth nappies is often perceived as difficult and time consuming, but this really isn’t the case.
My little boy is one, and we have used cloth nappies from birth. We use a mixture of Baba & Boo, Close pop-ins and Tickle Tots in the day, and Bamboozles with a Peenut or Close pop-in wrap at night. What I really wanted to find out was how much time I spent using cloth nappies – is it really as arduous as it is sometimes made out to be?
Cloth nappy week
Saturday
- 6.30am – nappy change – 5 mins
- 8.00am – full nappy bucket, so put on a wash. We do a prewash, then full wash at 40 degrees – 5 mins
- 9.00am – put a basket of dry nappies away – 10 mins
- 9.20am – nappy change, dirty nappy – 5 mins
- 12.30pm – hang clean nappies on the line – 10 mins
- 3.00pm – nappy change – 5 mins
- 7pm – nappy change – 5 mins
Sunday
- 7.30am – nappy change – 5 mins
- 9.30am – nappies in from the line – 5 mins
- 11.50am – nappy change – 5 mins
- 4.30pm – nappy change, dirty nappy – 5 mins
- 7.30pm – nappy change – 5 mins
Monday
- 7.30am – nappy change – 5 mins
- 11.30am – nappy change, dirty nappy – 5 mins
- 3.45pm – nappy change – 5 mins
- 6.45pm – nappy change – 5 mins
Tuesday
- 7.30am – nappy change – 5 mins
- 9.30am – put dry nappies away – 10 mins
- 11.30am – nappy change – 5 mins
- 2.45pm – nappy change, dirty nappy – 5 mins
- 3.30pm – full nappy bucket, put on a wash – 5 mins
- 7.00pm – nappy change – 5 mins
Wednesday
- 7.30am – nappy change – 5 mins
- 9.15am – nappies in the tumble dryer – 5 mins
- 12.15pm – nappy change, dirty nappy – 5 mins
- 4.30pm – nappy change – 5 mins
- 7.00pm – nappy change – 5 mins
Thursday
- 7.00am – nappy change – 5 mins
- 10.30am – put away dry nappies- 10 mins
- 11.15am – nappy change, dirty nappy – 5 mins
- 2.10pm – nappy change – 5 mins
- 6.45pm – nappy change – 5 mins
Friday
- 7.30am – nappy change – 5 mins
- 10.15am – nappies in the wash – 5 mins
- 10.30am – nappy change, dirty nappy – 5 mins
- 2pm – nappy change – 5 mins
- 2.15pm – nappies in the tumble dryer – 5 mins
- 6.45pm – nappy change – 5 mins
How much work are cloth nappies?
Total number of nappies changed: 28
Time spent changing nappies over the week: 2 hours 33 mins
Time spent doing cloth nappy laundry and putting away per week: 1 hour 10 mins
My timings are a guide only, in real life other children often need attention in the middle of putting nappies away, phones ring, and baby’s decide that actually they don’t want a clean nappy back on. But on the whole you are looking at an average of 10 minutes a day in cloth nappy laundry – so quite possible to fit into most parents busy schedules.
The benefits of using cloth nappies are numerous – if you are thinking of giving cloth a go then don’t be put off by the work involved. It really isn’t that arduous, and soon becomes routine- you may even find you enjoy looking at that washing line of nappies drying in the sun, and that quiet ten minutes stuffing nappies!
