Where to Buy

I think that one of the biggest obstacles to using cloth diapers is actually finding and buying them.  You're not going to find cloth diapers in any grocery or big box store, and brick and mortar cloth diaper stores can be hard to find.

If you're new to cloth, I really think that it's worth it to try to find a physical diaper store in your area.  I wish that I had been able to go into an actual store, and see actual diapers, and have a real life person show me how to use them.  It would have made the whole process so much less intimidating.  The best way to find a nearby cloth diaper store is to do a google search for "your city+cloth diaper store", or ask around on a message board- mothering.com and Diaper Swappers both have regional boards that you can check out.  Craigslist is also worth checking out.

I'm going to do a quick plug- the store closest to me is Central Street Farmhouse in Bangor, Maine.  This is a great store!  The ladies that work there are so knowledgeable and kind.  They have a pretty big range of brands- Thirsties, Fuzzibunz, Charlie Banana, and Rumparooz, to name a few.  They also sell baby carriers and if you bring your baby with you, they'll show you how to use them.  They have cloth diapering and baby wearing classes and breastfeeding support groups.

But, Bangor is quite a trek from where we live, so I do most of my diaper shopping online.  My favorite way to buy diapers is used!  You can get amazing deals that way, and you can try out a certain diaper that you're interested in without having to worry about being out a lot of money if you don't like it.  A good strategy is to buy a few used diapers to figure out what you like, then buy brand new.  I buy used diapers at Diaper Swappers and Spot's Corner.  Make sure that you check out a seller's feedback before you buy from her, and it's a good idea to have a Paypal account because that is the only kind of payment that most people accept.

For buying new diapers, my favorite store is Abby's Lane.  Every order gets free shipping, they carry a huge range of brands, and they have the best customer service.  If you follow them on Facebook, they have giveaways and freebies and if you subscribe to their newsletter they will send you a 5% off code that is good for almost everything in the store.  Another site that I like to order from is Jack Be Natural.  They also have free shipping on all orders, and they carry a lot of brands including cheap pocket diapers such as Kawaii and Go Green which Abby's Lane doesn't carry.  Between these two sites, I can almost always find anything diaper related that I need.

I know that it's still really overwhelming, but hopefully a few of these resources will make it a little bit easier.