Fluff, Four Ways Part 1: Prefolds and Covers

Fluff, Four Ways

Inserts and Covers, All in Ones, All in Twos, Pockets

So you’re entertaining the idea of going the cloth diaper route, but you’re feeling a little overwhelmed with options. We’ve all been there. Let’s talk it out in this mini series: Fluff, Four Ways.

---

affiliate disclaimer: There are affiliate links to Amazon below. If you may a purchase, I will earn a small percent at no extra cost to you. I hope these links save you some time!

Prefolds and Covers - Cheap and Easy

Love it? Pin it for later!

For those whose main goal with cloth diapering is to save some money, prefolds and covers are an excellent fit. Two dozen prefolds and eight covers will have you washing diapers every other night. Grab another dozen prefolds and about half a dozen more covers for a nice three day wash cycle.

Here’s how they work: You can secure the prevold around your baby using a Snappi (who even uses pins anymore?) or padfold the prefold diaper and lay it in the cover. With wet diapers, you just toss the prefold into your wet bag, wipe off the inside of the cover, hang the used cover somewhere to dry, and then grab a dry cover. You can continue to alternate these two covers until one of them gets a soiled diaper. At that point, you just toss the poopy cover in the wet bag and grab a fresh cover.

My favorite thing about prefolds is how long they can be used. We have been using the same two dozen red prefolds for nearly a year and a half because once Little Guy was too big to wrap them around his waist and secure them with a snappi, we just padfolded them and called it a day. It is absolutely worth the investment to get the smaller, dark purple prefolds, though, as there may be a gap between when you can no longer wrap the 14-30lb prefolds around your baby but also your little one isn’t tall enough to need the full length of the larger prefold when padfolded.

Pros:

Love it? Pin it for later!

• cheap

• minimalist

• versatile

• excellent for vacations (super easy to wash in a hotel bathroom!)

Cons:

• Not great for daycare (daycare providers are not allowed to manipulate the diapers other than to open them and put them on your baby, so these aren’t an option)

Shopping List:

• 8-14 wipeable covers

• 24-36 prefolds and/or flats (I love the Green Mountain Diapers prefolds and flats)

• One pack of Snappis

Approximate Cost: starting at $150

Recommendation: 8/10

This system is ideal for when you’re home or just out for a short trip to the store, or going on a long vacation.