Cloth diapers... when I first thought about using cloth diapers over a year ago, I was kind of grossed out. Seriously, poop and pee in a diaper that I have to rinse out and wash? Ew. But I decided “what the heck?” and bought a few and a wet bag. I waited and they arrived... and I had NO IDEA what I was doing. I didn't know a single person who was cding- NOT A SINGLE PERSON! I had no clue. I didn't know there were Facebook groups for help, b/s/t, chatting- not like I know now. I ended up keeping the wet bag for my then two year old to play with and I continued using sposies- even though my little one was prone to diaper rashes.
My best friend has a little boy, almost 3 months younger than my little one, and she started using cloth diapers and took right to it. It took her almost a year to convince me to try again. How could I not? They're so freaking cute- AND less likely to cause rashes!! But it was so overwhelming... expensive brands, cheap brands, AIO, AI2, pockets, prefolds, covers- it goes on and on!! I started with Alva pockets... then got into the b/s/t groups and bought a few used of other brands, sold some of mine... I've tried fitteds and hybrid fitteds, hated them and gone back. Tried Alva, Sunbaby, Kawaii, Happy Flute, bumGenius, a bunch of WAHMs.
I'm ONLY three ½ months into this adventure, my daughter is 20 months old. Our stash is small compared to most, only 28 diapers- 19 bumGenius, 3 hybrid fitteds, 2 Lotus Bumz and 4 Happy Flutes- BUT it gets us through two days (or more, depending) before cd laundry needs to be done.
Oh, my... CD LAUNDRY. What an ordeal. You read all these things online about cloth diapers- do this, don't do that, to bleach, not to bleach, air dry, dryer dry, cd safe detergent vs. not safe, yada yada. I use Tide Ultra powder- cold prerinse, hot wash with detergent and cold rinse, cold rinse. Then I -gasp- dry in the dryer! It works for me. I also bleach all my diaps once a month or so. And I bleach any used diaps I buy. One of my favorite cd groups on Facebook is The Cloth Diaper Compendium, it's full of extremely useful information and they back it all up. It's been a lifesaver when I've had stink issues.
Anyway, that's my cloth diapering story... I. LOVE. CLOTH. DIAPERING. I'm being green, my little one doesn't have diaper rash issues, they're super cute and comfortable (I'd imagine, anyway!) AND it DOES SAVE MONEY! Regardless of what anyone says, there is a way to cloth diaper on a budget. :)

--Brittany S