Diaper dealing

Today's Gueest Blog entry comes to us from Lorena B. a freelance writer and designer, raising a couple of busy kids and blogging about it all at in Sublurbia, Florida.

Psst ... need some diapers diapers? I've got a case of pull-on style, soft and unbleached, whaddya need, whaddya need?

Actually ... I don't need diapers anymore. With one kid in grade school and the youngest toilet-trained, all I have left are a few pretty cloth diapers and some bags of disposable diapers (handy during hurricane season). But even those are going away, passed on to a friend adopting the cutest little boy. But diapers can get rather expensive, and finding a bargain diaper (when a bargain diaper will do) turned into a bit of a routine for me.

I found out early on that a cute little basket and diaper stacker were just that. Cute. To really stockpile diaper bargains, I needed to dedicate part of a cabinet or closet, marking each bag clearly to keep the sizes I was ready for handy. Ready-to-use diapers were kept near the front door - either to go to school or into the baby's room. "Not quite yet" diapers were kept on the top shelf of the closet and rotated down when needed. Outgrown sizes were kept in paper grocery sacks, marked by size and ready to hand off to friends, family, or sent out for donation.

Signing up for coupons and samples - I signed up for all of the diaper and coupon sites I could find. These were often good for coupons and free sample packs that were easy stash in the car for emergencies. I learned to put my due date a bit before my actual due date as my kids were a bit on the larger side and tended to be out of the size sample very quickly.

Using double and triple coupon days - Depending on the diaper package and coupon amount, these could knock off two or three cents per diaper.

Reward cards - ($X dollars off of $Y purchase) Walgreens, CVS or other stores with "reward cards" often have these promotions or print-out coupons. When mixed with clearance-marked diapers, you save even more.

Clearance-marked diapers - Open packages or discontinued sizes and brands get marked down at a number of grocery and drug stores. I live in an area populated with a large retiree population, so hitting a different local grocery store every week during and after pregnancy allowed me to stock my diaper closet with a lot of half-priced diapers in anticipation of my future needs.

Discount stores - I was very close to a couple of Big Lots stores back in the day. They often had national-brand diapers at a significant discount, and I'd stock up for myself or family. Cell phones made it easier to call around and see if anyone needed a stash of XYZ diaper in A, B, or C sizes.

Buying in bulk or on subscription - A number of online services will ship diapers in bulk if you've got a brand, size, and style you're comfortable with. I used Amazon's Subscribe-and-Save option to order dye-free, bleach-free, perfume-free diapers when it turned out my kids were pretty sensitive to all of that stuff. I was able to use the ordering function to have disposable diapers on hand when I needed them (long trips without washing machines, hurricane-caused week-long power outages) and to stop them when I didn't. At times sites have stock-up sales as well, entitling you to future discounts or rebates.

Swapping diapers - This one can work any number of ways: you've got too many baby diapers and your friend has too many size fours from her last kid, so you trade. Another might be for other goods: As I got my start on cloth diapers, another mom was transitioning off, so I traded some medium-sized paper diapers for some nice wipes, a wet bag, and some nice pocket diapers.

If you can keep yourself organized, are willing to buy ahead, and even keep a running list of diapers and their cost-per-diaper at your usual haunts, buying odd lots and big lots of diapers can save you a lot over picking up a bag at the grocery store every week. Trading prices and diapers among friends and family can save more - or simply save your not-fitting-anymores for donation to local shelters or diaper drives.