How is your diaper station set up? Long post with lots of pictures

[Prudence]

I’m posting this crazy long picture thread because when I was new to cloth diapering, I was very curious about how people stored their diapers, how their diaper changing stations were ~set-up~, where they stored diapers for their next child, basic logistic questions.

I’ve cloth diapered one baby through potty-learning and I’m cloth diapering another baby now...I’ve been doing this for three years. The Diaperswapper Moms have taught me so much about how to do this – I’m hoping these pictures and this thread will help YOU. I love cloth diapering and I love the spirit of this website.

Every mother does things differently. This is just how I do it – take what is useful for you and ignore the rest.

My diaper station doesn’t normally look this nice. I cleaned things up for you.


My changing station is in my bathroom. Before I had it in a laundry room. If at all possible, it is handy to have your diaper changing station near a water source.


Here is my stash. I keep them in a wire basket on my changing table. I can take the basket out and take it down to the dryer when I’m unloading the dryer. Having a portable diaper bin or basket makes it easy to do all that pocket stuffing somewhere else (like in front of your computer while searching this site)


My stash is mostly FuzziBunz pockets and bumGenius pockets. Those diapers work for me, they may not work for you. I’ve tried everything – prefolds, fitteds, all-in-ones, pockets. Sometimes we use prefolds, sometimes fitteds are better. Right now it is pockets.

Please note the gender neutral colors. I bought mostly gender neutral colors because even if you have a girl or boy now...you never know what your next child will be. The joke is on me...I have three daughters. I could have bought every pink diaper out there. But I didn’t know that at the time.


I keep the diaper rack and bins of clothes on my diaper changing table. Sometimes you need to change the baby’s outfit when you change their diaper, so I like to have everything close by.


These bins are labeled so my husband and older children know where to put things when they are putting things away. I’m an organization nut.


Top row = onesies, extra diaper inserts, diapers
Bottom row = Baby Legs and socks, pants, prefolds
We use the prefolds as pads on the changing table. In a pinch I use them as diapers.


We use cloth wipes. They are in that bowl in between the sink and the changing table. I can get them wet in the sink. After a particularly messy change, I can wash off the baby’s diaper area with a tidbit of soap and water. I stand in between the sink the changing table when I’m doing this so I can keep a hand on the baby while running the sink.


Cloth for drying baby after washing down below, or for covering to keep from getting peed on.


This is my diaper pail. Cheapo swing-top garbage can from Walmart.


No liner. I just carry the whole pail down to our laundry room and dump it in the washer.


After diapers are in the washer, I rinse out the pail in our shower and it is ready for the next day.


Instructions for how to wash diapers – right on the washer. This is for my husband. He’ll wash the diapers, but he’s not memorizing any diaper-washing-routine. He likes it written out so he can just follow along.

My baby


This is why I have toys hanging above the diaper changing station. Distraction.


My baby can’t roll yet. When she is bigger and wigglier, I’ll change her on the floor like this. I didn’t have a changing station at all for my older daughter so she was always changed on the floor. It works.


This is the bin where I store all my diapers. With my oldest daughter I had this full of newborn, small, medium, and large diapers...waiting for the next baby. Now all that are left are the larges...I’ve sold the smaller sizes on Diaperswappers (Thanks Mamas!)


Inserts, snappis, diapering whatnot


Diaper storing bin, clothing stored for baby to grow into.


Me = Organizational Nut


I bought 85% of my diapers used on this website. But when I occasionally buy new stuff, I keep all the paperwork that goes with it. How to care for the diapers, etc. When I sell my diapers on here again, I pass that info onto the Mom who buys my diapers.


This is especially important for the bigger, more expensive stuff like Ergos and baby carriers. Keep those boxes! You’ll be doing the mother who buys your stuff a favor...she gets the info that goes with the product...and you actually get more money for the baby gear when you re-sell it. People pay more for stuff that has its original packaging.


The light of my life!

Thank you for looking at my pictures and I hope some of this is helpful for you!

Prudence

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ETA: Other Diaperswapping Moms -- Please post your pictures to this thread as well!! It always helps to see how other people are organizing their changing areas.

[todzwife]

HOLY COW! Can you come organize my house please?

I'm seriously jealous.

[melissaNH]

Wow! That's awesome! I can tell you put a lot of thought into your changing station and into putting together this thread - thank you!

[crunchymomof3]

awesome set up .. i am jealous you can get it in your bathroom .. i love it thanks for a great post ..

[harmoni247]

you've inspired me to organize better

[AmyWA]

No kidding - wow that is one organized house! If my life only looked like that once a year I'd be so happy.

[keonli]

[susansabrina]

Really great thread. I love your toy bar. LOL I have a very similar set up but I use a felted wool sweater (the body part only cut in half) for a changing table pad. I just throw it in the wash with the diapers when dirty but it keeps my pad clean/dry when I use pull on style covers.

[SarahLee318]

You rock Mamma!

[8blessings]

awesome pics mama. love, love, love the oganization. I am an organized zealot too but live in utter caos most of the time which is quite depressing for an oc like me, lol.
your post is quite inspiring!