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Do You Travel With Cloth?

Ok, so here's a confession: I've never brought my cloth diapers on a trip. By a trip, I mean a trip involving a plane. Do I have a good
image of airplane
excuse? I like to think that the fees for  bags that airlines now charge is a good one, or the fact that I usually have to pack for three children in addition to myself. But the truth is, I always feel pretty guilty about not bringing them and I cringe with every disposable I toss in trash cans on our trips. Now in my own defense, I do use cloth whenever we leave the house on local trips and when we go to outdoor music festivals. I bring them to the gym daycare--basically anywhere it won't be a problem to have a wet bag with a couple dirty diapers waiting in it. But I know that there probably many of you who are better persons than me--so dedicated to cloth diapering and being green that you've packed an extra suitcase for them or managed to stuff enough of them into any remaining crevices in an already full suitcase. In fact, I don't doubt there are a few of you who have even brought your cloth diapers on multiple-leg flights, on boats, or on trains! So go ahead and shame me and tell me how you do it.  Here is what I want to know:
  • How many cloth diapers would you pack for a long weekend trip--like from Friday to Monday?
  • How many cloth diapers would you pack for a full week trip?
  • Do you pack cloth wipes?
  • Do you pack your own detergent? How do you pack detergent?? Or do you buy whatever detergent is available where you are going?
  • Do you bring your diapers on the plane?
  • If you do bring your diapers on the plane, how on the world do you fit them into the small and precious space in your diaper bag that also needs to be reserved for snacks, books and toys--especially if you have older siblings to entertain.
Cooper and I will be traveling to visit my parents in December. We'll be traveling with my younger sister and her youngest son, Kevin, who will be about eight months by then. Both of us will be leaving two older siblings and Daddy at home to fend for themselves. Because I will only be packing for Cooper and myself, I promise that I will bring my cloth diapers and that I'll also use them on the plane. And of course, I promise to come back with a little anecdote about our adventure. Now it's your turn to share your experience and give me any tips that will help me travel efficiently with my Thirsties. PS: Here is a link to the Real Diaper Association's Travel Tip Sheet that might come in handy.
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38 comments

  • I take mine when we are traveling, but usually only in the car. We don’t travel by plane much. I pretty much take the entire stash no matter what. If it’s just a weekend trip, I just wash when we get home. For week-long trips, I don’t worry about detergents just that once (or twice, sometimes) that I wash while I’m gone. When we travel by car, it’s easier to just cram an extra two bags in somewhere. I would guess if I was doing plane traveling and wanted to be brave, I would put the diapers in my suitcase that would be checked. I’m a pretty efficient packer, so it would probably work, at least for short trips. I do also do cloth wipes just b/c it’s easier to shove everything together in the wet bags rather than separating and putting in trash, etc.

    Stephanie on
  • Thanks for this post… I don’t know how traveling with cloth will go with our future little one… but I’m curious to try!

    kelsey on
  • we used cloth on the plane, the real one and hybrid’s. both worked well. for a weekend trip i pack about 15 diapers. more than i need, but just in case. or less plus disposable liners. if we leave for longer, i’ll ask friends and family if i can wash at their house, and then keep packing 12-15 diapers, I use their regular detergent. i do not use cloth wipes.

    sus vandil on
  • If I were flying, I wouldn’t take cloth since they take up so much space. If I were driving and had access to a washer/dryer at my destination, I’d probably take about 15 diapers and probably some disposable inserts or liners to help with the lack of a diaper sprayer. I wouldn’t stress over using the occasional pack of sposies, but I’d definitely miss the cuteness of cloth. :-)

    Robin Jones on
  • We don’t usually fly so I’ve never used cloth while traveling but we have taken them on trips! I usually go the hybrid route though using disposable liners! :-)

    Amanda Alvarado on

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