Convenience of dishwasher vs. disposable diapers

[DevaMajka]

Which do you think would be more of a timesaver and make you day go more smoothly, if you could only choose one- dishwasher or sposie diapers?

(mods- I wasn't sure where to put this, but since it's mostly about what will help me manage my time/household better, I thought here was good. Move if you want :) )

I'm newly pg with our 3rd, and was telling exdp that I'd probably just use sposies instead of buying a nb stash for the new baby (we have OS dipes already). He was all for it, and said it was worth the extra cost to save me time.

BUT I've realized over the last few days that washing dishes takes A LOT more time (and frustration) than washing diapers. We have no dishwasher, obviously. I wash dishes 2 or 3 times every day, and it's generally full loads of dishes (so, I dunno, 20-30 minutes each time? I cook a lot). Even so, there are always dirty dishes on the counter/in the sink. On top of that, ds2 wants to "help" me at least once a day, and that results in water on the counter, on the floor (even though he tries to be careful), his clothes are soaked, and on and on- I find it very frustrating sometimes.

Laundry, otoh, only takes me a few minutes at a time. Even diaper laundry, the most time consuming part is rinsing poopy diapers, which takes perhaps 10 minutes. Ds2 can "help" without making a mess- he helps carry the pail. I'll also be able to wash diapers more easily while baby is in a carrier, than I would be able to wash dishes. And I like cd'ing.

I was thinking that the money we'll save by cd'ing a newborn could get put towards a dishwasher, and that would make a lot more sense as far as saving my time and energy.  Am I thinking right? Does it make sense that a dishwasher is the way to go?

[Arduinna]

I'm voting DW, but that is partly because I think that cloth is much better than disposable diapers, and I don't see disposables as a time saver.

[broodymama]

Dishwasher for me, hands down!  I only have two kids in cloth right now (one potty training), but all of us use dishes.   Plus I don't mind throwing a load of laundry in the wash but I hate washing dishes, and if I get behind on dishes then it's just the seed of destruction for the whole kitchen to slide into chaos.    

[DevaMajka]

That is such a good point. If I'm behind on laundry, I can catch up in a day (I don't stress about folding). And, the piles are hidden and don't really add to the clutter in the house. If I'm behind on dishes (which happens a lot), it seems to follow that we let the counters get cluttered and dirty more, and everything goes downhill. I think seeing nice clean counters is motivating for us both.

[weliveintheforest]

I would get a dishwasher!  If you put it out there that you are looking you might find one for free or super cheap.  Sometimes people who are moving have to abandon stuff like portable dishwashers.

[Juvysen]

no question... I would hate not having a dishwasher.  Washing diapers is like, once every couple days... washing dishes is constant.  Beyond that, your baby won't be in diapers forever, but your dishwasher will last a good 10 years...

[scottishmommy]

Hands down get a dishwasher. I used sposies on dd until she was 14 weeks, and I didn't notice much of a change in work load. But dishes. Ugh. I couldn't keep up without a dishwasher. Plus, dishwashers save water.

[DevaMajka]

This is awesome :) I like cd'ing, so I didn't really want to use sposies, but something has to give. I wanted to make sure that I was thinking right, that a dishwasher would save as much time as I thought!

Its a great point that diapering is only a few years- a dishwasher will come in handy long after pl'ing!

As far as getting one used, there is no way exdp will go for that. lol. We've had a couple disappointing CL purchases. He's much happier buying new :)

[JesKace]

I'd go for the dishwasher!  I think it will save you time multiple times a day, and depending on how you're washing dishes it may save you money on your water bill (if you pay your own).  I think you'll spend less time cloth diapering than you will doing dishes.  If your DH is worried about buying used, I'm sure you could get a new one fairly cheap on sale or something.  You could even check scratch n dent stores (if there are any around you?)  We have a Sears outlet store near us where we got our first dishwasher.  Usually they get items that were slightly damaged during delivery and had to get taken back.  We lucked out and got a great discount on our dishwasher because the drain hose had a kink in it, and we were able to fix it for free by unbending the house...LOL.  We also got a fridge that had a dent on the back corner of it (you'd never see it) a lot cheaper than we would have if we bought new from the store.

[dawncayden]

For sure dishwasher. 

You can look on craigslist for free or cheap dw's. The expensive part is the installation of one. You need someone with plumbing and electrical and carpentry skills.

[DevaMajka]

The scratch and dent models are a good idea- he'd go for those, for sure!

I'm pretty sure our landlord would install it for us- he's good at stuff like that. There's already a spot for a dishwasher under the counter, and holes in the cabinets under the counter for a hose to go to the sink. I'm fairly certain there used to be one there before, so I'm assuming that the installation shouldn't be a big deal.

[MamaBriTo2]

Definitely a dishwasher. Throwing dipes in the wash takes a couple minutes. Washing dishes can take 15-20 minutes x how many loads a day.

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[Backwoods Mama]

I would agree with those voting for a dishwasher.  I would like to add:  please beware of dish soaps (I'm sure you know that major brands contain toxins that fill the air in your home when a dishwasher is running, and they stay there a long time.)  Easy solution:  find a green dish detergent.  They cost a little more but you aren't poisoning your babies, or yourself!

[LaughingHyena]

I would go for a dishwasher too. It's nice beingable to store the dirty dishes out of the way and still have plenty of working space in the kitchen.

I  have to say though I'm not sure how much money is saved using CDs if you're buying small ones. I know it will vary depending on what you buy and how fast your little ones tend to grow. DS only fit in smalls for a few weeks, I suspect if we'd been buying new we'd have better with disposables for that time till he fit the mediums since we already had them from DD we were OK. There are lots of other reasons to CD but if money is the deciding fact I'd do some careful costing.

[TheGirls]

Dishwasher in a heartbeat.  I am cloth diapering twins right now and it is frankly not very much work.  WAY less than how long it would take me to do dishes if I didn't have a dishwasher.  My dishwasher is on the way out and I have to handwash a lot of things because it does a poor job, but it's STILL more convenient than 'sposies.   By a large margin.

[swd12422]

Dishwasher wins, hands down. Cloth dipes are nothing but a couple of extra loads of laundry per week. We do dishes every meal. To make doing the dishes as easy as disposable dipes, you'd have to eat out or get delivery and use paper plates for every meal. That's way more expensive than buying a dishwasher.

[zebra15]

DISHWASHER....

[talia rose]

Dishwasher hands down! Is a lifesaver being a working mom. But then I LOVED using cloth diapers, so that was not negotiable anyway...

[Mulvah]

Thinking long-term, I would definitely go for the dishwasher. 

Also, disposable diapers can be purchased for dirt cheap.  Amazon has a huge promotion that is ending on 3/31 (coupons, subscribe and save, and Amazon Mom) and other retailers (CVS, Walgreens) have great deals from time-to-time.  I like CDing, but I would definitely use sposies for the first month until I made the transition from 2-3 children. 

[just_lily]

I have CD'd while having a dishwasher, and used sposies while my dishwasher was broken (just coincidence, not related) and not having the dishwasher was way more work.  I used flushable liners in my CD's so I was never having to rinse dipes - they all just got dumped right into the washing machine. 

We got our current dishwasher from a resale store - along the same lines as the Habitat for Humanity ReStore, but locally operated.  People donate appliances and building materials and then the proceeds go towards affordable housing.  We were nervous about buying used as well, but the store offered a 30 day return period if it wasn't working.  I imagine Habitat offers something similiar, so it is a little safer than just buying off of someone on Craig's List.  We paid $50.

You also don't need professional installation if you already have a space for a dishwasher.  DH and I just googled instructions, and managed to get ours installed in a couple of hours - with no floods, and no electrocutions.  We are not handy people, just cheap - if we can do it, anyone can.