Anyone out there use cloth diapers with their kids?  Are they a hassle?  We're thinking of switching.  Diapers are EXPENSIVE!!! 

Any guidance is much appreciated!

I say you let him run free in the backyard. It's warm out now.

I have not used cloth diapers but I have found THE BEST diapers and the cheapest ever at Aldi's, I know, it's Aldi's but they are only $5.99 and I seriously just go there to get diapers because they are better than any of the pampers or other brand name diapers out there.  They hold so much, it's amazing. 

Just remember to rinse before putting in the pail.  Years ago I babysat for my sister and she only used cloth.  All she told me to do was take the dirty ones and ut them in the pail and put the lid back on.  She never mentioned the dunk in the toilet part. Hmmm  she never did ask me to babysit to much after that.

It's true, diaper services are definitely an option.  That said, we are through one week of cloth diapering, and all I can tell you is that I wish we'd have done it sooner. 

We do it all ourselves (meaning we don't use a service), and for convenience we use disposables when we're out and about for a long period of time.  I'm telling you, in my experience, it's just as easy as using disposables (and I'm all for ease).  Here's the breakdown, we use bum genius one size all in one cloth diapers.  I put just a little dreft and a little water (no more than a half inch) in the bottom of a diaper pail to soak the used diapers.  If the diaper is just wet, it goes directly in the pail, if there is a little surprise, then we dump that in the toilet, flush it, and then put the diaper in the pail.  At bedtime, we empty the contents of the pail into the washing machine and do a wash and rinse - then into the dryer.  When we wake up we have clean diapers.  You can launder them every other day, but we don't have enough diapers yet to get through 2 days without cleaning them.

From my research, I've found that many of the diaper services use a lot of chemicals that aren't so easy on baby's skin.  Also, as far as I can tell, having a service only saves you a few loads of laundry.  I know people who use a service and love it.  Our experience has been that we're fine without it.  We are definitely surprised about that.  Even Matt (who thought I was crazy when I first brought this up) has remarked at how easy this is.