I used cloth diapers with both of my boys and am very glad that I did.
Yes, it uses energy to wash cloth diapers, but the research shows that it uses LESS energy to wash cloth diapers than it does to manufacture and deliver disposable diapers to the store, not to mention the costs of your gas to get there.
Why I love cloth?
1. There is nothing cuter than a baby in a cotton cloth diaper with some cute little print on it, as opposed to sitting in a paper or plastic diaper.
2. Some studies are sketchy about the safety of the absorbent gel used in modern day disposable diapers.
3. Some studies suggest that the plastic and gels used in disposable diapers heat a boys testicles too high and may contribute to fertility issues when the child is older.
4. Cloth diapered babies are easier to potty train because they know what it feels like to be wet.
5. I think that they would be more comfortable, I mean imagine how it feels for you to be in a soft pair of new cotton underwear, as opposed to a big maxi pad!
The laundry is not that bad, especially if you breastfeed your baby. The BM's of breastfed babies do not smell as bad as formula fed babies and is easier to clean up, making the first few months of cleaning much easier. In the beginning, you may be doing an extra load of laundry every two days, depending upon how many diapers you have. When they get older and go less, it will be fewer.
We bought most of our diapers online on ebay, which helped saved a ton! We also got some from friends whose older kids had outgrown their cloth diapers.
Yes, there are those wonderful all in one diapers, I have a few, but they are pretty expensive. If you really want to do it cheap, you can start with some good prefolds (the flat diapers). They don't need to be pinned anymore, you can buy diaper covers that you just fold a prefold into, snap it up and go.
I would make sure that you get good covers, they make all the difference when it comes to leakage and different sized and shaped babies do better with different covers.
If you or someone you know knits, you can some wonderful wool soakers made. Wool soakers are absolutely wonderful for cloth diapering as the wool is breathable (good for baby skin), yet can absorb over 300 times its weight in liquid, this means dry nights.
I could go on, but am tired. If you decide to use cloth or are interested in hearing more, or have specific questions, you can email me.