I cloth diapered all 4 of my children.  My youngest is now only in them at night.  I have used the same on all 4 and they are Bum Genius.  I do not think the flip ones were around 8 years ago.  At least they didn't come up when I did a google search for cloth diapers.  I used and still do use the dry pail method.  I wash every 2-3 days, maybe longer now since he only dirties at most one a day.  If they get smelly I just throw them in with our socks and underware after I do a rinse on them first.

As far as cloth wipes.  I used and still do use them.  I didn't use any special solution.  I just stored them next to the diapers and when I grabbed a diaper I grabbed a few wipes.  I wet them with warm water,  and soap if needed under the faucet.  I use Dr. Bronner soap that I put in a foam pump dispenser and used just a bit of that.  I used a "clean" wet wipe to wipe off the soap and then either air dry or if  I am in a hurry then another one to dry. 

I  bought a bunch of very thin very cheap white wash cloths.  I have a probably 30-40 of them or more.  I still have the ones I used when my twins were born.  When we were looking into cloth diapering the book I borrowed said the get thin cloths because on a newborn and small child it is difficult to get in the creases especially if your baby is a girl.  I'm not sure that baby wash cloths are going to work for a larger baby when they go #2 or #3.  Well, they might work, but you might need to use more.

I have had great success with cloth diapers and very few leaks compared to when we used disosable.  About the only time we used disposables was in the beginning.  After a few months we found out that the twins were "sensitive" to the disposabled and would get a painful rash within a half hour of putting them on.  Traveling with cloth wasn't always convient, but it is doable especiallly if you have a washing machine availabe.

When we no longer use them for wiping butts, I will just use them in the kitchen to wipe up spills on the floor or to clean with.  We don't use paper towels.

I do believe that using cloth diapers decreased the lenght of time it took to potty train my children.  I started EC with the twins when they  were 5 months and my other two from the time they were born. 

Good Luck and if you have any questions, I would be happy to try and answer them.

I forgot to add:  We never used an official "diaper pail".  We just cleaned out a 5 gallon bucket we had around the garage and bought a lid for it at menards or home depot and have used that since my twins were born 8 years ago.   Sorry for the typos in the previous post.  I was proof reading quickly.

I can't really say how many you need.  I originally ordered them before the twins were born.  For them I believe we purchased 12 covers and 24-36 inserts.  If the cover wasn't soiled or smelled we used it until it was.  This was the case most of the time for a newborn, but not so much for an older baby.

I am new to this forum, but I would like to add to this!

I am currently cloth diapering my third boy (I have two in diapers right now, but my 2yr old is potty training)! I actually have tried six different styles of cloth diapers. My newest is Nicki's Best Bottom Diapers... love them! I have used or am currently using bumGenius 3.0's, bumGenius All in one (size xsmall), Fuzzibunz One-size, Snap n Wraps, Nicki's Best Bottom Diapers, and then cotton prefolds with the Litewrap cover, and a Snappi.

I would suggest having at least six covers and 18-24 inserts, depending on how often you want to wash. "They" say that you need as many covers as your baby poos in a 2-3 day time frame. My magic number for covers is 9. I use a dry-pail method and wash every other day. My bucket is also a 5 gallon and I have a pail liner (well, I have 3 and switch them out!). I have a front loader, so my wash routine is really simple. I load my detergent and then I select a pre-wash, hot wash/cold rinse, and then another rinse. If I think they still have an odor, I usually run another hot and cold rinse.

I use Country Save detergent that I get at Good Earth Natural Food Stores. Most cloth diapering sites will tell you not use additives, but I have a found that baking soda in the pre-wash and borax powder in the wash, with a vinegar rinse, takes the stink out. I have not noticed a difference in how my diapers look or have held-up.

I then hang dry any cover that has PUL, and I put the inserts/cotton diapers in the dryer on low heat.

I also use cloth wipes. A flannel wipe works nicely. You can use a disposable wipe for dimensions and then cut them out and serge them. I did this because then I could fold them into a commercial wipes container with a pop-up lid and they come out nicely and fit well. For my wipes solution, I use 1 1/2 c water, 1/4c Cetaphil knock-off from Walmart, and 1/4c baby oil (either the fast-absorbing with the green lid of the lavender scented with the purple lid). This solution is very gentle and works well on my boys bums. They both have very sensitive skin.

For going out and about, I usually pack a larger diaper bag with 4 diapers for each boy and 2 changes of clothing. This gets left in the car. I also pack a smaller diaper bag (think purse size!) to take in the store. In this smaller bag there is 1 diaper for each boy, a quart zip lock bag with about 10 dry flannel wipes and a peri-bottle with my wipes solution, a Planetwise wetbag (love these!), and my wallet. I occasionally have a plastic Walmart style bag in there so I can put a poopy diaper in it and then I put it in the wetbag. This really is not necessary, but I do it anyways because I hate getting poo on the inside of my wetbag. I'm a weirdo...

I am a cloth diapering addict and I love wash day! I love everything about cloth diapers!