Basic Diaper Guide

Basic Cloth Diaper Guide: 

All-In-Ones: in these diapers, the cloth and the cover are connected. Some people like to use these because they are simple to use; when changing the diaper you toss the whole thing into the diaper pail and grab a new one- no stuffing or folding required. The downside: they are more expensive, you need more of them and they take twice as long to dry. Example: All-In-One Diaper

Pocket Diapers with insert: these diapers have a pocket where you stuff your insert. I know a lot of people who use and love these diapers, and I even have a few of them myself. The downside: cover and insert must be washed after every use, meaning you need a lot more of them. Slightly more expensive than just covers and inserts. (depending on where you buy) They take a bit more work since you have to stuff them before use and then unstuff them after washing. I've known a lot of people who rave about these diapers, but I personally have found something that is a lot more practical for me. Example: Pocket Diaper

Diaper Cover with insert: these diapers are diverse because you can use any insert you wish with your cover. When changing the diaper, you simply dump the insert into the diaper pail, wipe out the cover and re-use. I will go into more detail later as these are the diapers of my personal choice. The downside: I think I am biased because other than the fact that it is cloth and you can't chuck it I don't have a downside...if you choose a brand you like. Example: Diaper Cover + Insert

Old School Cloth Diapering: initially this is what I thought of when I first thought of cloth diapering. Thank goodness there are other options because I am not a fan of the old way. The basic idea of the old school way is to take a pre-fold cloth diaper, fold it up some funky way and then take safety pins or some other fastening device and pin it to your baby. Then you usually have to have some sort of water-proof cover over top so if your kid leaks you won't get a wet mess everywhere.

There are many other kinds/brands of cloth diapers but these are the basics.