As in the case of children’s diapers, Large and X-Large-size adult diapers tend to go the quickest and are not donated as often as the smaller sizes. And like children’s diapers, there are less per package as the sizes go up. Our partner said they get asked for Large and XL the most, so that is what I went out to purchase with this wonderful donation.

I don’t think I’ll ever get over the sticker-shock of adult-size diapers. We hear a lot about how expensive children’s-size diapers and pull-ups are, but adult-size diaper costs are just insane. Especially when you do the per-diaper cost of the Large and XLarge sizes.

I spent $129.91 and came home with 204 diapers. If you do the math, that’s an average of 64 cents PER diaper. When I break down the separate packages, the per diaper costs ranged from 53 cents to 86 cents. And keep in mind that I can purchase tax-exempt, so my dollars stretch just a little bit further, someone buying the same # of diapers would have paid $137.70, so their average cost would have been more like 68 cents per diaper.

This is a crushing expense for someone who may be living only on Social Security. We need to remember our seniors and adults that require incontinence products for any reason, be it health or disability. Making sure people have what they need to take care of their basic health and hygiene supports their independence, and perhaps more importantly, provides and retains their dignity. Aren’t those things we all want in our future?