I cloth diapered my son from day 1 until he potty trained at about age 3. (stubborn little cuss...) I didn't use prefolds. I think we started using a diaper service for cleaning towards the end, but I don't remember. They probably had prefolds.

I used the diapers as dust rags and just ran out of them. He's 28 now...

Cost was a big concern back then.