Now I can check one more thing off of the 100 Things You Can do to Save the Earth post I wrote last month. I started using reusable baby wipes to go along with the cloth diapers.A Google search on homemade baby wipes will return lots of results and lots of recipes, so take your pick. Mine is 2 cups of distilled water (I used distilled because we have water with a lot of mineral deposits which might clog the spray bottle), 2 tablespoons of Dr. Bronner's Baby Mild Liquid castile soap, a few drops of lavender essential oil, a few drops of tea tree oil, and a punctured vitamin E capsule. Shaken, not stirred.
This goes into a spray bottle which is used to moisten the cloth before wiping. Mind you, this spray bottle is a bit of an overkill but it was one we had around the house for gardening (but hadn't actually used...no fertilizers in it!).For the wipes part, I used a few flannel receiving blankets, cut into smaller pieces of course. Since most mothers are often drowning in receiving blankets after their baby showers, this is a great way to reuse them. They're always too small anyway for swaddling, and what the heck else do you do with them?
I got 16 wipes out of one blanket. To get them pretty even, just keep folding the blanket in half and then cutting. It makes the wipes rectangle sized, just like the disposable ones. The flannel is nice because the edges don't unravel like other fabrics when washed. And do you think I'd actually be here seaming the edges of 48 baby wipes? Well, my friends who read my blog know that I probably would be doing that...so Martha of me...but alas, my sewing machine is stuffed in the back of one of our closets behind baby stuff.
I keep a stack of folded ones next to the changing table. If you're cloth-diapering, just launder them with the diapers. If not, store the used wipes in a little trash can with a lid and wash them once a week or so. You can find cloth diaper laundering instructions here.
Check out Green Baby Guide for more Thrifty Green Thursday tips.
Good idea with the vitamin E capsule!
ReplyDeleteI used this recipe for Jojo, but Deeds has sensitive skin so I haven't tried it yet. Usually I just give him a shower if he poops his diaper.
EC update: today he pooped in the potty 2 times, in his diaper zero times, and pee'd in the potty once after keeping a dry diaper for 4 hours! Holy Moly!!!
Nick even took him to the store with no diaper on!
wow this is a great idea. i am sure the cost savings is awesome too. we are still on the path to switching to cloth diapers hopefully with number two. still working on my husband.
ReplyDeleteI made my cloth wipes out of my husband's old t-shirts. I don't put anything in our squirt bottle except water, and it always worked just fine. (I liked using a squirt bottle because it made it easier to thoroughly wet the wipe.)
ReplyDeleteI estimated that I saved at least a couple hundred dollars by using cloth wipes!
Thanks for joining us for Thrifty Green Thursday!
This is an excellent idea! Finally, I can use all those receiving blankets for something!
ReplyDeleteI love how you arranged the wipes and diapers so neatly--you're the Martha Stewart of cloth diapering! Thanks so much for sharing your fabulous Thrifty Green ideas with us this Thursday.
ReplyDeleteHow did I know that you were going to say that you stitched the edges?
ReplyDeleteYou're right though, it does prevent them from raveling and leaving itsy bitsy strings all over creation.
The other day I grabbed a recipe card and saw on the back that I had scribbled a shopping list. Diapers and Wipes, est. cost $27, weekly. Of course, he crapped a lot and the money is only part of the story.
I love it when I can re-use something or even better, find a use for something that had no use before!
We use cloth wipes but just water. Great idea.. I'm gonna have to look into this more.
ReplyDeleteDisposable baby wipes are also reusable.Just throw them in with the cloth diapers when you wash them and they come out good as new.I am on the same 2 packs from when my babe was born 14 months ago. The costco brand works best but you have to buy a giant box and split them with a friend.
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