Tuesday's Tip

Homemade Diaper Wipes

I am sure many of you have heard and seen about folks using homemade wipes.  I had also, thought it was a great idea and that's about as far as it went, it was just too easy to buy them, or was it?

Buying them meant either remembering them on my list all the time, or risk running out and then having to grab a harsh napkin and hoping it held together during clean up.  Many times over the last 2 years I would have to waste the time and gas to run to the store just for diaper wipes. 

We are now out of the diapers but just starting the potty training and as common, we are doing #1 really good, but #2 is lagging behind.  We still have the need for wipes.

I thought about my options, thought about budget and thought about my time invested.  I have seen them sewn, I have seen folks use the baby wash clothes and even paper  towels.

In an effort to be most cost and time effective I went with a polyester blend baby blanket from the dollar store.  It cut easily without the fraying and unraveling that other fabrics tend to do, I was able to get 22 good sized wipes out of one blanket as opposed to 4 small baby wash clothes for the same price.  Already having several wipe boxes around waiting for use, I now had my wipes and container.

After cutting and laying my wipes in the box I then mixed just a few drops of hypoallergenic baby soap with warm water and poured to moisten the wipes without having them be drenched.  Placed a box on the back of each toilet and one in the kitchen.

But..................did I really want a bunch of nasty wipes tossed in the laundry bin until it was full enough for a load?  Not so much.  So what to do?

Head to Wal-mart or a local bakery and ask if they have any of the big frosting buckets they get you can have.  These are great for so many uses as you will see in later posts, but for this one I used it as a holding and washing bucket.


Wash if the store has already not done so, then get a plunger (mine was 1.98 at Wal-mart, I looked at the dollar store and it was just too flimsy) center the handle in the middle of the bucket lid, trace then cut out with sharp knife.  I also make my own laundry soap, so I put 1/2 cup of soap and filled with about 1 1/2 gallons of warm water to mix it up good.  Then placed in the bathroom next to the toilets.  When done with the wipe, place in the bucket and give a good couple of plunges (if you can't get your little one to love doing it, mine think it's the coolest thing to plung).  I was at first concerned with the smell, but if any of you make your own soap with the Fels Naptha then you know it already has that wonderful citrus scent to it.  It seems with each plung it you release more of the soap smell.

We are on day three of filling the bucket with wipes (and also the occasional underpants when we don't make it to the potty) and still the only scent is the soap.  I don't think I would go more than 3 days though because with 2 little ones our bucket is filling with wipes and panties.   Last night I went in and plunged for a few minutes, cracked the lid just a bit and dumped the water and soap down the toilet, using the bathtub I rinsed the items out and realized they were every bit as clean as if they had gone through the washer, so a better rinse to get all the soap out and once again thought of something to re-purpose.  That wonderful baby gate - just lay over the tub sides and lay out your wipes and panties to drip dry.  Of course with no fabric rinse they dry a little on the stiff side so all I did then was toss them in a dryer for a minute on fluff with a homemade laundry sheet and done.

The ones in the kitchen make for nice little wipe ups after eating and even if I have to wipe up a spill.  The baby soap make them gentle on the skin.

Give it a try, lots of money to be saved and less trash in the landfills.

The boys are sleeping right now, but when they wake I will post some pictures for you.