Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Works for Me Wednesday

What works for me? Homemade baby wipes! That's what works for me. I think about them everytime that Bounty Paper towels are on sale for $1 and there are coupons out to knock them down to .50. I think about them then, because that's when I stock up on paper towels. In general, I don't really use paper towels for anything but making baby wipes. We use rags and dishcloths to clean up spills from the table and around the house.

Homemade baby wipes are SO easy to make and they really save a ton of money that we use to pay on baby wipes! At the store a plastic tub of 80 or so wipes will cost you anywhere from $2.50 - $3.00 depending on what brand you buy. Making my own wipes, cost me about .75 for 1&1/2 tubs!

Here's how we make our own wipes:

Boil two cups of water in the teakettle, then let the water cool to room temperature.

While the water is boiling & cooling, take one roll of paper towels and tear off each sheet. Stack them as you tear.

Fold wipes in half lengthwise, and then fold up one side so that the wipes will fit in the tub, but don't place them in the tub yet. (We kept some of the old plastic tubs we use to buy and from some wipes that I got for free to use. But you could just fold them in half and store them in an airtight ziplock bag also)

When the water is cooled, mix in 2 tbsp of baby wash & 1 tbsp of baby oil, stir thoroughly to mix it all.

Pour the mixture in the tub and place in stack of folded paper towels. The mixture will absorb up about halfway through the paper towels.

After about 5 minutes or so, take out stack of paper towels and flip them over so that the other half of the stack can absorb the rest of the water and voila! You're done!

We started doing this in March and I was able to stock up on a ton of Johnsons&Johnson's for VERY cheap, so we'll be able to make REALLY cheap wipies for a long time. And they work so well! I like them better than store bought because the Bounty paper towel is bigger, stronger, so you use less!

Works for me!

Check out more things that work over at Works for Me Wednesdays at WeAreThatFamily.com

7 comments:

  1. Nice idea!

    You can also do cloth wipes (cheap terry washcloths at WalMart). Goes well with cloth diapers....

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  2. i've been skeptical of this since i heard about bad skin reactions. your babe hasn't experienced that?

    i keep a spray bottle of water and bar of olive oil soap for use with cloth wipes, but for really dirty changes, we're still using regular store brand wipes...

    (we stopped using paper towels too--and it was such an easier adjustment than i would have thought!)

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  3. We've not had ANY problems with the homemade wipes and skin reactions! We use Bounty Basic or Extra Soft (mostly Extra Soft, as it was on sale as well) and Johnsons&Johnsons Baby Wash & Baby Oil. I so admire those who can do cloth diapers!

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  4. We stopped using paper towells and napkins. I just made some cloth baby wipes a few days ago, and although they aren't my favorite, I think they do the trick fabulously. Thanks for the idea, though!

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  5. I made some wipes recently and put them in a round upright container. Although they work well, getting them out is a challenge. Maybe I need to widen the opening.

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  6. That would be my one complaint, they don't fit through the opening as well, I think because they are so thick & big - so I can't really complain! I just open the top and take it out!

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