When the story ran in the Canton Repository about how I make my own baby wipes, I received a lot of harassment (the parking garage attendant at work now refers to me as “baby wipes”), but also a lot of questions on how to do it. So here’s the lowdown on making your own baby wipes.
My big secret, which I didn’t share in the paper, is that I don’t always use paper towels for my baby wipes. Instead, I use baby wash cloths. This makes it really cheap. You can find baby wash cloths at the Dollar Tree in packs of 4 for $1. I also once picked up a bag of almost 20 at a garage sale for $1. I will admit that if it’s a really messy diaper, I use a disposable wipe. I have to draw the line somewhere!
I use cloth diapers on the kids when we are at home so that I am able to throw the cloth baby wipes in with the cloth diapers and am not adding any laundry expense. If you don’t use cloth diapers, then you may be better off making them with paper towels.
Here is the “recipe”:
1 roll Viva paper towels or baby wash cloths
1 1/2 – 2 cups water (depending on how thick the roll of paper towels is, or how many wash cloths you put in the box)
1 teaspoon baby wash
3 drops baby oil
1 old baby wipes container
If you are using paper towels:
Use a bread knife to saw the roll of paper towels in half. Pour water in the bottom of the baby wipes container. Add baby wash and baby oil. Mix together with your hand. Place the half-roll of paper towel in the baby wipes container and push down to soak up the solution. If it isn’t soaking through the roll, add additional water a little at a time. After the solution has soaked into the towels, take the roll out of the container and pull the center cardboard roll out. You can then pull the wipes out from the center of the roll.
If you are using wash cloths:
In a bowl, mix together water, baby oil and baby wash. Fold your wash cloths in half and stack them in your empty baby wipes container. Pour part of the solution over the wash cloths and push down on them to soak it up. You can then add several more wash cloths to the container and add the rest of your solution.
Making your own baby wipes isn’t always the cheapest option — especially the disposable kind. Sometimes you are able to get store-bought wipes for $0.75 or less by matching sales with coupons or playing the drugstore game. Figure out the cost of making your own wipes so you know when it’s a good deal to buy and when you’re better off making your own.
If you have a different “recipe” for making wipes or would like to share what works for you, please leave a comment below.
Tags: Baby, baby wipes
