Homemade Disposable Baby Wipes Tutorial

4/20/11 This is a revisited post updated with a breakdown of prices in parentheses next to the ingredients.  Prices may vary according to your area.  I recommend using the generic baby oil and shampoo but using quality paper towels.  Buy the paper towels in bulk (use your coupons too) for best prices.  Watch the sales.  Paper towels don't expire.  ;)  My cost for homemade wipes?  74 1/2 cents for a batch of 70 wipes.  So, YES, homemade wipes are cheaper than Wal-Mart wipes.

1/2 roll Quality Paper Towels    (58 1/2 cents for the half roll when bought in bulk)
1/2 Tbsp. Baby Shampoo or Baby Bath    (5 cents)
1/2 Tbsp. Baby Oil    (5 cents)
1 drop of Tea Tree Oil    (6 cents)
container for wipes
1 1/4 cups water

Start with some good quality paper towels like Bounty. Yes, this truly turns out FAR cheaper than store-bought baby wipes even with Bounty. It makes a difference.  Don't waste time and extra money by buying the cheap stuff.  I hear Viva is good too for wipes.

Unwrap them. We're doing a whole lot at once because we change a WHOLE lot of diapers in Pookieville. AND because I am all about efficiency. No sense getting the knife and cutting board out every three days when I need wipes again. And I do not make enough wipes to last a week. I'll get to that later.

 

Now get yourself a cutting board and a knife.  Do NOT use a serrated knife.  I made that mistake for YEARS (yeah, I'm s-l-o-w sometimes).  It causes a huge fluffy mess.  Even the electric serrated knife makes a mess.  Just use the knife your grandma gave you that ended up being your favorite knife even though it doesn't match any of your other knives.  You know the one. 

Cut it in half.  When cutting it sometimes makes a squeaky sound that upsets my chi. This is to be expected and does not lower the awesomeness of homemade wipes.

Now, I like to use purified or distilled water to lower the chances of anything growing.  And I heat it in the microwave in a glass measuring cup until it boils which is 2-3 minutes. 

 

Remove the paper tube from the center.  Just work it loose and pull it out.  It's a little easier if you wait until the roll is wet to pull out the center.  But soggy paper towel tube wigs me out.  I dunno.

 

Add 1/2 tbsp (1 1/2 tsp) baby shampoo/bath to the 1 1/4 cup of boiled water.

 

Add 1/2 tbsp. baby oil to the water/ baby bath mix.

Add 2-3 drops of tea tree oil (not to be taken internally by gremlins- or anyone)

Pour over the paper towels in container.

 

Watch out for the steam!

All done!

The tea tree oil helps prevent mildew from growing on the wipes.  But even with tea tree oil they will mildew in about a week (at least here on the central west coast).  So that's why we only do one-half roll at a time.  It's really fast once you've got the supplies close by.  I keep them on top my fridge and whip them together between doing dishes or cooking dinner. 

These are ready to use as soon as cool enough.  My kids love to hug the warm container.

This post is linked at http://www.lifeasmom.com/ , Tales from Bloggeritaville, My Coupon Teacher, Finding Fabulous, 11th Heaven's Homemaking Haven

Has she updated yet??

Tired of reading this?  Yeah, me too.  Things are calming down a bit.  I'll be back Monday when Pookieville should be out of the toilet. 

And since it's still Friday, for a few hours more, you can revisit this post on homemade baby wipes.  It's never too late to start living a little more frugal.  And what could be more appropriate after a full week of um... previously mentioned activity? 

No need to "wipe out" your bank account with costly store bought wipes.  har har  These wipes work out to a fraction of the cost of even the cheapest warehouse company store-bought wipes.

Baby Wipes Tutorial

Fleece Diaper Pockets Tutorial

Fleece diaper pockets are a frugal semi-crunchy mama’s dream.  They work much better than just a fleece liner because they won’t bunch up.  The fleece pulls the wetness inside the diaper and the baby feels dry longer. 

When changing the diaper, just pull the diaper and doubler out of the fleece and toss them all in the diaper pail together.  If it’s poopy, pull the diaper and doubler out and all you have to rinse is the fleece pocket.  A lightweight fleece pocket is so much easier to rinse than a big-ole poopy prefold.

Look for remnants of fleece to make these pockets.  I actually bought the fleece for $4.44 a yard at Wal-Mart and got 14 out of each yard.  With tax, it's still less than 30 cents a piece. 

Gather your supplies:  Fleece, measuring tape or ruler, scissors, diaper, cover, and doubler.

Lay your prefolded diaper on the fleece to get an idea of how big to sew the fleece diaper pocket.  Allow for an extra half inch around. 

Cut a piece big enough to fold it in half sideways. ←→ Also make sure your stretch is ←this way→.  Fleece only stretches one direction.  This is very important that you make sure it goes sideways.  It is a hassle to try to stuff a fleece pocket when the stretch is going the other way.  I did that once and ended up chucking that pocket because it was so dang annoying.

Sew a straight stitch along the top and down one side (not the folded side).

Turn right side out.

 

Now stuff it.  mwahaha.  *ahem*

All stuffed.

Place stuffed fleece pocket in cover.  I prefer Proraps. 

Put on Tater, or whatever cute baby you have laying around your house. 

So comfy!  I think I might just . . . ahh! 

Spare fleece pockets and one already stuffed diaper, just in case.

If you like what you read here, follow me on my journey.  I’d love to have you along.  :)

This post is linked at Thrifty Thursdays, Frugal Fridays, My Coupon Teacher’s Thrifty Thursdays, and Frugalicious Friday. and Homemaker Mondays, and A Soft Place to Land.