Frugal Tips: Make Your Own...

Baby Wipes Solution!

Sorry to people that have asked me for this recipe in the past. But it's here now, so your patience has paid off!

Baby wipes are probably not the most expensive thing you're buying when you have a baby. There are always coupons, and if you can pair them with a great sale, you can buy them pretty cheap. Still, is it cheaper to make your own baby wipes? For me, yes.

Ingredients:
3 cups water (boil first and let it cool all the way)
2 Tbsp baby oil (you can use scented if you prefer)
4 drops tea tree oil
1 Tbsp baby shampoo (again, you can use scented)
2 Tbsp witch hazel

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl and pour over cloth wipes in a wipes container.

You can't get any easier than that! I use baby oil to remove my makeup at night, so I always have this on hand, but you can buy the trial sizes and it would last through many recipes of this solution. I'm not sure of the cost but I know baby oil is not expensive. Tea tree oil is expensive. It is probably going to be found in the pharmacy section of your store - I know Walmart sells it with vitamins and supplements. It ranges from $6-10 dollars but trust me - it will go a very long way! I have a 2 ounce bottle that I bought for around $8. I know 2 ounces doesn't sound like a lot, but when you're using just 4 drops at a time, and you're only making the solution every so often, it really does go a long way. We always have baby shampoo on hand as well (we're still using some we got from our baby showers last year!) but I know baby shampoo isn't expensive either. And witch hazel can easily be purchased for under $2.00.

All in all, you may pay a lot up front for these ingredients, depending on what you have around the house and what store you purchase them from. But using 1-2 tablespoons at a time, you are going to be making baby wipe solution for much, much cheaper than what you would pay at the store. If you want disposable wipes, you can cut a roll of paper towels in half and lay them in the container.

As you may or may not know, we cloth diaper (well... most of the time!). So what I actually did was use some of our hundreds of baby washcloths (slight exaggeration), folded them, and laid them in the container. Then I poured the entire bowl of solution over the washcloths. Within a minute they had soaked up the solution. They aren't soggy and I don't have to wring them out when I use them at diaper changes. Although I do powder Brianna's bottom when I use them because I want to make sure she doesn't stay damp in her diaper! I don't want a diaper rash on our hands... so to speak!

Then, since we cloth diaper already, we have a wet bag in the laundry room. I just toss the washcloth wipes in the wet bag and wash them with the rest of the wet stuff (towels, diapers, etc.) You can throw them in with your towels instead, if you prefer.

I'm going to keep disposable wipes around just like I do disposable diapers, but I am definitely going forward with these cloth wipes!

Let me know if you make this solution and use it, and how it works for you! And yes, you can place these in your bathroom to use as "moist wipes" if you don't have a baby. :) And P.S. - you can always find baby washcloths (so soft!) at yard sales and thrift stores for under 50 cents. If you're not in a hurry to start doing this, I'd recommend not going out and buying all new things when you can easily find used washcloths much cheaper.