Friday, October 28, 2011

Bye Bye Butt Wipes

Diaper wipes or socks?  Diaper wipes or hat and gloves?  Diaper wipes or book?  Diaper wipes or shoes?

These are the questions that have been running through my mind the last few months.  As Ada has gotten older, she has also gotten more expensive.  Ten months ago all she needed was a warm blanket and her mommy.  Now she needs socks, shoes, booster seat, baby gate, bigger clothes, toothbrush, etc.  We have a baby budget of $30 per month to spend on all things baby.  We are able to do this because we cloth diaper (we buy disposable diapers every 2-3 months).  Now, diaper wipes only cost $5 to $7.  Big deal, right?  It's not that we can't afford to buy wipes, I'm annoyed buying them.  I mean that $5 could make a bigger, long-lasting investment--like socks, or a hat, or a book, or a cute outfit, or potty training seat I found at a garage sale.  I like investments, not throwing my money away.    So began my adventure in cloth wipes.  

Even if you don't cloth diaper, YOU can use cloth wipes!  So easy!

What you need: 
Old t-shirts, undies, onesies, any old smooth cotton cloth
squirt bottle (one that has a misty-spray nozzle, not a super-jet pressure nozzle)
water
baby lotion (optional)

1. Cut old clothing into  square-ish shapes.   You can cut them into any size you want, but I cut about 4-5" squares.  You will need about 30 or so if you wash your little one's laundry once per week.  
2. Fill the squirt bottle with water.  If you like a little scent, add 10-20 squirts of your baby's scented lotion to the water and shake.
3.  When it's time to change baby's diaper, give baby's bottom a few sprays, then wipe and pat dry with the cloth wipe.
4. Throw the cloth wipe (which will be hardly damp) into the hamper to get washed with baby's clothes, or in the diaper bucket if you cloth diaper.  


I don't use cloth wipes for poopy diapers.  Poopy messes are much easier to clean with wet disposable wipes and you can toss them in the trash when you're done.  Another alternative to cut back on wipe usage is to cut your cloth wipes in half.  I did this for awhile, and I went through a package of wipes much slower.  Switching to cloth wipes you will probably save about $40 a year.  Not a huge amount.  But think of it this way, $40 is about 2 jumbo packs diapers, 4 adorable dresses, 6 board books, or a yoga class for yourself.  

After reading this, you might be worried that I've given up on all things disposable--like toilet paper.  Let me reassure you, we will definitely continue to use toilet paper, paper towels, tissues, and q-tips.  In fact, I bet my husband will say this to me after he reads this post: "If you dislike disposable products so much then why don't you cut back on the amount of toilet paper you use?!"  It's true, I tend to be a little wasteful with toilet paper, but I'm getting better at it, OK?! 


1 comment:

  1. Something I read on another mommy blog was to use a bit of toilet paper (as if you were wiping your own butt) to do a preliminary wipe of the baby's poopy butt then spray and use the cloth wipe for the remaining poop (which shouldn't be that much). It's what we have been doing and it's working great so far :)

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