Cloth Wipe Tutorial

We all cloth diaper for different reasons; some to save money, some to save the Earth, some to save our kids' tosh from chemicals, and some do it for a combination of the aforementioned reasons. I cloth diaper mainly for one reason: because I don't want the chemical from disposables on my babe for two years straight (or however long it'll take her to potty train). Saving the Earth and my pocket book are simply bonuses.

So along with cloth diapering, I use cloth wipes for simplicity's sake and also to avoid the chemicals in disposable wipes. With cloth you can just toss it all in the wet bag together, wash them with the diapers, and use them over and over just as you do the dipes. 

With disposables you have to keep a trash can near by to toss the wipes in with each diaper change then depending if it's a poopy diaper you have to get a baggie to tie it up in and toss it in the big bin outside as to not stink up the trash inside.

And those that money is their motivator? 

You can save soooo much by using cloth wipes as well

It take just minutes to make a batch of wipes. 

I usually need to make one batch every other day or every two days. And to make life even easier I do it while I make my coffee in the morning because I already have water boiling since I use a French Press to make my coffee.

What you need (per "batch):

1 baby wipe container

1 cup boiling water

1/2 tablespoon unrefined coconut oil

1/2 tablespoon Burt's Bees Baby wash (or baby wash of your choice, I just like the ingredients in Burt's the best)

Half your "wipes" (which would be 1/2 yard of fleece cut to size)

Don't let the "work" of needing to make a new batch of wipes every few days prevent you from using cloth wipes. The little work you have to do outweighs the work you'd have if you used disposable. Scout's honor.

The recipe above is for "one batch" AKA a single baby wipe container's worth of wipes.

I received disposable wipes as baby gifts so I used those up then saved the container.

For the wipes, I bought a yard of fleece and cut them using pinking sheers into the approximate size and shape of a disposable wipe so they'd fit in my container. I didn't measure, I just eyeballed it. One yard made enough wipes to fill both the big wipe containers I keep at home (one upstairs, one downstairs) as well as my three travel wipe containers I keep in each of our cars and in baby's diaper bag, which is all I need.

Some people get fancy and surge the edge of each wipe. Ain't nobody got time for that - they're wipes for pete's sake!. Cutting them with pinking sheers works just as well.

Once you cut up your wipes wash them as you would your cloth diapers.

Once washed, separate them evenly into two piles. Each of your piles is now going to be "one batch" of wipes if that makes sense. So in this recipe we are only dealing with one pile/batch. Keeping up?

Good.

I used to mix everything up in a bowl but I've started just mixing it in the measuring cup when I realized I could use one less dish in my always busy kitchen.

How to:

Pour a cup of boiling water into your measuring cup. Squeeze 1/2 tablespoon of Burt's Bees Baby Wash into your measuring spoon. Stir into the water. Using the same measuring spoon, scoop out 1/2 tablespoon of coconut oil. The oil should scoop out easily because your measuring spoon is still warm from the water. Stir the coconut oil into the water and body wash mixture.

Next, remember that pile of cloth wipes? Put half of them in the wipe container and then pour half the water mixture evenly on to the wipes. Next, place the remaining half of the wipes into the wipe container then pour the rest of the water mixture on top. Take care to pour the water evenly over the wipes. You don't want to just dump it all in the middle because then the edges of your wipes will be dry and useless. The reason you want to only put half in at a time is because the fleece sucks up the water mixture really well and I found that when I placed the entire stack in the container then poured the entire mixture on top the mixture never made it down to the wipes near the bottom. By doing one half at a time you ensure the mixture will coat all your wipes.

Lastly, close the lid and shake it up to get any rogue water absorbed into the wipes. Et voila! You're done.

Do the same for the other pile of wipes into another container and you're all set!

I make a batch and then take a few out and put them in my travel case to keep in the car and diaper bag.

So easy!

Alright guys, I hope I was helpful and that your heads don't hurt from all the take half of the half of the half's half info. If you have any questions, need anything clarified, or want to share any cloth diaper/wipe tips leave me a comment below!

Tomorrow I'll be back with a post all about cloth diapering that I promised to write for a few people. So check back in if that's your kind of fun!