mommy mondays : homemade baby wipes

as promised, this is kind of like part 2 - after the homemade soap here is an easy way to make your own wipes! ever since we started making these, we haven't had one bout of redness or even the slightest hint of a rash. we did use straight up baby faceclothes for a while - just wetting them with water - thinking it was better (and more eco-friendly) but it turned out to be so much messier... and a little harsh on the bum! so, enough with the chitchat, here we go...


what you will need:

• bounty paper towels (and yes, it has to be bounty. or another high end paper towel brand - no generic stuff. it won't hold up.)
• one cup of water
• a round plastic container (i got mine at the pharmacy)
• a tablespoon (to measure)
• sweet almond oil
• any type of baby soap - this a great chance to use your homemade soap! 
• an electric knife 

before you start, make sure your cutting surface is clean and dry - as well as your measuring cup and the round plastic container. if you can't find a round container, you can reuse a regular baby wipe container but it's just a little more work folding them into place.

so, the first step is to cut the roll of paper towels in half. the easiest way we found was to do this with an electric knife. if you don't have one, you can always use a regular bread knife but doing so makes quite a mess - little white fuzz everywhere! but whatever, it's well worth the easy to clean mess...

next, insert the roll of paper towel inside the plastic container - depending on the size of the container you bought and the kind of bounty you have, you might need to take some off the roll. when we buy the extra super soaker extraordinaire rolls, i keep the extra and reuse in our square box of wipes that we kept for that purpose. that way we have two containers of wipes (kinda handy with 2 babies) and we don't waste any of the paper towels! just fold them accordingly so they fit in the box and follow the next steps just the same.

                                                                                                                           then, measure out one cup of water in a clean measuring cup. in the same cup containing the water, add one tablespoon of sweet almond oil (any other type of oil will do really) and two tablespoons of soap. mix well. note here that depending on the size of the roll and the container, these quantities may be more or less... you will know how to adjust according to the texture of the wipes: soggy means too much liquid and dry means not enough. (did i really have to mention that?!)

                                                                                                              now that your liquid preparation is complete, poor it evenly over the roll of paper towel. make sure to cover as much surface as possible - don't just dump it in the middle but still manage to get the brown cardboard middle wet.                  

                                                                                                                 then close the lid on the plastic container. wait 10 minutes and flip it upside down. that way the liquid is evenly distributed on and in the roll of paper towel. after 10 more minutes, the roll should be completely embedded with the liquid. open up the lid and gently pull out the brown cardboard - it should just slip right out! 

there you go - homemade baby wipes ready to use! pretty awesome, right? and they are good for just about everything: changing diapers, cleaning dirty hands and faces, picking up messes, wiping up dirty counters...etc...etc... now, get cracking! make your own, too and let me know what uses you found for them! don't forget to share: down with johnson&johson, UP WITH HOMEMADE!