Cheap Alternatives to Baby Wipes

Commercial baby wipes are a common baby shower gift, and are nice for the new parent those first few hectic weeks. But once the gifts wipes are gone, the new mama has a decision to make: will she continue to buy the expensive baby wipes, or consider another, cheaper alternative?

I'm a mother of ten, and finding ways to keep the cost of raising baby down is something I am always interested in. I also like to use more natural products, and I've found that often store bought baby wipes will sting if the baby has a rash, or the alcohol in them irritates baby's skin. I rarely buy wipes anymore. I've learned better ways to keep my child clean and save money at the same time.

There are several ways to make your own baby wipes. One is to buy a round Rubbermaid container and a roll of Bounty white paper towels. These are the only kind of paper towels that will work well. Use an electric knife to cut the paper towels in half at the middle of the roll. Next, mix up a couple of cups of water, a spoonful or so of baby oil, and a small squirt of baby shampoo. Mix this well and put it into the Rubbermaid container. Then sit one half of the roll of paper towels into the container in the water mixture. Let the paper towels soak up the water, adding more water if necessary until the towels are good and damp. At this point, you can pull the cardboard tube up out of the middle of the towels, causing a towel to come up with it. Throw the cardboard tube away, and use the paper towels from the middle of the roll to clean baby.

You can use this same method with wash cloths rather than paper towels. Make your mixture of water, oil and shampoo and put them in an old baby wipe container, and place a few wash cloths in with it. Keep a roll of toilet paper on the changing table if desired, and wipe baby before using your wash cloth.

Many times I've simply wet a wash cloth with warm water on the way to change baby, and used that. Using the toilet paper first helps with cleaning the wash cloths afterwards. You can keep a special supply of wash cloths just for changing baby.

Saving money here and there on little things can add up quickly, and you will have more to spend on things that really count!