BrookValley
Lovin' The Homestead
First post!! 
Since this forum was looking a little lonely,
I thought I'd jump in and share my recipe for cloth baby wipes solution. Cloth diapering is a self-sufficient and frugal favorite of mine! I exclusively cloth diaper my babe, and we use cloth wipes as well (if you use cloth diapers, it's just easier to use cloth wipes along with them--no picking the disposable wipe out of the diaper after a change, the whole thing just goes into the wash).
Cloth baby wipes solution
1 cup water
1/4 cup witch hazel
1 tsp aloe vera gel
1 drop each lavender and tea tree essential oil
Mix all ingredients.
Your actual wipes can be wipes bought from a cloth diaper store, cloth squares you made yourself, washcloths bought just for this purpose (I can't sew--we bought a few packs of those thin baby washcloths from Target on sale--they work perfect!), etc.
There are a few different ways you can use the solution. You can store it in a container separate and just dunk or spray a wipe when you need it; you can wet a dozen or so wipes and store the wet wipes in a re-usable wipes container or other suitable container; or you can keep the solution in a spray or squirt bottle and wet baby's bottom when needed, then wipe. We wet wipes ahead of time and keep them in a plastic tub (or toss a couple in a baggie for the diaper bag when we go out). The lavender and tea tree oils are naturally anti-bacterial and anti-fungal, but if you keep more wipes wet than you will use in a couple of days, they will start to smell "musty", so I would recommend only wetting as many as you are going to use in two days or less.
If you've never used essential oils before, trust me, you will only need two drops! They are very, very concentrated. If you are worried about a sensitivity or don't like the smell, you could omit them altogether (or change them to suit your preference; I imagine the solution would be just as nice with just lavender). I use an organic lavender/tea tree essential oil blend made by Desert Essence (a lot of health food stores sell the brand). It cost me about $10 for a very tiny bottle, but like I said, you are only using drops; this one bottle will very well last you through your child's diapering years. You could use whatever brand you like or find, just make sure it is a true essential oil, not a fragrance oil (yuck!).
I use an all-natural aloe gel. Again, I buy this at my health food store. What you find in the drugstores/pharmacies (that green or clear stuff) is going to be full of artificial stuff. I think it's worth it to find the real deal. I do wonder if you keep aloe plants if you could squeeze a leaf into the solution--I've never done this myself, if anyone tries it, let me know!
Hope this is helpful to some of you parents out there! My little one is a year old, and we've only bought 2 packs ever of disposable diapers (for a long road trip). It's a lot easier and I enjoy it a lot more than I thought I would. We never run out of diapers, we just wash them when we get low! It's much better for the environment (yes, even with all of the washing--it takes a lot of water and resources to produce disposables), it's better for your baby, and it's cheap! All of our cloth diapers were gifts, but if we had paid for them ourselves it would amount to an investment of approximately $200. If I add in a few extra bucks for wipes supplies and maybe a few more diapers to take us through potty training (though I think we're set), and round up to, say, $300, that's still significantly less than buying disposables (I think the average amount spent on disposables is $2,000? I'll have to check that figure). We also line dry everything, so there is not much extra in the way of energy costs to figure in.
Anyway, I'm a big fan of cloth diapering (obviously
) and I feel that more parents would at least try it if they had more information. I think it's a topic that fits well here on this forum, both on the self-sufficient and frugality fronts. If anyone has any questions about cloth diapers and wants to talk to someone who's been there, done that 
feel free to ask me here, PM me, or email me!
Maria
Since this forum was looking a little lonely,
I thought I'd jump in and share my recipe for cloth baby wipes solution. Cloth diapering is a self-sufficient and frugal favorite of mine! I exclusively cloth diaper my babe, and we use cloth wipes as well (if you use cloth diapers, it's just easier to use cloth wipes along with them--no picking the disposable wipe out of the diaper after a change, the whole thing just goes into the wash). Cloth baby wipes solution
1 cup water
1/4 cup witch hazel
1 tsp aloe vera gel
1 drop each lavender and tea tree essential oil
Mix all ingredients.
Your actual wipes can be wipes bought from a cloth diaper store, cloth squares you made yourself, washcloths bought just for this purpose (I can't sew--we bought a few packs of those thin baby washcloths from Target on sale--they work perfect!), etc.
There are a few different ways you can use the solution. You can store it in a container separate and just dunk or spray a wipe when you need it; you can wet a dozen or so wipes and store the wet wipes in a re-usable wipes container or other suitable container; or you can keep the solution in a spray or squirt bottle and wet baby's bottom when needed, then wipe. We wet wipes ahead of time and keep them in a plastic tub (or toss a couple in a baggie for the diaper bag when we go out). The lavender and tea tree oils are naturally anti-bacterial and anti-fungal, but if you keep more wipes wet than you will use in a couple of days, they will start to smell "musty", so I would recommend only wetting as many as you are going to use in two days or less.
If you've never used essential oils before, trust me, you will only need two drops! They are very, very concentrated. If you are worried about a sensitivity or don't like the smell, you could omit them altogether (or change them to suit your preference; I imagine the solution would be just as nice with just lavender). I use an organic lavender/tea tree essential oil blend made by Desert Essence (a lot of health food stores sell the brand). It cost me about $10 for a very tiny bottle, but like I said, you are only using drops; this one bottle will very well last you through your child's diapering years. You could use whatever brand you like or find, just make sure it is a true essential oil, not a fragrance oil (yuck!).
I use an all-natural aloe gel. Again, I buy this at my health food store. What you find in the drugstores/pharmacies (that green or clear stuff) is going to be full of artificial stuff. I think it's worth it to find the real deal. I do wonder if you keep aloe plants if you could squeeze a leaf into the solution--I've never done this myself, if anyone tries it, let me know!
Hope this is helpful to some of you parents out there! My little one is a year old, and we've only bought 2 packs ever of disposable diapers (for a long road trip). It's a lot easier and I enjoy it a lot more than I thought I would. We never run out of diapers, we just wash them when we get low! It's much better for the environment (yes, even with all of the washing--it takes a lot of water and resources to produce disposables), it's better for your baby, and it's cheap! All of our cloth diapers were gifts, but if we had paid for them ourselves it would amount to an investment of approximately $200. If I add in a few extra bucks for wipes supplies and maybe a few more diapers to take us through potty training (though I think we're set), and round up to, say, $300, that's still significantly less than buying disposables (I think the average amount spent on disposables is $2,000? I'll have to check that figure). We also line dry everything, so there is not much extra in the way of energy costs to figure in.
Anyway, I'm a big fan of cloth diapering (obviously
) and I feel that more parents would at least try it if they had more information. I think it's a topic that fits well here on this forum, both on the self-sufficient and frugality fronts. If anyone has any questions about cloth diapers and wants to talk to someone who's been there, done that feel free to ask me here, PM me, or email me! Maria
