DIY Baby Wipes

I've been making my own wipes for about 6 months now.  They are so much better than any commercial wipes I've used!  My husband even agrees.  They are also much less expensive.  Do you know my favorite thing about them?  They're natural.  Have you ever looked at the ingredients list on commercial wipes?  Yikes!  Here's the recipe.

Ingredients:

Half of 1 roll Bounty select-a-size huge rolls

2 cups boiled water (allow to cool a bit)

1 Tablespoon coconut oil (raw or virgin)

1/2 Tablespoon Dr. Bronner's baby mild soap

4 drops of tea tree oil

Directions:

My sweet husband cuts the rolls of paper towels in half for me with his power saw as soon as I buy them.  That way they're ready when I need them.  I tried using a big knife from our kitchen initially, but our knives aren't sharp enough for the job.  

1. Fan fold the paper towels from the roll at each perforated line.  This takes a few minutes, but you can watch TV while you do it.

2.  Lay the folded paper towels on a flat surface and adjust until the two stacks are about even.  Then tear apart at the perforated line to give yourself two stacks.

3.  Place 1 stack of paper towels in a bowl.  It needs to be large enough for them to lay flat.

4.  Place the water in a cup or bowl, I like using a measuring cup.

5.  Add the coconut oil, soap, and tea tree oil one at a time in that order.  Stir gently between ingredients.  The warmer the water is, the faster the coconut oil will melt. 

6.  Pour the mixture over the top of your paper towels as evenly as possible.  Let sit for 10 or 15 min to be sure liquid is well distributed.  

7.  Transfer wipes to container.  The wipes have to go in the container sideways.  Also, they don't fit perfectly.  You can see the ripple in the middle of my wipes.  Just make sure to pull gently on the wipes when you use them. 

I always make a second batch of wipes with the second stack of folded paper towels.  I store them in an old plastic wipe container and transfer them to the wipe warmer when I run out.  

I haven't tried yet, but one day I'd like to try using this recipe with cloth wipes.  I've read that a receiving blanket can be cut into 16 wipes.  The wipes could then wash with the diapers.

Also, I learned that the tea tree oil is essential unless you go through the wipes very quickly.  They prevent them from molding.  I was in Alabama for a couple of weeks and made a batch of wipes without the tea tree oil.  They molded!  It took almost two weeks for it to happen, though.