going cloth

My mom had suggested using cloth diapers since my first pregnancy for both financial and eco reasons, but I always refused thinking I wouldn't be able to handle it. Over the years, I heard more and more about them. I looked into them a tiny bit when I was pregnant with my third, but wasn't convinced. During my fourth pregnancy, I finally decided to go for it. I researched and decided to go with Best Bottoms. (I love them)

Since this was my fourth child, I didn't really need anything. I let my parents and inlaws know that I wanted to go cloth and asked that if they were planning getting something for this baby, would they please consider a gift certificate to the online store where I was buying my diapers from. They did and I was able to get all the diapers I'll need from birth to potty training. I won't have to spend any money on diapers!!! Awesome!

Then I started to think about wipes. If I was going to use cloth diapers, why not go ahead and use cloth wipes? I'd already be doing the laundry. Adding cloth wipes to the load wouldn't be a big deal. I went online to look and found that most cloth wipes are just flannel squares. I decided it would be cheaper to make them myself. Armed with a coupon and a gift card I had received for Christmas, off I went to my local Joanns.

I found their snuggle flannel and bought 2 yards. With my 40% off coupon, it came to a little over $8. Since I used my gift card, I didn't have to pay for wipes either! Now, I know that I'll probably have to replace some of the wipes throughout the next couple of years, but I'd rather do that then spend money on disposable wipes that just end up in the trash.

Out of the 2 yards of flannel I purchased, I was able to get 40 8x8 wipes. That lasts me about 3 days (same as the diapers) before I need to wash without running out.

Making these wipes is easy. Here's a quick little explanation of how I did it:

What you need:

    *fabric, I used 2 yrds of white snuggle flannel from joanns. You could also use old kitchen towels or
       if you have an old flannel sheet or find a flannel sheet set on clearance somewhere, that would
       make you a ton of wipes!

    *a rotary cutter, cutting mat and ruler, You could also just use scissors if you don't have a rotary
       cutter.

    *sewing machine or serger

    *thread

Directions:

   *Decide how big you want your wipes to be. Mine are 8x8. 8x8 will fit in an old wipes box and/or
      a wipes warmer if you use one.

   *Use your rotary cutter, cutting mat and ruler to make your squares. I cut strips one direction and
      then went back and cut the strips into squares.

   *If you have a serger, serge around the edges. If you are like me and don't have a serger, use a zig
      zag stitch on your sewing machine around the edges so your edges won't fray.

Easy peasy! You can obviously make these any color or pattern depending on what flannel you pick out. I used white, but brightened them up by using a few different thread colors around the edges.

I've been using mine for about 2 months now and they're holding up great!! I keep mine in an old wipes box and wet them with water as needed. I'm going to try a homemade wipes solution of coconut oil, tea tree oil and water. There are wipes solutions you can buy, but there are lots that you can make. Here's link to one website I found. http://www.zany-zebra.com/cloth-wipe-solution.shtml Or you can google homemade wipes solution. FYI, coconut oil is a great diaper rash 'cream' and you can use it as a lotion!!

If you've been thinking about cloth diapering, I would really encourage you to go for it! My reasons are mostly financial with the saving the earth part being a nice bonus. You may be the other way around. Either way, cloth diapering is super easy nowadays. Really, really not that much of a bigger deal than using disposable diapers. And if you're going to cloth diaper, go ahead and use cloth wipes, too!