Green Project for a Green Day--Cloth Wipes & Solution

I posted this last St. Patty's day and thought I'd bring it back out from the archives...enjoy!

Lula's cloth wipes have been mysteriously disappearing and the ones that are left are getting a little nasty.  So, I decided it was time to make a fresh batch!  I found some flannel in fun colors on sale and cut them into a bunch of rectangles.  I just used an old wipes container as a guide and cut my flannel so that it will fit nicely in the container.  

I used a blanket stitch to sew two pieces of flannel together so that they are fairly thick and durable. Notice I did not worry about making them perfect! Once you wash them, the edges will fray a bit and they are being used to wipe a baby's butt after all, so no need being a perfectionist on this project!

Once I was done, I had a nice new stack that fit perfectly in our cute wipes container!

And now for my  homemade wipe solution: 

Basically you just need about 1 tsp of Dr. Bronner's soap and about 2-3 drops of tea tree oil. Mix it with a few cups of water and pour over the wipes.  Tea tree oil is naturally anti-bacterial and smells great! Much better than the store bought wipe smell.  Some people prefer to put the solution in a spray bottle and spray it on a dry wipe before using.  I prefer the other method just because it's one less step! Either way works, though!

There is your green project for St. Patty's day! Enjoy!

Another Reason to Use Cloth Diapers

In about 3 months, I will have two children in cloth diapers. Although it's becoming more popular,  I'm sure there are people think I am absolutely crazy.  In fact, when I was pregnant with Lula, I did not choose to share the fact that we were doing cloth diapers with many people because I didn't want to constantly defend myself.  However, even 2 years later,  it is so much more common. I probably hang out with more of a "granola" crowd than most people, but I would say a good 30% of my friends who have children use cloth diapers. That is pretty good!

If you are not familiar with cloth diapering, you are probably wondering why anyone would choose them, especially for 2 kids. I can't get into all the reasons, but here are a few:

First off, I just found this new article that proves another reason to choose cloth. 

I was going to write a few huge paragraphs about why you should consider cloth diapers, but this article and this article pretty much say it all.

The basic reasons are:
1. It saves money.
2. It's healthier for your child. 
3. It's better for the environment.
4. They are really cute!!

Now, if I was a full time working mom, I would not do cloth diapers. I also never expect anyone else to change Lula's cloth diaper. She wears a disposable when someone else watches her. She also wears one at night. So I am not here to judge anyone who uses disposables on their child . It's not morally wrong. And I don't even think about it for a second when I see a kid in a disposable diaper.  To each their own! 

Which diapers do we use you might ask?

We have the Fuzzi Bunz perfect fit diapers and love them.  They work great for us. We bought set of size smalls and a set of size mediums. Lula is in the mediums and our size smalls are all set for baby #2.  We love them because they are slim, not terribly bulky like some other cloth diapers. Lula is really skinny, so this is a must for her! Also, we love that they have snaps as opposed to velcro which might not hold up as well and also snags easily.

We will be registering for some more size small diapers for the new baby because we only have 12, and would like to have about 6 more to make life a little easier.  And, I'm so excited that Fuzzi Bunz has come out with some new colors!! Woohooo!! Here are the new ones as well as the oldies

There are tons of other great diapers out there besides Fuzzi Bunz. Just to name a few:
BumGenius
Swaddlebees
Happy Heinys
Pre-Folds  (these are like the ones I wore as a baby and are the cheapest option!)
gDiaper (a hybrid between cloth and disposable)


I also use cloth wipes which is actually easier than doing disposable wipes.  Here is a little tutorial I posted a while back for making your own!

If you are from the KC area, here are two great local reasources for cloth diapers:

Teeny Greeny  My friend, Heather owns this business and I will be registering online here for more diapers for baby #2.
Happybottomus  A great cloth diaper store in Lee's Summit. It's so important to go and see all your diaper options in person before deciding on which one works for you!

My favorite natural cleaning product: Dr. Bronner's soap!

I have recently discovered Dr. Bronner's liquid castile soap and it's endless uses! I love that it is all natural, so it's completely safe to use for many different purposes. I have been using it in some various homemade cleaners around the house. You can check out my all purpose cleaner here.  I have also mixed it with baking soda to make a natural abrasive cleaner-it worked great on my stainless steel sink!  The other fabulous thing about Dr. Bronner's, is that it's safe enough to use not only for household cleaners, but for personal hygeine items as well! I use it my cloth wipe solution for Lula. I am sure I will be sharing tha recipe later.  I know it can also be used as a mild facial wash.  Some peopl even brush their teeth with it! I don't love it THAT much...I think I will just stick to my Crest toothpaste for now.

Now, now on where to buy this product: It is sold at Whole foods and some other chain grocery stores, I know my local Hy-Vee has it there. However, I have found it to be MUCH cheaper to buy it online. In fact, I saw a 16 oz bottle at Hy-Vee for about $8, but I found a 32 oz bottle for sale on Amazon for the nearly same price! So, you can potentially pay 1/2 the price if you do a little online research, which makes it very affordable!

I will also point out that Dr. Bronner's comes in a bar form as well. I use that for my powdered laundry detergent. However, since I have just bought a huge bottle of liquid at a cheap price, I'm currently looking into a liquid laundry detergent recipe and will share that once it is perfected.

easy & frugal natural all purpose cleaner

In an effort to save money while using natural cleaning alternatives that are safer for Lula, I've started making my own cleaners. This is one of them that really works and is super cheap!

All Purpose Natural Cleaner

1 gal hot water
1 tbs baking soda
2 tbs liquid soap (I use Dr. Bronner's liquid soap, but Dawn liquid dish soap would also work)

Mix together in a spray bottle.

*all amounts are approximate. My spray bottle is clearly less than a gallon, but I still used the same amounts of baking soda and soap with less water, it's just a bit more concentrated!

homemade laundry detergent

I have found that I go through laundry detergent much faster than I used to! I have started on the quest for a homemade all natural laundry detergent. Here is the recipe that I have been using. It is so easy and saves so much money!

Homemade Natural Laundry Detergent

1 cup borax (can be found on the laundry aisle at your local grocery store)

1 cup washing soda (looks like a big box of baking soda and will be near the borax)

1 bar of grated castile* soap (we love Dr. Bronner's soap in lavender scent but Ivory also works although it's technically not "all natural")

Just mix the the borax and washing soda in a reusable container. To make the soap much easier to grate, just leave it out for a few days (if you can do a few weeks, even better). This dries out the bar which will allow you to grate the soap into a powder. You can also try putting it in your freezer and then grating. I just use the finest side of my cheese grater to make the soap in tiny granules!

Add about 2 tbs of detergent to a medium load of laundry!

For a frugal and natural fabric softener, add a few tbs of white vinegar to the rinse cycle. Your clothes will smell fresh and not vinegary, I promise!

I'm currently on the lookout for a homemade liquid detergent, so stay tuned!!

*The only downside to homemade detergent is that it can't be used on Lula's cloth diapers. I have been using it on her diapers for a year but they have started to be less absorbent and produce an unpleasant odor. After a little research, I found that homemade detergents aren't the best for diapers because they contain natural oils that build up on the fabric. It's better to use something like Charlie's Soap or Soapnuts that don't contain any oils.