Curious About Making Homemade Baby Wipes? Check out This Guide

Whether you're a first time parent or just new to living sustainably, you can always turn to sustainable parenting strategies for your baby and home. Thankfully, many environmentally friendly baby products have already entered the market, many of which you can add to your baby shower wish list or grocery haul.

For a product as ubiquitous, versatile, and frequently used as baby wipes, knowing how to make them at home can be a game-changer. Thanks to this guide to DIY baby wipes, you can build sustainable habits for yourself and your baby while saving money and exerting control over the ingredients that come in contact with your baby's skin.

If you haven't yet mastered the skill of sewing, the blog Wellness Mama suggests you can upcycle other cloth fabrics you no longer use and give them a second life as homemade reusable baby wipes.

If you have t-shirts, blankets, or washcloths you are comfortable cutting for this DIY recipe, you are already halfway there.

Wellness Mama recommends mixing distilled water with aloe vera, witch hazel, and Castile soap, as well as an optional essential oil or other moisturizer into one container, then pour the mixture over your reusable cloths that are housed in a separate container.

This recipe is a personal favorite, as Castile soap is an excellent, minimalist cleaner that pairs well with other ingredients in DIY recipes.

If you're seeking the bare minimum for ingredients, this simple recipe from the Wild Minimalist blog should do the trick. Thanks to a three-ingredient mix of Castile soap, a tablespoon of olive oil, and some drops of the versatile essential oil tea tree oil, this gentle baby cleaner from Wild Minimalist is said to last a few days before a new batch is needed again.

For families on the go, this homemade disposable baby wipe recipe from Little House Living recommends placing a mixture of water, witch hazel, aloe vera, and an optional essential oil into a spray bottle.

The flexibility of having these wipes from Little House Living on hand in a spray bottle in your baby bag is crucial, or you can place several sustainable paper towels in a reusable Ziploc baggie to have some pre-soaked wipes ready.

If you have an old baby wipes container still in your cabinet, don't dispose of it, as this recipe from Whole New Mom recommends repurposing the old container as the on-the-go holder for your homemade single-use baby wipes.

The recipe from Whole New Mom calls for filling the old baby wipes container with paper towels, then pouring a mixture of water, olive oil, and Castile soap over the paper towels to soak.

While plastic pollution is a significant threat to the environment, repurposing old plastic containers to house reusable or single-use wipes made from compostable or biodegradable materials is one savvy way your family can do its part in protecting the planet from more waste.