The Homestyle

I really, really like the convenience of Clorox wipes. I admit it. I would rather pull out a disposable wipe than spray some cleaning solution and then wipe it down with a rag. I don’t really know why, but I will admit I am addicted to them.

I am NOT, however addicted to the price. I guess convenience has a price. But I’m not so willing to pay that price anymore. I also am becoming less of a fan of the harsh chemicals found in many of our “everyday” cleaners.

So, just as I set out to make homemade glass cleaner and later homemade fruit and veggie wash, I have decided to make my own disinfecting wipes. The goal: Make them reusable, easy to use, and chemical free.

I love the website Simple Mom. It has lots of awesome tips for simplifying your home and living life to the fullest. It provides lots of great resources for those do-it-yourselfers. I used the recipe on that site to make an all-purpose cleaner.  You can read the recipe here. I made a spray bottle full of the solution, which I keep under my kitchen sink.

Using her recipe, I began my quest to make my own Clorox-type wipes.

First, I cut up one of my old T-shirts into shapes that were about 8×8 or so. It’s not an exact science, so just cut them whatever size and shape you like.

Next, I folded them in half and laid them in an empty baby wipes container. You know, the type with the pop up lid. I figured that would make it easier to get them out. Plus since it keeps baby wipes moist, I thought it would do the same for my cleaning wipes.

After about 2-3 layers, I doused them generously with the cleaning solution. Then I layered a few more, and doused a little more until I was out of wipes. One T-shirt filled my container about half-way full. I’m sure we have other old T-shirts laying around the house that I can cut up to fill them the rest of the way.

So creating them was easy enough, not to mention how inexpensive it was. The real question, though, was would they clean well? We immediately put them to the test, as it was family “clean the house day.”We used them in the bathroom and kitchen primarily. Everyone reported that they seemed to clean everything easily and effectively.

At the end, I felt satisfied as I threw the used wipes into our washing machine. Not only was my experiment useful, easy to make, and frugal, it was also reusable. I’ve washed several loads of clothes with these wipes and have not had any discoloration on any of the other clothing.

This was one of my most successful experiments, I think!