Thursday, August 14, 2014

DIY Soap Bits for cloth wipes

This post was originally part of the Accessorize Your Stash in August Giveaway Hop
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If you're a cloth diapering parent, at one point or another you may have been lured further into the deep dark underworld of going against the grain by learning about cloth wipes. Cloth wipes, in the long run, probably don't save you that much money, but they certainly mean you have 100% control over the ingredients that come into contact with your baby's skin. They're also super convenient because they go into the wash with your cloth diapers and can be used for a plethora of other things; like dish rags or wash cloths. They can also be made from a plethora of different things; such as dish rags or wash cloths or re-purposed old sheets/t-shirts/left over fabric, and if you're not the crafty type you can certainly buy them pre-made. 

Same goes for the solution that you pour over the cloth wipes. You can buy a pre-made solution (though I can't recommend any because I've never tried it) or you can make it yourself! And it's super easy - it's all done in less than an hour and it'll last you probably for the entire duration of your diapering of a child. My first batch lasted me almost 20 months, and that's with diapering 2 kids for 5 of those months! So it goes a loooooooooooong way! Read below on how to make it yourself!

A special shout out to Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil for sponsoring the giveaway prize in this post.  Enter to win a jar of your own after the recipe! I love coconut oil, it has so many uses (check out my recipe for banana bread using coconut oil) and it has many health benefits. Coconut oil, in the cloth diapering application, is extremely useful to keep on hand as a rash cream 
and I love using it in my soap bits recipe. 



You will need:

1 bar of Dr. Bonner's Castille Soap (I like the lavender scented)
1/4 c of Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil

6 drops of Melaleuca Essential Oil (also known a Tea Tree Oil)
water



Directions:
1. Using a cheese shredder, grate the bar of soap into a bowl. Transfer into a medium sized pot. 

2. Add coconut oil and Melaleuca.
3. Add water until the soap is covered.
4. Heat at medium-low and stir occasionally. It will begin to clump, but as the water evaporates and the soap heats up it will all become one big lump.
5. Pour into a parchment paper lined baking dish. Allow to slightly cool at room temperature and cut into small pieces (about the size of your thumb nail). Finish it off by cooling it quickly in the freezer until it is completely solid. They'll break apart easily. Store in tupperware or ziplock baggie a cool, dry place.

To make soap solution for your cloth wipes, you will use 4 cups of boiling water to one bit. Boil the water, pour into your desired container (I have a 4 cup Pyrex cup that I reserve for this) and add the bit. Stir a little to help incorporate it. It will not bubble, it will just become slightly soapy water. Pour this mixture over your cloth wipes until they are as wet as you'd like them to be. I like to keep about a day's worth of cloth wipes (about 8-10) in my wipes warmer and refill in the early morning so that we don't have issues with mildew.

Learn more what what is coconut oil




Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. Your clicking on these links helps support my family & this blog - purchasing through these links is no additional cost to you but if you purchase something then I get a little kickback. Makes sense, I'm telling you about how awesome it is, right? So thanks for stopping by :) 
 I am a Tropical Traditions customer, and while they are providing a free product to giveaway, I was under no obligation to write a positive review. 



3 comments:

  1. This looks cheaper than what I use!Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for this recipe. So far we've just been using water but now that she is eating food, I need something stronger.

    ReplyDelete

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