Dishwasher Detergent and Reusable Baby Wipes

I have decided to draw a line when it comes to zero-waste: I will not work with poop. Whenever I think about it, I cringe. It is just too much for me. So I won't be purchasing cloth diapers, instead I will keep to my beloved and trusty pampers disposables for one more year before I potty-train my youngest girl.

I want to try to form some kind of compromise, however, and at least reduce the use of wet wipes. So I'd like to try out reusable wet wipes for wet diapers, instead of soiled ones. I'll have a little bucket on the floor for dropping the wipes into, and then I can wash them later. As to what kind of bucket, I'm still working on that thought. perhaps a small bin with a step lid.

So I threw some cute wet wipes together! Got some cute flannel patterns (so I might enjoy using them a little more!) I used a Huggies wipe as a size template for what my reusables would look like. Cut them out...

 

Took my handy dandy serger, and whisked all the edges together...

 Baby girl LOVES them!!

I arranged the wipes the same way that the disposable ones are folded, and they fit nicely into my wipe containers!! How cute and easy is that?

In order to make them wet, I have a separate spray bottle handy filled with wet wipe spray:

1 cup water

1/2 tsp baby oil (I used baby bee brand)

1/2 tsp baby shampoo (I used baby bee!)

You can either do the spray bottle like me, or have these already wet by putting this liquid inside your container. But I was warned that it would mold in a few days, which is why I kept them dry in my box. You get to choose.

Now on to the next mission: DISHWASHER DETERGENT! This weekend I ran out, so you know what that means? Time to try my hand at making my own natural detergent! I found this amazing Gallon Ball can from Agway, PERFECT for my dishwasher detergent! (And also feeds my secret love for pretty ball canning jars)

I put together ingredients from various blogs about homemade dish detergent. The one thing I did not have nor could seem to find in bulk was "citric acid." Many of the dish detergent recipes called for it, and it supposedly helps with removing hard water spots. I know I should have probably bought on amazon, but I wanted to try going as zero waste as I could, eliminating the plastic packaging and shipping costs...And I know that I am being a total hypocrite because I bought baking soda in a bulk plastic packaging at Costco...ughhh...It is hard to remember zero waste rules as a newbie. I go on the excuse of extreme hunger at Costco with three children. I also wanted to see if Costco had any zero-waste bulk products I needed, and I did find salt, sugar, and flour in huge bags (for my next blog about learning to make my own bread, quick and easy). 

So I get an F for plastic packaging, but an A for buying in bulk. The best solution would be to purchase baking soda in the little boxes when they are on sale. I'll focus on doing that next time. 

The items to make the Dishwasher Detergent Powder are:

1 cup Baking Soda

1 cup Washing Soda

1/2 cup Salt

about 1/5 of a bar of Castile Soap

a grater

I put the baking soda, washing soda and salt together in a large bowl so I could mix it together. For the Castile soap, I had purchased a small grater so I could grate the soap, and use for my wax project that I'm going to do soon. I didn't want to mess up my food grater. I grated the soap into the large bowl and mixed it all together. Then I put this mixture into my Ball container, and repeated until my gallon jar was full of dishwashing goodness...

Next, when I wanted to use it for my dishwasher, I used these items:

a Tablespoon

Lemon Essential Oil

White Distilled Vinegar

Put two tablespoons of the dry dishwasher detergent powder into the dishwasher, then added a drop or two of lemon essential oil on top of it, then close the lid. I also put distilled vinegar into the rinse section of my dishwasher. Then turn it on, and WALAHH! 

I guess I didn't need the citric acid, because my dishes came out sparkling, and NO dish spots! Hurray!! Natural, homemade, healthy, cheap and effective! That's what I love!

Let me know how these projects work for you! I'd love to hear about it.

Cheers!

Laura