Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Thursday 13


Thirteen Ways to Make the Most of Baby Wipes



They're not just for babies anymore. Wipes are handy for anyone. Here are some of my favorite tips:

1. Buy the Target brand. They're every bit as good as the name brand wipes, at a fraction of the cost. They're also better than most of the other no-brand wipes (and I've tried a lot of the no-brand wipes!)

2. Cut them in half for the first few months of your baby's life. Their bottoms are so small, there's rarely a need for a full-sized wipe. Even if it's a messy diaper, two of the half-wipes go a lot further than one whole wipe. I recommend a bread knife or sturdy scissors for the job.

Always carry some in your purse. Use them to:
3. Clean off the shopping cart handle before you use it. (Use a hand sanitizer when you're done anyway - those things are gross!)

4. Clean hands when soap and water isn't available. A good wipe-down with the baby wipe followed by a squirt of hand sanitizer does wonders after a trip to playland at the mall (i.e. the pediatric petri dish).

5. Wipe off the high chair in restaurants before putting your child in. Heaven knows, the restaurants rarely clean those things.


6. They work wonderfully for dusting. With one wipe and about three minutes, and I can dust a whole bedroom. It picks up the dust while removing sticky fingerprints, all without spreading any chemicals around the room.

7. They're good for grown-up bottoms, too. I recommend the sensitive-skin type to my hemorrhoid and anal fissure patients (Yes, the glamorous part of my job) because they do a good job cleaning with less trauma than toilet paper.

8. They're gentler than tissue for sore noses during cold season. My preschooler insists on a wipe when his nose is running.

9. I highly recommend buying the pop-up kind if you have a preschooler who likes to help himself (see above). Otherwise, you may find yourself digging bundles of 20-30 wipes out of the trash, only the top one of which was actually used.

10. They're great streak-free cleaners for things like bathroom faucets and sinks.

11. Turn the box over from time to time in between uses. It helps distribute the liquid throughout the package so the last few wipes in the package aren't super-soggy.

12. They make for easy cleaning of white boards.

13. Keep the empty travel-size containers for storing crayons and colored pencils. They're just the right size.


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19 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love baby wipes! I always keep a pack in the car (great for on the go coffee spills) and pack in my bag. I usually buy the ones from walmart but I found a pack of care bears and they smell so good (baby powder scent) and work well too!

Joely Sue Burkhart said...

All my monsters are finally (YAY) out of diapers, but we still keep wipes handy! Happy TT!

Michelle Hasker said...

I love baby wipes, too. I never thought to dust with them, hehehe.
Thanks for the great tips :)

Unknown said...

Great list! I have one left in diapers, but I think I'll still keep my carrying case until the boys are much older. They are great for cleaning up messes in the car and taking crayon drawings off restaurant tables. Happy TT!

Anonymous said...

I use them to clean my rubber stamps after I have used them. They are less expensive than the "rubber stamp cleaner" and just as effective.

Also, they are great on a camping or backpacking trip when shower facilities are not available.

Cheers ...

Unknown said...

I thought it was funny that on the day I posted this, I learned that we've started using baby wipes in the OR. The nurses pre-clean the patient's skin with the wipes prior to doing the scrub.

Thanks for the other good tips in the comments!

Meggie Mom Fantastic said...

Babywipes clean EVERYTHING! I used them to wipe down my dinner table too, it gets awfully yucky!! I keep an entire pack in my van for carsick clean-ups too! And, I thought I was the only one who used them when I had a cold instead of tissues! Good list!!!

Carrie said...

i use them to wash my face at night too. the cheap ones are kind of scratchy, and they exfoliate well!!

Anonymous said...

good list!

Mercy's Maid said...

Thanks for all of the great tips. I don't have kids, but I do keep baby wipes around because they're so handy.

I like to go fishing, so I always keep a pack of wipes in my tackle box for yucky fishy fingers.

Robin said...

I use wipes all the time, they're so handy.

Happy TT.

Anonymous said...

Wow, great tips! Baby wipes are handy for all kinds of things, aren't they? I don't have kids but I have cats, and they're good for cleaning up after hairball-barfies, ROFL! :)

Happy TT, and thanks for visiting my blog. :)

Unknown said...

this was an awesome list..One I am going to save for later use..thanks for posting

Anonymous said...

That's a great list - i don't have kids either but i might pick some up if they're so handy.

HappyTT!

Arlene said...

I would have never thought about cutting them in half! What a good idea! I love baby wipes! I have a 9 and 5 year old, and a puppy...I still buy them to quickly wipe hands or faces, and to wipe the puppy's eyes when they get watery (he's a boxer).
I played too :-)

Anonymous said...

Wow! Thanks for the tips.

JHS said...

For a number of years when the kids were little, I never left home without those little purse-size containers of wipes. You brought back memories! :-)

Anonymous said...

Brilliant. I need to print out this list. Stop by and check out my TT at http://freestuff4kids.net/ - 13 ways to dress up your Rice Krispy Treats!

Anonymous said...

I keep a travel pack of them in the car both for messes and so I can clean my hands before eating fast food.

I learned that, too, about turning the box over when my kids were little -- sometimes the top few would be dry and the bottom ones were drippy!