Why have I not thought of this before?

I think you all know me well enough to realize that I don't splurge* on a whole lot of things. One convenience item that I do like to use is sanitizing wipes. They're kind of expensive, but for some reason they just seem to clean better than a sponge or rag + cleaning solution. The kids like them, too, and since they've been doing more chores, we've been going through them a lot faster. We ran out last week. My brain being too full to remember much anymore, I forgot to add wipes to my list, and of course I didn't remember, when I was in the store, that we were out.

This morning, as I was lying in bed, listening to the sounds of little people emerging from sleep, I remembered that we didn't have any sanitizing wipes, and that the children were going to want to do their Saturday morning jobs soon. I thought about what we might have on hand that they could use instead (I mean besides the obvious sponge or rag + cleaning solution), and I thought about our home made baby wipes. I would never, ever let the kids use store-bought baby wipes to clean--they cost way too much per wipe--but the ones I make, for less than one cent each, would be fine.

And that's when it occurred to me: I can make my own sanitizing wipes. Yes I can. It's so obvious, why did I not think of this before? So, I went to the internet to get ideas for what to soak the wipes in, and once again, the choices are obvious: rubbing alcohol, bleach solution, or any cleaning solution. Really. It's that simple. I think I'll use pine-sol, because 1. I don't want to use bleach, 2. we don't have very much rubbing alcohol on hand (and Hubby is probably using up the last of it while I type, trying to take old state park stickers of the 'burban's windshield), and 3. I like the smell of pine-sol (interesting note, I never liked the pine pine-sol scent until we lived in a home made of pine logs--for some reason it just smelled "right" there. Now that we no longer live in a log home, I don't like it quite as much--but I still do like that scent). I'm not quite sure how much I will dilute it at this point.

For those of you who don't know, here's my recipe for home-made baby wipes:

1. Cut a roll of Bounty or Viva paper towels in half and remove the cardboard core from one of the halves (we've used a bread knife, electric knife, table saw, and mitre saw to cut--I think Hubby prefers the electric knife).
2. Mix 1 T. baby oil, 1 T. baby wash, 1 T. white vinegar (to inhibit mold growth--I think we only have to add this because we use well water), and 1 c. water in a lidded container large enough to hold the half roll of paper towels ( I use Rubbermaid 1.5 qt containers from Wal-mart).
3. Put the paper towels into the container, cut side down, replace the lid, and turn upside down until all the liquid absorbs into the towels.
4. To dispense the wipes, pull up from the center.

So for my sanitizing wipes, I'll use pine-sol and water instead of baby oil, wash, and vinegar.

So simple!

*Rereading this, I realized that many people wouldn't consider pre-made sanitizing wipes to be a splurge or luxury item...just so you know, I do.