Save Money: DIY Baby Wipes

When it comes to your baby some things are incredibly expensive, naturally. Thankfully we are out of the formula stage which was our biggest "baby expense." Now, it's diapers and wipes. Power to all the mommies who do cloth diapering. It is just not for me. 

So, to bring down our baby expenses a little I decided to give homemade baby wipes a shot. We used to buy the Pampers box of refill wipes. I would get 5 packages (306 wipes) in a box that cost us $11, which comes out to about $.04 per wipe.

The 33% more roll of Viva paper towels gave me about the same number of wipes. When all is said and done, it only costs about $.01 a wipe (math is NOT my strong suit, I made an educated guess on how much baby oil and wash would cost by the tablespoon... still, it's cheaper!)

When you make your own, you'll need:

- Roll of Viva paper towels, gentle for baby bottoms and cost about $1.25/roll (I'm sure you could probably get a better deal buying in bulk/with coupons)

- Baby oil - 1 TBS, the small bottle pictured below only cost me $1

- Baby wash - 2 TBS, use whatever brand you use at bath time

- Water - 2 Cups

- Container

*Note: after our second try with the wipes, we concluded that with the 33% more roll we had to use about... (you guessed it!) 1/3 more of each ingredient for desired 'wetness' of wipes.

Okay, momma, ready to make some baby wipes?! 
Let's do this!

1. Cut Paper Towels in Half

During my research on how to make baby wipes, people suggested using a serrated knife. But I am telling you to NOT. It will give you really ugly edges that are a pain to work with, especially if you plan on folding your wipes (we'll get to that...)

You should end up with something along these lines:

2. Mix Ingredients in Container

Yup. Throw it all in, stir it up a bit. Ooo, bubbles!

3. Place Roll in Container, Let Absorb

Let it absorb until there is no, or little, liquid left at the bottom. Now, a lot of people tell you to get a container let's the roll stand upright and they have you pour the mixture over the top of them. But it's all relative. We did it like this and my kids butt is clean, so it's fine.

4. Flip Roll Over in Container, Cover

It literally took less than a minute for our paper towels to absorb the mixture.
After that, we flipped the roll over in the container so that the liquid could saturate the other dry half of the roll. (The wet part of the paper towels should now be on top so the liquid can move down the rest of the roll). Cover it. Time 15 minutes.

5. Pull Out Cardboard Tube

After about 15 minutes, your paper towels should be saturated by the mixture. If not, for whatever reason, let it sit longer. In fact, you could let it sit for days with no issues. Just make sure the whole roll is wet.

Then turn the roll upright, grab the cardboard tube and pull. It should come out with ease. Then toss it.

And that, my friend, is how I make baby wipes. Easy peasy, right? 

If you made yours in a container where the wipes can be pulled out of the center, you're done! But if you're like me, you can fold them to come out of a pop-up wipe container. You can see a tutorial for that here: Fold Your Wipes.

Tutorial: Folding your Homemade Baby Wipes

Congratulations on making baby wipes, super momma! I prefer to fold mine after. 

Isn't that more work?!

Not in the long run. Picture this... an explosive poo, up their back... one of your hands is holding up their legs, an elbow holding back little hands from touching poo, which means you have one free hand.. ONE! Do you really want to be messing with a roll of wipes? Yeah, pass. 

Here's how I fold my wipes:

'Wipe 2' is on top of 'wipe one' here.

All you're doing is folding them inward, over each other. 

And repeat until you're out of wipes. 

TA DA! 

Once you get the hang of it, it will only take you five minutes. Worth the time if you ask me!

Coupons: Suggestions for Beginners

When you’re thinking about going into couponing it can be very overwhelming. When I first started, I just stared at my beginners book, afraid to even open it. There is so much to know, but it really does become second nature quite fast. 

It became a drug... SO ADDICTING! I would come home and lay everything out for my fiancé to see and take pictures of it like some kind of a prize. Sorry, but it is! “Look at what all my effort got us! FREE STUFF!”

 And seriously, I mean free. I have so much shampoo and conditioner that I don’t have to “buy” any for YEARS. Literally. Almost three years worth of shampoo is sitting on a shelf in my basement.

Suggestions for Beginners:

1. Start collecting inserts NOW! 

And not just one paper every Sunday... multiples. Because, trust me, when the heavens align and your kids favorite cereal is on sale and you can stack coupons to make it free... you’re going to wish you had 20 of those damn coupons. 

I personally buy three, and get another set from a coworker for free, totaling in four sets each week. The number of papers you buy can depend on your family size... use your judgement. I suggest getting at least two for potential BOGO sales (we’ll get there, I promise). 

2. Learn Store Policies

This one took me a while to wrap my head around. Each store is different. Take time to learn your usual go-to stores first, test the policies out with small orders until you get used to them. Some stores double coupons, some won’t, etc. 

Some stores give you overage on your coupons (Walmart does this, FYI). Which means if you have a coupon for $2/1 shaving cream, and the shaving cream is only $1.97, they take the extra $.03 and put it toward the rest of your haul. *ahem, this is why I buy multiple Sunday papers*

3. Know how to read a coupon: Coupon Anatomy

I use For The Mommas for my coupon match ups (they tell you how sales coordinate with available coupons... and where to find the coupons/which insert they are in). They explain the anatomy of a coupon fantastically here: Coupon Anatomy. 

and most importantly...

4. Do NOT throw ANY coupons away!

Even if you don't think you'll ever need them because, "why would I buy Depends?! Ever?!" WHEN IT MAKES YOU MONEY! Yes, you can make money with coupons! This happens to me a lot at CVS with their ECB program. Sometimes, you can get a sale item for free with a coupon but then when heavens align, CVS also offers $3 ECB's and BAM! ... you just made $3 on Depends. You just made money, and now you can donate the items you don't need!

Just getting into couponing? I want to hear about it! What's most difficult for you? What stores do you go to for the best shopping hauls? Any seasoned couponers have more advice for beginners? 

Coupons: Basic Terms & Abbreviations

Here is a basic list of terms and their corresponding abbreviations (coupon matchup sites will use these, you should know them) for future reference. 

Trust me, you can handle this. 

BOGO: Buy One, Get One

Blinkies: Little red coupon machines in grocery store aisles with small blinking lights.

CAT / Catalina: Buying groups of items together resulting in a money-off coupon for future purchases. They print from a catalina printer at the register.

ECB: Extra Care Bucks (CVS... we love these!)

FAR: Free After Rebate

GM: General Mills

IP / Printable: Internet Printable 

MFR / MQ: Manufacturer Coupon

MIR: Mail In Rebate

MM: Money Maker!!!! Yes, you can make money with coupons.

OOP: Out Of Pocket, what you pay after coupons

OYNO: On Your Next Order 

Peelies: coupons on the actual product (usually say ‘save $$ now!’)

PG / P&G: Proctor and Gamble

Q: Coupon

RP: Red Plum, a Sunday coupon insert

SC: Store coupon, redeemable only at certain stores will say ‘redeemable only at...’

SS: SmartSource, a Sunday coupon insert

Tear Pads: a pad of coupons, you tear off individually

WYB: When You Buy

Again, these are the most basic and most used terms. I’ll be doing a coupon blog post every week so if there is something you’d like to know more about, ask away! And if I’m not sure, we can find the answer together! 

Consider This: Direct Sales and a Reorder Business

Direct sales is a great way to earn extra income, on your schedule. But with so many different companies with a variety of products, how do you choose the right one for you? You can sell candles, cosmetics, bags, diet pills, I mean really... there are a ton. 

Why did I choose Jafra? For starters, I’ve used and loved their products since I was a teen. When I decided that direct sales fit into my life and schedule I found that I loved their commission design also. I make a 50% commission. If you want to know more about Jafra specifically, feel free to contact me. 

However, the BIGGEST consideration for direct selling with Jafra as opposed to say, Pampered Chef, is the re-ordering business you get. I don’t know about you, but if I buy a pan, I don’t need another of the exact item. 

But with Jafra, when someone runs out of their favorite lotion, they call me immediately, “I have a Jafra emergency!” (This happens a lot.) 

One of my fellow Jafra Consultants did direct selling with another company selling bags, and she made immediate money. But then sales halted just as fast. Now, with Jafra, she has a reordering business and wide variety of products to work with and she takes home a steady income. 

If you’re looking into direct sales, I highly suggest thinking about going with a company that will give you a re-ordering business. I do this on the side of my regular job and it brings us an extra $400 a month... Every. Single. Month. And I’ve only been with the company for five months... so much room for growth!

Have you done direct sales? What did you like about it? How was your reordering business? 

A Happier and Easier Bath Time Routine via Laundry Basket

When my son outgrew his baby bath tub, bath time had become a nightmare. He would try to get up and walk to his toys that would float away, or crawl and slip... it was frustrating for mommy and baby.

My mom had suggested something we had as kids. A safety seat for the bath. The seats are slip proof and keep your baby in the seat. There a few things I had doubts on...

1. My son does not like to feel confined (excluding the high chair because, well... food)
2. Where, oh where, am I going to store this thing? ANOTHER THING.
3. And why does this THING cost an average of $50?! Cheapest one I could find (not used, ew) was $30 on eBay.

But let's all take a second to thank Pinterest for being in our lives, because THIS is awesome!

Just use a laundry basket! He was completely content, all of his toys were in reach and he didn't even try to escape! Bath time just got a little easier.

What do you do for an easier, happier bath time? 

When There's No Time to Coupon, Aldi to the Rescue!

Let's be serious, when you're juggling work, housework, and a teething toddler, sometimes you just don't have the time or energy for it. So I wanted to find something that was cheap with or without coupons. Then I remembered reading a blog post about Aldi a while back.

What is Aldi?

Aldi is a cheaper alternative to a typical grocery store. How they keep prices low:

1. Shopping Carts: all of their carts are in one spot. You put a quarter in to retrieve your cart and return it to get your quarter back. No employees to pay to retrieve them.

2. Bags: you bring your own, or purchase 'reusable' ones at checkout.

3. Box System: they do not stock shelves. Everything is stacked in boxes.

4. No Credit Cards: they do not accept credit cards to avoid paying the fees.
(They accept cash, debit, and EBT)

My Aldi Experience

I hadn't been to an Aldi in about 10 years so I decided to go just to check it out and see how it had changed. They recently added an organic line (including snacks for babies/kids!) and I even spotted some gluten free items if that's your thing. I had planned on going just to look around and take mental notes on prices and products... but I left with a cart full of groceries (29 items).

My son is quite particular when it comes to fruit and snacks. So I grabbed an assortment for him to try since it was cheap enough to purchase a variety without messing up our budget. First thing I had him try was the Simply Nature squeezable apple/banana pouches. It went very well:

I only wish my Aldi had a variety of flavors especially because a package of four pouches only cost me $1.99! Yes, fellow mommas, only .50 a pouch! I rarely get name brand pouches for that low even with coupons.

I should mention that they did have some name brand products, including: Pampers (happy momma!), gatorade and Tampax (for only $3, whaaaat?!).

Long story short, I'll be going again! Have you tried any Aldi brand food? How did you like it?

Potential DIY Projects to Save Money

Having recently moved to a much larger place, naturally there was a long list of items we planned on buying or replacing. We gained extra rooms which all had to be baby proofed, decorated (by decorating I mean things as necessary as curtains), and we needed larger items for storage, etc.

Here is a general list:
Nightstands
Kitchen Organizer (for mail/family calendar, etc)
Table Runner
Bedroom Curtains
Bedskirt (previous one ruined by cats, sigh)
Outdoor Furniture (we gained a screened in porch)
Outdoor Shelving (for our sons toys/herb garden)
Wall Art for: bathroom/bedroom/kitchen
Dresser
Coffee Table
Kitchen Mat
Seat for Bathtub for our son (Safety first!)

Note: Before I started this project we had already bought a few items we could have done in a cheaper manner, but... lesson learned!

With our income now, we could easily purchase a few items at a time, brand new, with no issues. However, with my new goal of becoming a stay at home mom, I'm hoping to do a lot of this by doing or making things myself. I have a few ideas for some of these.

Luckily my fiancé Matt is pretty handy with tools and we have access to free pallets. So we can build some of these ourselves only having to pay for paint and finishes. Which will save us HUNDREDS!

I also have some pretty basic sewing skills, which I'm hoping will help with some other potential projects such as the table runner, curtains, bedskirt, etc.

As I attempt each project I will keep you posted on how we did them, what we should have probably done differently, etc.

But for now...
Have you ever built anything with pallets? How did your project turn out and are you happy with it?
What did you DIY that saved you money? I'd love to hear about it!

The Quest

Things I wanted at age 20: an apartment in a city, a 9 to 5 in an office, Starbucks all day-- every day, a very full and very large closet.

Things I want at 27: to afford to stay home with my son.

Yes, 20 year old me would have a heart attack.

Unfortunately, my degree hasn't gotten me very far. I make more money cake decorating in a grocery store than I would be making in my (what was) "dream job." 20 year old me wanted to write for a newspaper. Which, in the right setting probably would be great money. Though, time and decisions have brought me back home to a small town in Connecticut who's streets are lined with churches and gas stations... I never really understood how people live solely on faith and gasoline, but to each their own.

We have a plan to move but, like with most things, it's going to take some time. Matt is in school to become a nurse and works 40 hours+ a week and I work 30 hours a week cake decorating. I also do direct selling with Jafra Cosemetics in my spare time. Usually, one of us is home with the baby while the other is at work. So as you may have guessed, we get very little time as a family.

"Sounds like a lot, why don't you just put your son in daycare and get a real job?!," almost everyone.

For the following reasons:
-I love being with my son, he's pretty freaking amazing.
-Are you aware of how much child care actually costs?!
-The thought of sitting in a cube all day causes me actual pain.

So this project, Stuff Mommy Makes, is a journal of my quest to becoming a stay at home mom. I'll be experimenting with ways to make a household run more smoothly and cost effectively. Along with trying different methods of making money from home.

Got any secrets? Tips or tricks? I'd love to try them!

-Holly, future stay at home mom