How to Make Your Own Eco-Friendly, Disinfectant Cleaning Wipes

Hi. I’m a disinfectant wipe addict.

It all began innocently enough but now my habit is wasting my hard-earned dollars and burdening the environment too!

Sure, they’re convenient. But since becoming a mum, it’s getting out of control. I’m using wipe after wipe to remove baby spit up, miscellaneous food items and often a mixture of the two.

This is the latest shortcut I’ve found to help with home life. I’m confident it will save me some cash and feel a little bit greener at the same time.

DIY Cleaning Wipes Recipe

Ingredients:

• A few spare cloths – old towels, cut up old clothing, whatever you have around the house that can be repurposed.

• A mason jar or other large glass storing container with a lid - I would’ve liked to have used something bigger because I use these wipes a lot, but I just grabbed whatever was lying around the house. Make sure you use a glass container as essential oils can wear down plastic.

• ¾ cup water

• ¾ cup white vinegar (equal parts vinegar and water, depending on the size of your jar)

• 15 drops lemon, chamomile, tea tree or lavender essential oil

Instructions:

Without the essential oils the vinegar smell becomes a little overpowering, so if you don’t have any essential oils, you could also use 2 cups water, 1 tablespoon liquid soap and 1 cup rubbing alcohol (Isocol). You could also use a little lemon juice to give this mixture a fresh smelling kick.

1. Put your cloths into the jar, mix your ingredients together well and drop in the cloths.

2. Stir to make sure the cloths soak up the mixture and store somewhere cool.

3. Make sure the lid is on nice and tight and turn your jar upside down occasionally to make sure the wipes have soaked up as much of the mixture as possible.

I discard my dirty cloths in an empty bucket under the sink and wash them all in one go so I’ve got a fresh batch ready for when I make my next mix up!

There’s a lot of great things about these wipes – they smell awesome, they do a fantastic job at keeping the house clean and I feel like I’m doing my bit for the environment. But my personal favourite thing? One less item on my shopping list!