Homemade Baby Wipes

I started making homemade baby wipes for two reasons: 1) My daughter has sensitive skin and gets diaper rashes from just about every brand of wipes. 2) I wanted to save money. They are super easy to make and very effective.

 

You'll need:

- A roll of good quality paper towels (I use Bounty Select-a-Size)
- 2 cups of warm water
- 2 to 4 Tbsp of coconut oil
- 2 to 4 drops of doTERRA lavender essential oil
- 2 to 4 drops of doTERRA melaleuca essential oil

Instructions:

1. Cut the roll of paper towels in half. Don't use an expensive knife though because it will dull the blade.

2. In a lidded container, combine the water, coconut oil, and essential oils. Stir until the coconut oil is completely melted.

3. Put the paper towel roll in the container, cut side down. Press down on it to make it fit (it will squish down far enough, trust me!) and secure the lid. Turn container upside down and let sit for about 10 minutes. Open and remove the cardboard, then pull wipes out from the center. Ta da!

Rules of Menu Planning

I usually start the menu planning process about a week before we get each paycheck. I can jot down some ideas and tweak them when we find out exactly how much money we'll have to work with. February is going to be a tight month because we're still catching up on bills since our recent move. But we'll be just fine and I'm going to share with you exactly how we never go hungry, even if we have a tiny budget.

First, here are the basic guidelines I try to follow when planning my family's meals:

1. Eat as healthy as possible with as much variety and as many whole foods as we can.
2. Cook meals that use some of the same ingredients so nothing goes to waste.
3. Buy bulk and cook big batches. This is a huge money and time saver!
4. Make as many things from scratch as possible, such as bread, sauces, soups, etc. Not only is this healthier, but it's often cheaper too!
5. Keep on eye on sales and buy food where it's the cheapest, while still keeping the grocery shopping confined to a maximum of three stores.

That's about it. I know some of that sounds really complicated and at first it might be. It's taken a couple years of trial and error to get to a point where we can save money, eat healthy, and not waste. But I'm hoping that my tips and tricks will help you get to that point faster and without as many errors!

Step One: Inventory

The first thing I do is take an inventory of what's already in my pantry and refrigerator/freezer that I can work with. Thankfully my grandma dropped off some meat last week, knowing that we would be having a tough month, so we're pretty well stocked in that department. We have pork roast, pork chops, sea bass, sausage links, and ground breakfast sausage to work with. Some of those things I bought on sale this month too. I also have blueberries, pumpkin puree, diced ham, and homemade pizza sauce in the freezer. I have everything I need for baking except that I will need some more flour. I was hoping to go to Costco this month to buy the big 50 lb bags of flour, but that will have to wait until later.

Step Two: Meal Ideas

Next, I make a list of dinner ideas that sound good and use some of what we already have. I will need 14 dinners unless I know one meal will provide enough food for two nights or we have plans to eat elsewhere (like Superbowl Sunday). Here's what I came up with for the next two weeks:

Macaroni and Cheese with Sausage (2 nights)
Fish & Chips (2 nights)
Pita Pizzas
Slow Cooker Pork Roast (Leftovers)
Tuna Melts
Nachos (2 nights)
Breakfast for Dinner (French Toast, Pancakes, or Waffles)
Slow Cooker Ranch Pork Chops
Biscuits and Sausage Gravy

Now, before I start my shopping list, I can't forget breakfast, lunch, and snack foods. I don't plan these out for each day, but I make sure I have enough food to throw something different together every day. Here's some of the meals we like to eat:

Overnight Oats
Oatmeal
French Toast in a Cup
Scrambled Eggs with Cheese
Pita Pizzas
Smoothies
Peanut Butter Sandwiches
Pita and Hummus Melts
Bagels and Cream Cheese

Step 3: Shopping List

So now that I know what I want to eat, I have to put together my list and see if it fits in my budget. We should have about $100 for food and toiletries for the next two weeks (thank goodness I don't have to buy any meat!). We need paper towels (for homemade baby wipes) and contact solution, so that leaves me with about $75 for food. Since I know about how much each item costs at the grocery store, I just round up to the nearest dollar to give me an extra cushion. Always over-budget, never under-budget! So here's what I've come up with:

Folger's coffee - $10
Baking powder - $2
Whole wheat flour - $3
Bread flour - $3
Bag of red potatoes - $2
Bag of russet potatoes - $2
Greek Yogurt - $3
Vanilla Yogurt - $3
Frozen Peas - $4
2 Bunches bananas - $4
4 Avocados - $3
Carrots - $2
Onion - $1
Lemon - $1
2 Sweet potatoes - $3
2 Boxes macaroni- $2
Dried pinto beans - $2
Tortillas - $5
Brown rice - $3
Canned pineapple - $2
Eggs - $3
Cheddar - $5
Mozzarella - $5
Hummus - $3
Cream cheese - $2

Now, if I did my math right, this comes out to $78. Of course, I don't know that these prices are 100% right, but they're close enough that I feel confident taking this list to the store with me. Oh, and I forgot to mention that we get WIC, so that's why there's no milk or peanut butter and not very many fruits or veggies. We save about $50 a month on groceries thanks to the WIC program!

You'll notice that there is no junk food on this shopping list either. Occasionally we will splurge on ice cream or chips, but when money's tight, that's the first thing that gets crossed off the list. So we'll have to be content with homemade bagels, yogurt, carrots and hummus, and homemade cookies when we're in a munchy mood, which are all delicious anyway.

All I have left to do now is match a meal with each day of the week and we're good to go! I will be sharing my receipts and what we eat every day, so stay tuned for lists, ideas, and recipes starting Feb. 1st!

Update: To see the actual receipts for this shopping list, click here!

Coming Soon!

I like to view myself as an above-average mom in below-average circumstances. Now, I say below average not because I'm unhappy with where we are, but because my family is low-income and we have to make due with a lot less than most people in this country. It can definitely be a struggle at times, but it is also very rewarding to know that we can live happy and satisfying lives on very little. I want this blog to be an encouragement to other moms and families who are in the same boat we are, or who are just looking for some good ideas on how to cut back.

Here's a brief overview of where we are at the moment: My husband works full-time (with occasional overtime) and goes to school on-line full-time while I stay at home with our 16-month-old. I'm hoping to make a little extra money babysitting, but that's still up in the air. My husband makes around $30,000 and we rent a double wide trailer and have one vehicle. We do get a little help from WIC and family and friends, which is a huge blessing, but mostly we fend for ourselves. We like to keep our food budget for the month around $250 maximum. For the three of us, that seems to work out just fine, although I really have to plan so that we're eating as healthy as possible with that $250. So far, we've excelled enough that I feel I can start sharing some of what we do with others.

Starting in February, I will be sharing my schedule, meal plans, and budget with you all so you can see just exactly how we make the most out of our small budget. I'm still exploring and experimenting myself, so there may be weeks or months that I go a little over or find out that something isn't as awesome as I thought. But I want to share my learning process with you so maybe you can learn from my mistakes.

I hope you all stay tuned!