The obvious use for wipes should be a given, they were designed with the intention of helping hard working mums clean their babies bottoms. This job they do quite well, their design and disposability makes them a necessary tool in any mothers arsenal. Try not to pigeon hole these amazing inventions as their uses will no doubt well surpass 101.
One day after using my last paper towel and still with half a kitchen to clean I let out a sigh and stared at my nemesis. The sponge. I hate sponges, always have, always will. They smell after a short period of time (and please spare me all the great ways to avoid this, I know the tricks, I still hate the things), they store tons of bacteria in their porous surfaces, and they defeat their very purpose of cleaning. The only time they clean without spreading more germs is when they're new, or when they're used with bleach. I looked from the sponge to my sleeping twins and, call me crazy, but the thought of waking them up wasn't all that appealing. They were two months old and finally sleeping more than a couple hours allowing me to finally clean my own kitchen amongst other things. As I shifted focus between the twins and the half cleaned kitchen my eyes passed over the wipe container sitting on the table and I could swear a light shone down from above. Or it was just the dining room light, regardless so began my love affair with the baby wipe. I grabbed the pack and after seeing how effective it was at cleaning the counters (all without soap), I moved to table tops, tv screens, bookshelves, and more. Before I even realized it I had cleaned my apartment from top to bottom and used up two packs of wipes. Later I would discover that two packs was a bit excessive especially considering baby wipes, when used for regular house cleaning, can be rinsed and used again. I also found that the reusable wipes lasted longer than paper towels, and thanks to the texture of them were strong enough to scrub off dried food. I surprised myself with the amount of cleaning I got done that day, actually I overdid it a bit. I remember flopping down on the couch, turning on the TV, and just as my body began to relax hearing a little grunt from one of the twins. It was time to change and feed them, then I'd need to start (or order) dinner, give the babies their bath and put them in their PJ's. My afternoon had ended, it was time to start evening duties. This was my biggest flaw as a new mother, I never allowed for "me time". After trying so hard for so long to get pregnant I just assumed I wouldn't need "me time". In fact, the very thought of it made me feel like a bad mum, good mums don't need a break from their babies. It took Zachary's pregnancy for me to finally allow myself a break, it was more for Zack than for myself at the time but I quickly saw the benefits. I noticed that when I allowed myself some downtime I had more energy to take on the daily tasks that always seemed so overwhelming before. I was happier, had more patience, and yet I still managed to accomplish the same amount of tasks if not more. This was something I needed to learn when I did because when Zack was born, and he taxed my energy levels as much as he did, I had to have downtime.
As silly as it sounds, I swear baby wipes cut down on my cleaning time. Maybe it was because I didn't need to switch from towel, to sponge, to dust rag, to paper towels. I used the wipes everywhere, even on the windows though I still needed paper towels to dry them. Later I would learn tricks to lowering my carbon footprint without giving up my beloved wipes, in fact since I was no longer using all those harsh chemicals I was probably reducing it even then. I stopped buying wipes by the package and started buying them by the case!
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