Why We Love Cloth Wipes for Newborns: Eco-Friendly & Cost-Effective Tips

Earlier this week, I shared the "minimalist" nursery we set up for baby #3 on our Instagram, consisting of just a changing table dresser with clothes and a three-tiered rolling cart full of diapers, cloth wipes, and diaper spray.

Surprisingly, we received a lot of messages asking about our cloth wipes and diaper spray setup. We used cloth diapers with our first two kids (starting at around 3 months with the first baby, and 1 month with the second), but with all three babies, we’ve used cloth wipes from day one.

Cloth wipes are easy to get started with, without the learning curve of cloth diapers. We choose them for several reasons:

1. Better for the environment – Cloth wipes create less waste.
2. Cost-effective – They’re more affordable in the long run.
3. Gentler on baby’s skin – We control the ingredients, which means fewer chemicals and more natural care.

Here’s our simple cloth wipe setup:

• Organic cotton/cotton washable wipes
• Diaper spray – We fill a spray bottle with filtered water and add a few drops of calendula and grapefruit seed extract.
• Wet bag – A waterproof bag for storing dirty wipes until wash time.

To use, I spray a wipe with the diaper spray, clean the baby, and follow up with a dry wipe to reduce moisture before putting on a new diaper.

Washing the wipes is easy! I wash them on a heavy-duty cycle with regular laundry detergent. Breastmilk poops are water-soluble, so they wash out easily in one cycle. Once baby starts solids, I wash the wipes with our cloth diapers using two cycles (a short wash and then the longest wash cycle). For more detailed wash routines, check out this Facebook group dedicated to cloth diaper care.