When my siblings and I were kids, one of our favorite places to go was the nearby park. Accompanied by our cousins on many of those visits, we had plenty to keep us occupied playing at the park.
Although the park was a woodland area and a reservoir, we stayed mostly in the playground. There were swings, seesaws, slides, and my favorite, the monkey bars. With the convenience of a bathroom and water fountains in the playground, we could while away a whole summer’s day there!
One thing we could always count on during a day playing at the park: We got dirty. Mom wasn’t overly concerned about that. My sister, brother, and I got a bath at night and we had to wash our hands before we ate.
But Aunt Cathy was always prepared to clean up her boys. She would bring two washcloths — wrapped in aluminum foil or plastic bags — to clean their hands after they played. She saturated one washcloth in a soapy solution to scrub off the dirt and the other with plain water to wipe off the soap. When she got home, Aunt Cathy just laundered the washcloths so they’d be ready for next time.
I think that’s still a sensible low-cost solution. No need to spend money on unsustainable disposable wipes that get thrown away and end up in the landfill or as litter. Or worse, some people flush them down the toilet where they clog the sewers.
Instead, you can make your own hand wipes like Aunt Cathy. For cleaning grimy hands, the solution can be as simple as a drop of Castile soap and a little squirt of witch hazel in a spray bottle of water. Just spray the cleaner on a washcloth to clean dirty hands, spray plain water to rinse, and use another cloth to dry.
When you get home, toss the washcloths in the laundry as Aunt Cathy did. You can reuse them over and over again. A simple solution with kid-safe ingredients that creates less waste!
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