Frugal Wednesdays – Baby Wipes, not just for bums (or mobsters?) anymore!

Lack of imagination and inspiration dictated that I pick something that started with”B” today, this being the second Wednesday that I’m trying this whole Frugal Wednesday thing.  So, it’s baby wipes.  My house is overrun with baby wipe containers.  Having four of my kids currently aged between seven years and 21 months, we’ve had a lot of consecutive years of baby wipe containers appearing in various rooms of our house.  And, we haven’t just used them for bums, but in a pinch for any number of other uses too.  Here are a few that I’ve tested and tried and a few that I’ve heard about from others.  Just a note: I only buy Huggies or Pampers wipes.  I’ve tried the store brands, and even the dollar store, in an effort to save money, and it’s just not worth it.  If you have to use more of the cheaper/thinner wipes to do the job of just one of the better/thicker wipes, you’re not saving money or resources, you know what I mean?

Anyway…

1.  Remove your makeup (for those of you who have time to apply make up in the first place!).  Like the supermodel trick of using hemorrhoid cream to reduce under-eye puffiness, baby wipes are another trick of the trade.  To remove stubborn makeup (especially black eyeliner!) give one of these a whirl.  And it’s not nearly as yucky as hemorrhoid cream on your face.

2.  Stain removal from carpets, upholstery and even clothing.  No, really!  Use a baby wipe to blot liquid spills from your rugs and carpets.  These magic wipes absorb the liquid and the stain – Bam!  Various drips and spills on clothing (most people in possession of baby wipes are regularly splashed with tears, boogies, spit up, juice, milk, etc.)  Man, I sure hope the Slap Chop guy doesn’t get a hold of this one, his Schticky or Sham Wow sales may suffer…

3. After a day at the beach, when your SPF didn’t quite cut it, soothe your tender skin by gently patting the baby wipe on the affected area.  They are also killer for on-the-go cleaning of cuts and scrapes.  Much better than that balled up month old Kleenex in your purse or pocket!

4.  Clean your keyboard.  I have, on occasion, shaken the living heck out of my keyboard to rid it of dust and debris from under the keys.  And then Rigatoni (3) thoughtfully popped all the keys on my laptop, so I was able to do a through cleaning, before re-attaching them all (and, as an aside, my Shift key has never been the same after the removal).  Keyboards get nasty dirty, I discovered, so every now and then, give them a good cleaning.  And when you finally shut down your machine for the night, give it a quick once over with a baby wipe to show some love to the keys that keep you in touch with everyone from your spouse to your parents to the gas company, everyday.

5.  Shine those shoes without getting into a situation where you find yourself bleeding and locked in the trunk of speeding car (Billy Batts) or on the flip side, having the misfortune of having to find somewhere to stash the body (Tommy, Henry and Jimmy) (“Now go home and get your fu*&in’ shinebox!” – God, I just love Goodfellas!)  Or, just clean your dancing shoes up a bit.  I’ve used them on runners and fancy leather shoes a like and have been nothing but pleased with the outcome.  It’s an excellent way to do a quick clean up before that parent-teacher meeting you’re (always) running 5 minutes late for 😉

So, those are the tips and tricks for today.  I hope you find them useful.  And even if you don’t, I hope it inspires you to go and watch Goodfellas.  We could all use a little more hollywood mob drama and glamour in our days, no?

How about you – any good uses (other than the intended) for baby wipes?  Share, share!