A Project

I have always been a pretty crafty person - it runs in the family. But sometimes, I take on a project I'm pretty sure isn't going to work and even manage amaze myself. This is the case for the Sweetgreen salad blaster turned cloth diaper dispenser. Awhile ago, Ben brought home a broken salad blaster from work (Unfortunately I didn't get a before picture but you can google "salad blaster" to see what it looks like). The top was a little cracked so it couldn't hold dressing. It was taking up valuable real estate in our pantry until a couple days ago when I realized maybe... just maybe I could turn it into a wipe dispenser.

Step 1: Salad blaster with cap flipped

Step 1) Mutilate Salad Blaster
I cut the dressing dispenser apart then tried to pull it out. Right as I was about to give up, it popped out. I then put it through the bottom of the lid (essentially I flip-flopped which side of the lid the dispenser was on) and put the cap on top.
Step 2) Make wipes
Ben's flannel pajama pants recently got a hole in them. I told him to save them so i could use them for wipes. I cut 6x8inch squares (standard wipes are 8x8 but they needed to fit in the salad blaster. I sewed 2 pieces together leaving a small opening to flip them inside out, then ironed them and sewed along all the edges.

Step 3: folding the wipes over

Step 3) Line up, fold and roll
This step is a little tricky. I set the wipes out on the couch in a line. I started from the right then had each wipe overlap about 1/3 of the previous one. If you could push all the wipes together, the one at the left would be on top and the right would be on bottom. Starting from the left/top wipe, I folded the wipes in half (see picture) then rolled them up from left to right (the wipe on the left ends up in the center of the roll. I put them folded side down in the bottom of the salad blaster.
Step 4) Wipe solution

Step 4: Rolled and soaked

To soak the wipes, I mixed 2 Tbsp coconut oil, 2 cups hot water, 2 Tbsp baby wash and 3 drops of lavender oil. It ended up a little soapy so next time I might up the water or cut down on the baby wash. I poured it over the wipes until they were all wet. They ended up a little too wet so next time I will pour less over until they are damp - not every wipe needs to be soaked. Then I pulled the middle wipe out a bit and put the lid on.
Step 5) The moment of truth
It worked! When one wipe is pulled out a little bit of the next wipe comes out too. Sometimes I have to shove the ends back down a bit to get the cap back on but that's it.

Step 5: Taa Daa!

Although it took a good amount of time and thought, this project ended up being remarkably easy and is already so useful. I love how durable the wipes are - certainly up to the task of wiping all the poop off. The double-layered flannel makes a perfect wipe thickness I think. I have some bamboo wipes I ordered that are just too thick and don't really wipe any of the cracks very well. These are much better. Also, they smell heavenly. It's always nice to incorporate good smells into changing diapers. I'm sure the same thing could be accomplished with cut down paper towels if you wanted something disposable but not sure how much money that would save.
(Sorry the text randomly goes between the pictures, blogger's formatting isn't very user-friendly but I tried)

Not a step, just too cute to not share