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The other day I was giving the kids a bath and I realized I’d forgotten their kid-specific gentle no-tears infant-and-toddler-safe liquid soap in the other bathroom. So I washed them both with my Philosophy “Cinnamon Roll” bubble bath, and while I don’t recommend this course of action (it surely isn’t meant for 8-week-old babies), they smelled SO GOOD afterwards. Such a nice change from the Sour Milk/Hint O’ Poo combo they had going on beforehand.
I don’t normally share my own spendy bath items with the children (I mean, for one, they totally don’t appreciate the fine sensation of a quality bodywash), but I definitely tend to bogart their own hygiene-related products for household use. It’s nice to know all that money you’re dumping into the bottomless Kid Stuff Bucket can go to more than one purpose, you know?
Here’s a brief list of some products and their various uses, feel free to add your own in the comments section:
Mom & Baby Balm. I received this L’Occitane balm as a gift recently and I am OBSESSED with it. It’s made of shea butter, coconut oil, and grapeseed oil, and not only does it work wonders on the dry flakey skin my baby sometimes gets on his face and scalp, it smoothes my cuticles, cures chapped lips overnight, and deep-moisturizes any rough areas like elbows or knees. Love it.
Baby oil. Dab some on the outside of an adhesive bandage before peeling it off, and voila, no pain. (Particularly awesome for those post-vaccination band-aids when you already have a pissed-off, achey kid.) Slather up your legs with oil before shaving for crazy-smooth skin. Use instead of Goo Gone to get rid of annoying price stickers on photo frames and such. Use to shine chrome and stainless steel. Dump some on a cotton ball or rag and scrub to remove latex paint from skin. Replace your fancy massage oil with it. Untangle a necklace by rubbing some oil into the knot. Remove your makeup with it, unstick a zipper with it, quiet a squeaky hinge with it!
Baby powder. Sprinkle it over sand-coated kids and the sand should easily brush free. Shake some on your fingers and rake through your hair to soak up excess oil (or sprinkle a little directly on your scalp). Sprinkle some on your stinky dog, then brush his coat. Dab grease stains on clothing with powder, rub it in, then brush excess powder free. And my favorite non-baby use: shake some onto the soles of your summer sandals and rub it in, so your feet won’t stick to the shoes.
Cloth diapers. I use disposable diapers for both kids, but I seem to have amassed a decent collection of the cloth variety anyway. Fabric diapers are a great addition to your parenting arsenal, even if they aren’t being used for their intended purpose. They work as burp rags, small blankets, cleanup towels, and after they’ve been washed a few times and they’re particularly soft, you can use them to buff your car, dust the TV screen, polish your iPod, etc.
Diaper wipes. Another insanely useful product: use to remove makeup and wash your face, clean up clothing stains, wipe down your dashboard and steering wheel, deal with household messes, de-stickify little hands, clean computer monitors, ummmmm ’soothe hemorrhoid discomfort’ (honestly, I can’t testify to that one, I’m guessing that is referring to the aloe variety of wipes), spot-clean carpets, shine up a leather shoe. I also use them to clean toothpaste goo and makeup stains off my bathroom sink, since it’s near the changing table.
Do you have any other baby-product uses to add to the list?
This entry was posted on Saturday, April 5th, 2008 at 8:09 pm and is filed under Baby gear, House & Home, Time savers.
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April 5th, 2008 at 9:10 pm
Playtex Baby Magic Baby Bath is the *best* stuff for shaving legs. I’ve used it since I was in about 7th grade or so, and though I stray from time to time, I always return to it — it is soapy, yes, but it creates a nice, nick-free environment for the razor to glide over and afterwards, my legs are so smooth. It trumps the hell out of any shaving cream I’ve used, and for some reason, it’s less drying.
April 5th, 2008 at 11:52 pm
I use baby oil to remove a temporary tatoo from my kids’ hands.
Baby wipes are great to take along for camping, since showers are non-existant.
April 6th, 2008 at 3:01 am
Every night before bed, I take a baby wipe and wipe down the sink, counter, light switchplate and toilet. Smells fresh and in the morning there are no ‘ugh, toothpaste in the sink’ feelings.
April 6th, 2008 at 6:29 am
Cloth diapers are great for “fixing” a scratched DVD or CD– spritz a diaper with furniture polish (Pledge?) and then wipe the injured disc. So long as the scratch wasn’t made with a samurai sword, voila! Your disc will play! I find this works especially well with Netflix movies.
April 6th, 2008 at 12:35 pm
Wow - I’ve got 3 kids and thought I knew a lot of uses for baby items…… Alot of stuff you mentioned I’d never thought of! Thanks!
April 7th, 2008 at 1:23 am
Lanolin nipple cream makes AMAZING lip gloss/balm. Very shiny and so thick that it stays a long time. Great for super-chapped lips like mine. And bonus that it looks like you actually spent time putting on some form of makeup!
April 7th, 2008 at 2:49 am
Yep, the other day I scrubbed my tub with a cloth diaper - I have stacks of them that I used for burp clothes and now I am using them for dust rags, etc.
It’s good to know I’m not the only one who uses baby wipes to take off my makeup (usually the stubborn mascara).
April 7th, 2008 at 3:30 am
i keep baby wipes in the car for wiping my hands after yardsales & thriftstores.
i love johnson’s baby lotion–it has such a glorious light scent & it is nongreasy so it won’t clog up my pores.
also, i had no idea other people did the baby powder in the hair trick. my mom used to do that when i was a kid if i woke up late for school.
April 7th, 2008 at 2:37 pm
One other use for baby wipes: when you have a horrible cold and your nose is sore and red, use them instead of tissues to blow your nose. Feels gross and slimy the first time, but it will help you make sure you really got your nose clean. The aloe and moisturizers will heal your sad, chapped nose!
April 7th, 2008 at 3:28 pm
Once your newborn has outgrown her tiny newborn clothes (which is what, 30 nanoseconds after she first wears them?), you can give them to your older child for dressing up her dolls (stuffed animals need fashionable outfits, too!). Several of our 3-year-old’s stuffed animals are wearing hand-me-downs from the baby right now…
Baby wipes are great for cleaning up spills on upholstery. I figure, they’re meant to clean up what comes out of the baby, so of course they’d be good on cleaning up what’s meant to go in to the baby.
Baby shampoo makes an excellent laundry detergent for your delicates/stockings/etc.
Diaper rash creams with zinc oxide can double as sunblock for sensitive skin in a pinch.
I used our babies’ moses basket as a mini-playpen when they were old enough to sit up but not yet ready to crawl… baby sits in one end, fill the other with toys.
You know those plastic rings that link together into a long chain? Once your baby outgrows that, you can repurpose it for your closet… hang a small chain of them from the clothes bar and then thread scarves and belts through the links.
April 7th, 2008 at 8:37 pm
I second the Lanoline nipple cream usage! The nurse in the hospital gave us, like, umpteen thousand samples and admitted, “You’ll never EVER use just one of these, but keep some in your purse.. your car.. etc”. She was absolutely right. Great lip balm, hand cream, cuticle softner, etc.
My baby’s skin turned out to be uber sensitive, so now I’m indulging in all of the fancy baby washes/lotions everyone showered him with beforehand.
April 8th, 2008 at 2:29 pm
As a hand-me-down, I received a few cloth diapers that I just loved as burp clothes. Now that’s what I prefer over the “pretty” burp clothes.
The standard crib pad doubles as a travel pad and I keep it in my diaperbag. I pull it out for changings on the go and for the baby to play on at friends’ houses that aren’t use to baby spitup in the carpet.
I use baby shampoo to wash the dogs. It makes their fur extra soft and I can wash around their eyes and nose with “no more tears.” Plus I love how the purple Johnson and Johnson’s baby wash smells - yum!
April 9th, 2008 at 6:54 am
We too, had a bunch of lanolin left over from my breastfeeding days. We use it for bumbum cream. It works just as good (if not better) than A/D or Desitin.
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April 13th, 2008 at 11:14 pm
I use baby lotion to take off eye makeup! works really well and is less greasy than baby oil.
April 21st, 2008 at 8:44 pm
J&J baby wash is great for removing eye makeup. I found anything with oil in it made me temporarily blind, and hurt like an MF’er. No more tears is the way to go!
May 12th, 2008 at 6:40 pm
I use the tubs from ALL of the baby wipes to store things like pens, pencils, stickies, coupons, colors, etc.