As soon-to-be new parents of twins, my husband and I went to the Baby Show on the lookout for ways to streamline the process of bringing up two babies and to save a bit of money. We had already decided that we would use washable nappies (although we now use them at home only) and we soon came across a stall promoting 'Cheeky Wipes'- a reusable wipes system. Any parent who buys baby wipes will know how many you go through and how quickly the costs add up. What attracted us to these intially was the cost. A 'kit' costs just £30. The Cheeky Wipes company states that:

'Using just one pack of disposable baby wipes per week at £2.49 in the first two years of your beautiful bambino's life comes to a whopping £258.96! ' (http://www.cheekywipes.com/money-saving-baby-wipe s.html)

I know I have two babies, but if I was using disposable wipes, I'd be going through much more than one pack a week!

I was also attracted to the idea that Cheeky Wipes are natural. As gentle as baby wipes sometimes seem, they are actually packed full of various chemicals. This system uses only water and essential oils.

The system consists of two plastic boxes, a net bag, a set of small towelling wipes (like flannels), two 'travel bags' and some essential oils. We also have a second set of wipes. It's very simple to use. You wash the wipes in the washing machine (we do it with the nappies), leave them wet in the box with a couple of centimetres of water to keep them damp and a few drops of the oils. You line the second box with the net bag and place used wipes in it. This bag can then be put straight into the washing machine when it's full. There are no nasty smells as the oils deal with them and we wash our wipes about three times a week.

I have noticed a difference between washable and disposable wipes when cleaning up my son's explosive poos. With normal baby wipes I'd use a good couple of handfuls to catch it all. The Cheeky Wipes seem to pick up more poo and I only use about 3 wipes.

I now use these out and about and they're great. The only problem is that the bag can leak as it's just a drawstring top.