Before becoming a parent, I knew there were going to be some things that would just be invaluable to my journey. Things like coffee, and friends who don’t care that you’ve got crap all over the couch when they come to visit. And of course, food delivery, stain remover, and baby wipes. But there was one product that slid its way into my heart completely unexpectedly, and perched itself right near the top of my parenting must-have list: Wet bags.
Oh, wet bags.
When my first was born, I had zero wet bags, and I obviously didn’t need any because I was, and am, firmly on the disposable diaper train. So, what would I even need a wet bag for, right? I’m not hauling dirty diapers home with me, so what could I possibly need to contain?
And then, I entered one of those great Instagram contests that no one ever wins, and I won! I was now the proud owner of one large wet bag, and was I ever underwhelmed. I tossed it on a shelf and figured I might use it some day, or gift it to a friend who used cloth. It took me up until my third baby to really embrace all that the wet bag has to offer to my parenting life, and here I am with zero kids in diapers and more wet bags than I can shake a car seat at. Because wet bags, as it turns out, are actually life.
Yes, we all know that wet bags are amazing for cloth diapers. They keep the clean diapers clean, and keep the dirty diapers away from everything that’s not currently covered in poop. Effective, and important. But, there’s just so much more to them than that!
Here are My Top 12 Uses for Wet Bags, Outside of Diapering
1. Bathing Suits - towel stays dry until you want it wet, and the soggy suit goes in the bag, keeping the rest of your life from being covered in pool water or beach.
2. Spare Clothes - in the car, diaper bag, at daycare, or in backpacks. Keeping dry clothes around is really never a bad idea, and now you’ve got something more reliable than a Ziplock baggie to shove the wet or dirty ones in! This is also a massive must-do for toilet learning days.
3. Baby Carriers - a large wet bag is the perfect size for shoving a baby carrier in, so it’s clean and available whenever you need it. I keep my Tula in a wet bag in the back of my car for tantrums and unplanned naps on the go.
4. Travel - pack outfits for each day, toiletries, makeup, shoes, or whatever else you want to keep separated in a wet bag! Organized suitcases lead to less vacation stress, and that’s never a bad thing. Shove the dirty clothes into an empty bag to keep them separated, and unpacking won’t be such a nightmare either!
5. Go-Bags - colouring books and crayons, small toys, tablets and chargers, snacks, or whatever else will keep your kiddos quiet while you do the adult things you need to do can be shoved in whatever size of wet bag you’ve got on hand. Convenience and distraction are key in the parenting world.
6. Purse organization - if your purse looks like mine does, it’s basically a mini diaper bag, minus the diapers. I’ve got toiletries, snacks, crayons, random toys, and maybe even some money shoved in there. Organize that chaos into mini wet bags, and you’ll be much less likely to be digging through a sea of crushed Goldfish Crackers while trying to find your chapstick.
7. First Aid Kit - Band-Aids, but out of sight. Because if not, you’re buying more Band-Aids every time your kid sees the box and feels the need to cover their entire body in their favourite character. This also makes it perfectly portable, for ouches on the go!
8. Essential Oils - feeling crunchy? As much as I love my oils, I hate when my entire bag smells like leaking Lavender. Whenever we travel, my go-to oils fit into a wet bag, keeping the scents and stains off of everything else inside of my suitcase.
9. Snacks - again, snacks are life. If you’ve got kids, you’ve got snacks on hand, always. Keep a wet bag (probably a large one, if we’re being honest, here) in the car with emergency snacks for traffic jams, late pick ups, and moments when your kids just get irrationally hangry.
10. Toy organization - if your kids are like my kids, the box gets destroyed the second the toy is opened. We use wet bags to store board game pieces, puzzles, small toys, and whatever else I don’t want to step on in the middle of the night.
11. Garbage Bags - wet bags, because they are machine washable, make awesome car or backpack garbage bags! All waste goes in the bag, gets dumped at an appropriate disposal location, and the bag gets washed to use again!
12. Menstrual Products - Similar to the cloth diaper route, but in a much scaled down version! Wet bags are great for storing and transporting cups and cloth pads, between uses and laundry days.
Bonus Use
Because we’re living in the days of endless masks, let’s toss that in here, too! Clean masks are kept in a wet bag to keep them clean, used masks land in a separate wet bag, ready to be washed. My kids use this system for school, and I use it in the car to keep our masks always ready to wear!
