It’s no secret that I use cloth diapers. Every time I change a diaper, I am thrilled that I’m not throwing a quarter+ in the trash, like I was when I used disposables. I quickly realized that I was still throwing money away with paper products, and I put a stop to it, saving me money and being more environmentally friendly at the same time.
If you’re like me, you do a lot of wiping of hands, faces, counters & more every day. Instead of using paper products, use cloth you can wash & reuse!
The usual suspects:
1. Napkins
2. Paper Towels
You can get beautiful cloth napkins (I have princess napkins for my daughter’s lunch box!) but cheap wash cloths work just as well. If you buy white, you can bleach them as needed to sanitize and whiten.
You can find “unpapertowels” in lots of pretty prints, you can even find “paper towel houses” or towels that snap to each other and go on a paper towel holder. You can cut flour sack towels and sew the edges (or just use them as-is.)
When you find yourself reaching for a paper towel, grab a hand towel, wash cloth, or microfiber towel instead. Switching to Norwex cloths has saved me even more since they clean with just water, and I’m no longer buying granite, stainless, cooktop and other cleaners.
Keep your cloths in a convenient place so you can grab them easily, and consider a hanging wet bag to easily set aside used cloths for laundering. If your family is still grabbing the paper products, hide them! We have paper towels on hand for really yucky clean ups, and if they are on the counter guests will use them to dry their hands! It kills me to see 3 paper towels trashed after drying clean hands!
Change cloths often (I use many per day) to keep things clean & germ-free.
Some families even use “family cloth” in lieu of toilet paper, but we do not. It’s not a huge leap from cloth wipes though!
Do you use reusable products?
