Last week, my son turned five. We had a party for him, then I spent a large portion of my day after the party finding storage places for all the new toys and breaking down boxes. I was, as usual, dismayed by the large amount of packaging. I recycled as much of it as possible, but there was still a significant amount of plastic, wire, etc that had to go into the regular trash. Thinking of all that stuff in a landfill always makes me feel guilty after a holiday or birthday, so this was a great time to sign up for the Ditch the Disposables Challenge at Crunchy Domestic Goddess. For the months of September and October, Amy is challenging readers to stop using disposable products, such as paper towels (or for the very brave, toilet paper) in favor of a reusable, environmentally-friendly choice.
I confess I started doing this in a small fashion a couple of months ago, when I sprayed down the mirrors and glass in my bathroom, then went to grab some paper towels, only to discover that we were fresh out. Instead, I used an old cloth diaper, and it worked fantastically! While I used disposable diapers for both kids, these cloth diapers were a baby gift and were always used as burp cloths, or when the kids were older, for wiping noses. I have far too many now, so most of them have been repurposed to become cleaning cloths. It works because they are washable and reusable, but also because it eliminates the need to go to the store and buy more paper towels. I'm pretty good at planning meals and shopping for at least a week at a time for foodstuffs, but I'm terrible at planning ahead when it comes to household items. We are perpetually running out of handsoap or dishwasher detergent or shampoo or lotion. If I can reduce the amount of stuff we actually need to buy, I can also reduce the amount of 4PM phone calls to my husband, asking him to stop for something on the way home that we must have now.
Since I already started the process of ditching the paper towels awhile ago and it seemed like cheating to make that my Ditch The Disposables choice, I also decided to see how we can reduce our dependence on paper napkins. I have two kids and they can be messy eaters. While we do have a pile of fancier cloth napkins, I wasn't inclined to use them because they ended up stained, or needed to be ironed to look nice. And you can ask my mom, I'm not big on ironing my kids' clothes, much less napkins! When I thought about it, I realized that we also don't have enough fancy cloth napkins to last for a week, and I was also disinclined (too lazy) to go to the store to buy more. Instead, I decided to repurpose a pile of unused receiving blankets that were languishing in a box under a bed. I tore each blanket into smaller squares (4 per blanket) and stored them in a basket that I unearthed from my messy, crowded basement, then plopped the basket on top of the fridge. Trust me, I won't be folding these repurposed blankets and placing them next to plates for my next dinner party, but they are perfectly suited to wiping hands covered in peanut butter or sopping up spilled milk. Plus, the generous size means the kids can use one "napkin" each instead of 2 or 3 paper napkins.
Finally, on Monday, while trying to sweep up cat hair from my wood floors and getting frustrated because it was flying everywhere, I went to grab a Swiffer cloth and discovered that we're out of those too. So rather than buying more (lazy again, and they are pricey!), I tore an old t-shirt of my husbands into a smaller piece, spritzed it with water, and used it to clean up the cat hair. Then I tossed the rag into the wash.
We're only a few days into it, but so far, so good. In the interest of keeping my inner germaphobe at bay, I made sure the kids know that the blanket scraps are only for eating with, and the cloth diapers are for cleaning with. Even if a rag has been washed, I'm not crazy about the idea of something that was used to wipe my toilet then wiping my face. So that no one gets confused, I'm storing the cleaning rags on a separate floor from the kitchen rags. I did catch myself reaching for paper towels today when wiping down my stove, but it was a matter of running up the steps to grab a rag and then back down. And since the roll of paper towels in the kitchen is the only one in the house, I'd like to save them for when I really need them. Because, again, I'd rather not go back to the store for more.
Interested in reducing your dependency on throw away products? You can sign up at Crunchy Domestic Goddess.
What do you think? Could you stop using a disposable product and which ones?
I confess I started doing this in a small fashion a couple of months ago, when I sprayed down the mirrors and glass in my bathroom, then went to grab some paper towels, only to discover that we were fresh out. Instead, I used an old cloth diaper, and it worked fantastically! While I used disposable diapers for both kids, these cloth diapers were a baby gift and were always used as burp cloths, or when the kids were older, for wiping noses. I have far too many now, so most of them have been repurposed to become cleaning cloths. It works because they are washable and reusable, but also because it eliminates the need to go to the store and buy more paper towels. I'm pretty good at planning meals and shopping for at least a week at a time for foodstuffs, but I'm terrible at planning ahead when it comes to household items. We are perpetually running out of handsoap or dishwasher detergent or shampoo or lotion. If I can reduce the amount of stuff we actually need to buy, I can also reduce the amount of 4PM phone calls to my husband, asking him to stop for something on the way home that we must have now.
Since I already started the process of ditching the paper towels awhile ago and it seemed like cheating to make that my Ditch The Disposables choice, I also decided to see how we can reduce our dependence on paper napkins. I have two kids and they can be messy eaters. While we do have a pile of fancier cloth napkins, I wasn't inclined to use them because they ended up stained, or needed to be ironed to look nice. And you can ask my mom, I'm not big on ironing my kids' clothes, much less napkins! When I thought about it, I realized that we also don't have enough fancy cloth napkins to last for a week, and I was also disinclined (too lazy) to go to the store to buy more. Instead, I decided to repurpose a pile of unused receiving blankets that were languishing in a box under a bed. I tore each blanket into smaller squares (4 per blanket) and stored them in a basket that I unearthed from my messy, crowded basement, then plopped the basket on top of the fridge. Trust me, I won't be folding these repurposed blankets and placing them next to plates for my next dinner party, but they are perfectly suited to wiping hands covered in peanut butter or sopping up spilled milk. Plus, the generous size means the kids can use one "napkin" each instead of 2 or 3 paper napkins.
Finally, on Monday, while trying to sweep up cat hair from my wood floors and getting frustrated because it was flying everywhere, I went to grab a Swiffer cloth and discovered that we're out of those too. So rather than buying more (lazy again, and they are pricey!), I tore an old t-shirt of my husbands into a smaller piece, spritzed it with water, and used it to clean up the cat hair. Then I tossed the rag into the wash.
We're only a few days into it, but so far, so good. In the interest of keeping my inner germaphobe at bay, I made sure the kids know that the blanket scraps are only for eating with, and the cloth diapers are for cleaning with. Even if a rag has been washed, I'm not crazy about the idea of something that was used to wipe my toilet then wiping my face. So that no one gets confused, I'm storing the cleaning rags on a separate floor from the kitchen rags. I did catch myself reaching for paper towels today when wiping down my stove, but it was a matter of running up the steps to grab a rag and then back down. And since the roll of paper towels in the kitchen is the only one in the house, I'd like to save them for when I really need them. Because, again, I'd rather not go back to the store for more.
Interested in reducing your dependency on throw away products? You can sign up at Crunchy Domestic Goddess.
What do you think? Could you stop using a disposable product and which ones?
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3 comments:
I just watched an interview with a man they called No Impact Man, who unplugged from the electrical grid for one year....he wrote a book and there is a website...he went hadr core, this seems more my speed, I'll look into it!!!
Great post. I wish you the best with your challenge -it gets easier with time!
I love old diapers for cleaning. Seriously they are the best.
I realized how far I had come through baby steps in this direction when we hosted a family reunion. The stuff that was thrown away made me sick to my stomach--why are we putting watermelon rinds into the garbage instead of the compost? The recycle bin was treated like a garbage bin. My MIL about had a conniption about our lack of paper towels--seriously I go months without using a paper towel (I have a secret roll I do use for cleaning up a pet mess, or something equally disgusting but its so rare...)
Growing up in Oregon we did really well because we had to haul our own garbage to the dump. It's amazing how little you throw away when you don't have trash pick up and getting rid of it is a major inconvenience.
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