PAPER PRODUCTS
No I do not use reusable toilet cloths (yes some people do!).
NAPKINS
I DO like to use cloth napkins. Anything that you use again is something that does not go to landfill and that you do not have to buy again. I purchased a dark brown flat sheet and cut it into squares for napkins and serged the edge. They're not for company use and they're not so pretty but they work and kids can go through a lot of napkins!
WIPES (diaper wipes or hand wipes)
This started with babies and diaper wipes, but now we're attached to having wet wipes when we travel! They are so quick and easy to make and absolutely indispensable on the road! I use a round plastic ice cream pail because it holds a whole roll - but if you use a 1/2 used roll of paper towel to make it then you can use a left over commercial wipes bottle. (If you prefer the diaper wipe flip top style you have to accordion fold them all into the box - that seems like too much work for me!)
Take 1 roll of Bounty (YES it must be bounty - or at very least sponge towels but they aren't as good)
Cut it in 1/2 right through the roll.
Fold and remove the cardboard center and stand the roll up in your container
Pull up the first paper towel in the CENTER of the roll.
Mix 1 1/2-2 cups hot water with a squirt of dish soap and 2 Tbsp oil. (if you're not using them all within a week or 2 add 20 drops of tea tree oil to inhibit
mold growth). (different sized rolls take different amounts of water)
Pour this over the paper towels (make sure not to lose the first paper towel in the center!) until the roll is soaked.
Put a lid on. You can cut a whole in the lid to pull the wipes through if you want - they don't dry out super fast because of the oil.
RAGS instead of Paper Towel
Cleaning with rags instead of with paper towel saves a bundle! Rags in my house are my old face cloths, or dish cloths, or dish towels cut. I use a permanent marker to mark an X on them on each side so that I always know which are for cleaning and which are still in their proper use! I have a friend that uses old socks the same way! You can use anything!
We recycle stained shirts in the garage for shop rags too.
And when you're done with them - they biodegrade very quickly so there's no guilt in throwing them in the trash!
WASHABLE MENSTRUAL PRODUCTS
No its not gross! Lunapads sells beautiful (yes for real!) menstrual kits! You can check this link for more information. And while we're on the topic - have you noticed the Transformation Textiles pictures and videos on my page? Did you know that young women in Africa regularly drop out of school just because they have no underwear and no menstrual products? Or that they will sell themselves to their teachers to be able to pay for these items? You can make a difference! Just $10 will keep one girl in school Every Day of the Month!
NAPKINS
I DO like to use cloth napkins. Anything that you use again is something that does not go to landfill and that you do not have to buy again. I purchased a dark brown flat sheet and cut it into squares for napkins and serged the edge. They're not for company use and they're not so pretty but they work and kids can go through a lot of napkins!
WIPES (diaper wipes or hand wipes)
This started with babies and diaper wipes, but now we're attached to having wet wipes when we travel! They are so quick and easy to make and absolutely indispensable on the road! I use a round plastic ice cream pail because it holds a whole roll - but if you use a 1/2 used roll of paper towel to make it then you can use a left over commercial wipes bottle. (If you prefer the diaper wipe flip top style you have to accordion fold them all into the box - that seems like too much work for me!)
Take 1 roll of Bounty (YES it must be bounty - or at very least sponge towels but they aren't as good)
Cut it in 1/2 right through the roll.
Fold and remove the cardboard center and stand the roll up in your container
Pull up the first paper towel in the CENTER of the roll.
Mix 1 1/2-2 cups hot water with a squirt of dish soap and 2 Tbsp oil. (if you're not using them all within a week or 2 add 20 drops of tea tree oil to inhibit
mold growth). (different sized rolls take different amounts of water)
Pour this over the paper towels (make sure not to lose the first paper towel in the center!) until the roll is soaked.
Put a lid on. You can cut a whole in the lid to pull the wipes through if you want - they don't dry out super fast because of the oil.
RAGS instead of Paper Towel
Cleaning with rags instead of with paper towel saves a bundle! Rags in my house are my old face cloths, or dish cloths, or dish towels cut. I use a permanent marker to mark an X on them on each side so that I always know which are for cleaning and which are still in their proper use! I have a friend that uses old socks the same way! You can use anything!
We recycle stained shirts in the garage for shop rags too.
And when you're done with them - they biodegrade very quickly so there's no guilt in throwing them in the trash!
WASHABLE MENSTRUAL PRODUCTS
No its not gross! Lunapads sells beautiful (yes for real!) menstrual kits! You can check this link for more information. And while we're on the topic - have you noticed the Transformation Textiles pictures and videos on my page? Did you know that young women in Africa regularly drop out of school just because they have no underwear and no menstrual products? Or that they will sell themselves to their teachers to be able to pay for these items? You can make a difference! Just $10 will keep one girl in school Every Day of the Month!