August 21st's Tip
Put Your Family On A "Low-Paper Diet": Today's tip comes from Barb Dearing.
About six years ago, I realized my family was gobbling up paper products the way the Cookie Monster gobbles cookies. We used paper napkins with each meal and for each little snack in-between. We used paper towels to kill bugs, blot lipstick, or wipe up muddy dog footprints.
We were going through facial tissues at about the same rate, since I used two each morning to remove facial cleanser. And because of allergies, I used a couple more tissues each day when I walked the dog.
One day it dawned on me that all of this paper was going straight into a landfill, and I decided to kick our paper addiction by going cold-turkey. I simply stopped buy paper napkins, paper towels or facial tissues.
Instead, I bought a 12-pack of baby washclothes - I now use one each morning with my facial cleanser and then throw it in the laundry.
I bought a 12-pack of men's woven handkerchiefs to use when I walk the dog.
I bought two dozen cotton dinner napkins (on sale for $1.00 apiece at Bed-Bath-Beyond) and we use those for meals and snacks.
We keep a rag bag of old dishtowels under the sink to use instead of paper towels.
The only paper product I buy these days is good ol' fashioned toilet paper - which can also be used to kill the occasional bug.
After following this "low paper diet" for the last six years, I figure we've kept at least 300 boxes of tissues and over 20,000 paper napkins out of the landfill. I would challege each family to examine their weekly shopping list and start replacing disposable paper products with reusable fabric items.
It may not eliminate global warming, but it can't hurt!
Contribute
We are looking for reader submitted tips for Eco-Friendly Friday so we can share some even we may have not heard before. If you've got a unique or informative tip and want to contribute to Eco-Friendly Friday, shoot us an email. Be sure to include your URL if you want a link to your site included with your tip!
August 21st, 2009 at 5:50 pm
Have you ever featured using earth friendly consumables like recyled toner or ink cartridges?
If not yet, I hope you could add it to your eco friendly friday post.
All the best. We are all one for the environment.
August 22nd, 2009 at 9:57 am
Oh you make me feel so guilty! You make sense but still guilty. We have 2 little girls (1 and 3 years) and I've seen our consumption of paper products jump.
I struggle to balance time and also the worry of germs by using wash clothes. I ways under... 'who used this last and did they wipe up a raw egg or chicken?'
Guess I need to at least do baby steps!
August 22nd, 2009 at 2:16 pm
We use a ton of paper towels in our house. I am guilt ridden myself, but with 2 young ones it can be difficult.
August 24th, 2009 at 9:42 am
Another thing that we do to save paper is to print on both sides of our paper and we also use any junk mail that we still get that has blank sides to print stuff we are going to keep like online receipts and stuff.
August 26th, 2009 at 4:45 am
As with most things green this isn't only good for the planet it's good for you wallet too.
It just goes to show what we are willing to pay, in terms of the environment and money for a tiny amount of convenience.
Keep up the good work.
August 28th, 2009 at 8:07 am
my paper consumption is way to high too, I think it's one of the hardest to get rid of, especially if you have allergies, like you and I do. You mad me feel guilty also, but I'll try to find some other way to cut on paper tissues.