1. Family Doesn't Buy Into Eliminating Paper Towels
Using our enormous rag box, I created a stash of ready-to-use paper-towel-replacements. Then, the lengthy debate with my husband about why we shouldn't use as many paper products begins. I explain that we're trying to limit our garbage output. My husband says that we're generating more waste water by having to wash the rags constantly. Plus, aren't paper products bio-gradable? Argh! Why can't being green be easy?
2. Increased Laundry By Twofold
I blew through my stash of rags within one day! Between my two-year-old spilling her applesauce, to my five-year-old missing the potty, I thought 20 rags would be more than enough for at least a week. Boy, was I wrong!
3. Rags are Not as Absorbent as Paper Towels
Instead of absorbing liquid, the t-shirt rags more or less just pushed it around. Whereas I would normally use a paper towel or two to clean up a wet mess, I felt like I was using four rags to do the job.
4. Food Stuff Sitting in Your Rag Pile Isn't Very Appealing
Spaghetti sauce, yogurt, eggs -- you don't want these things sitting in your laundry. I do the family's laundry once a week, so I couldn't really let it sit. I found myself doing a load of laundry at least once a day.
5. Kids are Really Messy
I think this experiment may have worked out better if my husband and I were two childless neat freaks. But that is far from the case. I think children under five should automatically come with at least 10 cases of paper towels.
I admit defeat, but I won't go down with out a fight. Yes, I've resided to continuing my paper towel usage. But I've discovered that Marcal has come out with a green paper towel. It's made from recycled materials, which makes me feel every bit better about my excessive paper towel use.
Anything you'd do differently to make it work?
You need to make rags pretty and lots of them.
ReplyDeleteYes I got both classy napkins
and cloth baby whipes plenty of them
Also if you get a hanging or folding dryer you can hang dry them indoors.
Okay, I'm taking the advice and going back in to try again. I will not let the paper towels get the best of me!
ReplyDeleteI hope it works for you.
ReplyDeleteThe hanging dryer really gives a line dry smell.
They also have nicer Drying racks which are made of wood. The hanging ones are made of plastic.
I mostly like to use it for bigger towels to reduce how much time I have to use the real dryer.