2 Easy Ways to Reduce Your Use of Paper Products
Our housekeeping will never be as green as I'd really like, but we've made two simple switches that are reducing our use of paper products. No more paper towels or napkins for us! Details that make it work for us, one sorta big pitfall, and a few pretty photos are on the blog.
We've converted to using cloth napkins for meals and microfiber cloths for cleaning messes.
We use a different color of napkin for each family member, so each can be used more than once.
After a meal, the napkins get stored in a thrift-store basket that stays on our table.
We keep microfiber cloths with our cleaning supplies.
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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Growing up I don't believe my parents ever purchased paper towels. The whole disposable thing seems to be a fairly recent innovation. We used dishcloths to wipe down kitchen bench tops, stove tops and so on. I am amazed how much paper towel we get through in one week and keep resolving to stop buying it altogether. I manage for a while and then revert back. I do hate wasting money on paper towels and the idea of all that paper waste. We only use napkins when we have company for dinner and then we use linen ones that are washable. I do find that I launder those cleaning clothes (J cloths or similar) a couple of times rather than throw them away and buy a new packet. They do wash up quite well. I also use white vinegar mixed with water and a squeeze of lemon juice to clean my bench tops in the kitchen, the sinks in the bathrooms and the stove top. I also use a small bowl of vinegar heated in the microwave for a couple of mins to steam clean our microwave and it is then easy to wipe over - you can also use lemon juice. For the shower screens I use a double sided Sabco cloth - one side is blue and I wipe the shower over after each use, then use the reverse of the cloth which is a chamois leather to dry the screens off. This saves having to do a weekly scrub to get soap scum off the shower screens. The screens always look nice and clean. Hope these tips can help someone on here!
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I haven't arrived yet. I gotta have my paper towels, but one day...onnnne day;)
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