What other disposable things do you avoid? - Page 3

[natesmommy126]

Nevermind. I've had enough of the condescending attitudes of some people on this board who live in a perfect world obviously.

[iamama]

but if it makes my life easier, I'm all for it

nice :

[natesmommy126]

Originally Posted by iamama

but if it makes my life easier, I'm all for it

nice :

You wanna come walk a mile in my shoes? How about you have back surgery and then you might see that there are some convenience things that are simply necessary to live when you can't bend, lift, twist, etc. Ever try to clean your bathtub without bending? Try doing laundry without lifting it. Try not being able to cook a meal because you can't bend down to reach your pots and pans or load and unload your dishwasher or stand to wash dishes. Paper plates and cups have become a necessity around here. I've even used disposables a few times lately. Go ahead and get irked if you want. You have no right to judge me at all, until you wanna come see how I have to live right now. I would never judge you. I'd like the same respect thankyouverymuch.

[*~*SewHappyNow*~*]

Originally Posted by iamama

but if it makes my life easier, I'm all for it

nice :

snarky much?

[iamama]

First of all, I didn't realize that you were recovering from surgery and needed those items. No I don't need a mile in your shoes- I would not last 5 steps. I could not imagine anything harder than recovering from back surgery with 2 little ones. My heart goes out to you, really. Disposable items are great in your case for sure.

I'm farrrrrrr from perfect. On Tuesday I used one of those disposable finger toothbrush thingy's...and I liked it!

Sew Happy-me no snarky much

[winter_dawn]

Originally Posted by natesmommy126

You wanna come walk a mile in my shoes? How about you have back surgery and then you might see that there are some convenience things that are simply necessary to live when you can't bend, lift, twist, etc. Ever try to clean your bathtub without bending? Try doing laundry without lifting it. Try not being able to cook a meal because you can't bend down to reach your pots and pans or load and unload your dishwasher or stand to wash dishes. Paper plates and cups have become a necessity around here. I've even used disposables a few times lately. Go ahead and get irked if you want. You have no right to judge me at all, until you wanna come see how I have to live right now. I would never judge you. I'd like the same respect thankyouverymuch.

I understand you completely. I had a slipped disk in my back for 3 1/2 months before I finally had surgery, and by then I had to be carried to the E.R., the pain was so excruciating. Even labor and birth wasn't that painful. It's been almost two years, and my back still aches and stiffens up. I guess we walked that mile together!

[spatulagirl]

Originally Posted by ustasmom

Odd question here, but how do you get around buying disposable Q-tips?

In Japan they have these little bamboo ear cleaners, they look like drink swizel sticks combined with a Lacrosse stick. You scoop all the ear wax and dirt out with it, wash it and reuse it.

DH and I use those but we use Q-Tips on the kids.

[pilesoflaundry]

paper towels
disposable pads/tampons I use a diva cup and/or cloth pads instead (depends on my mood)
throw away baby stuff (the bibs the washclothes etc.) I use real cloth washclothes, imagine that! :LOL (this would me much funnier somewhere else)
paper plates 90% of the time, I do have my weak moments
throw away napkins, I love my cloth ones

I also reduce in general and recycle everything I can to reduce my over all throw away items.

I do understand that I'm lucky enough to have a washer and dryer of my own and the time it takes to do the constant laundry and dishwashing that I have to do to keep up with it all. I am constantly washing towels!!! Omgosh my kids' spill so much :LOL.

[Danahen]

In Japan they have these little bamboo ear cleaners

I used to have one of those!! I loved it!! Do you know how to get some online? I've been looking for ages.

[natesmommy126]

Originally Posted by iamama

First of all, I didn't realize that you were recovering from surgery and needed those items. No I don't need a mile in your shoes- I would not last 5 steps. I could not imagine anything harder than recovering from back surgery with 2 little ones. My heart goes out to you, really. Disposable items are great in your case for sure.

I'm farrrrrrr from perfect. On Tuesday I used one of those disposable finger toothbrush thingy's...and I liked it!

Sew Happy-me no snarky much

It's okay. I just don't get the judgemental attitude that creeps out on here sometimes. The better than you thing I guess. I nearly deleted my membership on here last night. But, I decided against it because I enjoy reading. I guess that's why I only read now. I don't care to be jumped on and I don't feel like I fit in much. But, I am over it now. I will just keep my mouth shut from now own. :LOL Not all disposable things are evil. Sometimes they're a necessity. I'm doing a lot of things now that I never thought I would. This surgery has changed a lot. But enough about me. Thanks for understanding.

Originally Posted by winter_dawn

I understand you completely. I had a slipped disk in my back for 3 1/2 months before I finally had surgery, and by then I had to be carried to the E.R., the pain was so excruciating. Even labor and birth wasn't that painful. It's been almost two years, and my back still aches and stiffens up. I guess we walked that mile together!

I had this herniated disc for over 4 months before I ended up with surgery. I had epidural steroid injections, tons of medications and gave it time. But, it was too far gone. It was making my right leg numb and the pain was awful. It's definitely been one of the hardest things I've dealt with physically. How long did it take you to recover? I'm about 6 weeks postop and I'm still hurting much more than I thought I would. I now have left leg pain, an ice pick feeling stuck in my spine, and I still have right leg pain as well as constant lower back pain. I still can't lift over 10 lbs, no bending, no twisting. I can walk on the treadmill, but only 1/4 mile at a time before my pain is horrendous. I'm not nearly as recovered as I thought I would be by now, and I'm worried it didn't fix it now. I really don't want to go under the knife again.

[kate~mom]

Originally Posted by christeenybeany

diapers.
take'n'toss cups, spoons, bowls, etc.
Bibsters.
baby washclothes that come with shampoo in them already
Disposable diaper changing pads
toilet scrub brushes that flush away and house hold cleaning wipes

we don't use any of these or paper towels, paper plates, bowls, plastic utensils, etc. we don't buy bottled water, even when we're out - we always have nalgenes with us. we also bring canvas bags to the grocery store, and i will usually just ask to put my purchases (if they are small enough) in my diaper bag or backpack at other stores.

eta: i don't buy disposable menstrual products either - or baggies - and we *try to use aluminum foil and plastic wrap as minimally as possible.

[boscopup]

Originally Posted by natesmommy126

I don't care to be jumped on and I don't feel like I fit in much. But, I am over it now.

Hey, don't keep your mouth shut! I'm not as "crunchy" as alot of people on here either, but that doesn't mean we can't all get along and enjoy some cloth diaper talk.

Originally Posted by natesmommy126

I'm about 6 weeks postop and I'm still hurting much more than I thought I would.

My friend had surgery for 3 herniated discs, and it took several months to get better, but now 1 year later, she feels great. One thing to watch out for though - the pain meds can be addicting, and she was starting to get addicted, but told her doctor about it in time, and they were able to wean her off the pain meds and get her all worked out. She's had to take some antidepressants in the process, but she's come off of those too (and is now TTC! YAY!.

I remember her being in ALOT of pain in the beginning, but now she's fine. So just keep tabs with your surgeon, and if he says you're getting better, you probably are, even if you don't feel like you are.

I've dealt with herniated disc myself, but managed to avoid surgery. PT and oddly enough, pregnancy, made me better. LOL. But I know several people who have had to get the surgery. Not fun. :/

[mehndi mama]

So are the Q-tips just to clean ears out with? I use my finger on the baby. You aren't supposed to stick anything into the ear canal anyway, so whatever gunk I can get with my finger is good enough. It's amazing the gook they get creeping out of their ears, isn't it?

We don't usually have most paper products around here - TP, paper towels, disposable pads, kleenex, napkins, that kind of stuff doesn't see much action around here.

However, I am prone to depression, and before I had my kids in charge of dish duty, the dishes were something I could not bbring myself to do when I was in a funk. At those times, it was throwaway dishes or nobody ate, and that's the long & short of it. We haven't had to resort to that in quite a while, though, now that I have a teenager in charge of the dishes and another woman to share cooking with.

[BCmamaof6]

We use reg TP & sometimes buy paper towels. We also bring groceries home in plastic bags (although we do reuse them)
That's it really. We use cloth diapers & wipes, cloth mama pads, cloth washclothes for cleaning, wiping grimey little hands, etc. We don't use any of the disposable baby junk that was mentioned...I'd never even heard of most of it. The children use cloth lunchbags for school & Tupperware containers. (For those of you without kids in school- there is an awful lot of pre-packaged (OVER-packaged) 'lunch treats' on the market...we don't buy any of it either.)
I'm working on the TP thing...just gotta convince DH...I'll tell ya- we use a fair whack of TP around here- 5 girls in the house- and we can't 'just shake it' dry YKWIM? :LOL

[mehndi mama]

In all honesty, saying "we don't use cloth bathroom wipes because DH says no" is a poor excuse. Nobody says HE has to use them. Just use them yourself - since women use so much more TP than men do, it will cut your TP use WAAAYYYYY back.
So if you don't use cloth bathroom wipes because you don't want to, that's a-okay. Most people don't. But don't use your DH as an excuse for you and your kids - if you'd like to, there's no reason you can't. (FWIW, this isn't *aimed* at the pp......I hear this a LOT from lots and lots and lots of people. I mention cloth wipes, and the response is ALWAYS "My husband would NEVER go for that idea!" The truth is, he doesn't have to. Or it could be that what they're really saying is "I do NOT want to wash anything having to do with my DH's butt"? :LOL )

[Danahen]

Nobody says HE has to use them. Just use them yourself - since women use so much more TP than men do, it will cut your TP use WAAAYYYYY back.

Amen sister-friend. My dh won't use them, and I'm obviously a huge advocate for them! (I think he sneaks a "good" wipe now and again though :LOL ). Even though he won't use them, he brags about how much money we save on paper TP . She's right, women go through WAY more TP than men. My kids go through so many cloth wipes in a day, it's crazy! Just make/buy some and use them. If he has a problem, keep them in some kind of cubby near the toilet. If my dh said I "couldn't" do it, I think I'd knock him out.

[mehndi mama]

Dude, your DH *still* won't use them?!? All it took for J was the prospect of having to go buy his own TP, and he was switched over. He liked his TP, but not enough to go buy it himself when he ran out! :LOL

[GranolaMoon]

I told mine he'd have to buy his own tp too, worked like a charm! It took him months to get through the last few rolls by himself, then he never replaced them. I haven't heard any complaints yet (we've been using them for over a year), but he refuses to use the girly colored ones.

[Boadicea]

Originally Posted by mehndi mama

In all honesty, saying "we don't use cloth bathroom wipes because DH says no" is a poor excuse. Nobody says HE has to use them. Just use them yourself - since women use so much more TP than men do, it will cut your TP use WAAAYYYYY back.
So if you don't use cloth bathroom wipes because you don't want to, that's a-okay. Most people don't. But don't use your DH as an excuse for you and your kids - if you'd like to, there's no reason you can't. (FWIW, this isn't *aimed* at the pp......I hear this a LOT from lots and lots and lots of people. I mention cloth wipes, and the response is ALWAYS "My husband would NEVER go for that idea!" The truth is, he doesn't have to. Or it could be that what they're really saying is "I do NOT want to wash anything having to do with my DH's butt"? :LOL )

Absolutely! I use cloth wipes, and so does DS, but DH absolutely refuses to even try them. So be it. He's gone for five days out of every eight, and uses less TP than me even when he is home, so it's still quite a big savings for me and kiddos to use cloth. I just wash them with the diapers, no big deal. (I'd even wash DH's, too, if he'd use 'em -- I'd just dump 'em in the washer and not think about it too much! :LOL)

As for other disposable products, I have a few weaknesses, but I'm pretty much into reusable all the way. I run a home daycare, and I will admit to keeping a supply of paper plates on hand, just because there are times that I am too busy with the kids/crazy with the chaos to do umpteen dishes. I don't have a dishwasher, and my kitchen is pretty small, so the dishes can pile up quickly, and paper plates are often just a sanity saver for me. I also keep TP and tissues on hand for the daycare kids.

Everything else is cloth or resusable, from napkins to shopping bags to mama cloth to dishcloths. I just don't get all of these new disposable products on the market lately ... like the "washcloths" that are paper and come *preloaded* with soap?!?!? That is just the height of laziness, as far as I am concerned.

[boscopup]

Originally Posted by springmama

I just don't get all of these new disposable products on the market lately ... like the "washcloths" that are paper and come *preloaded* with soap?!?!?

Yeah, that one I don't get. How hard is it to put a dab of soap on a wash cloth and throw it in the laundry basket when done? And I'm really lazy. :P

After this thread, I've been thinking about using family wipes, but one question... Does anyone use ovulation method (cervical mucus checking only) type NFP with cloth family wipes? I'm wondering if checking cervical mucus would work as well on cloth as it does on TP. I suppose it might if I used a smooth fabric on one side of the wipe?

I was already wanting to switch to mama cloth, and am still researching that (basically, which one to get?!?). Disposable pads give me a rash after about 5 days of use. Haven't had to deal with it for the last 13 months, but I'm sure that will change eventually.