We finally got to the point where we buy absolutely no disposable paper or plastic products.
We used very little as it was, but we still bought tp, aluminum foil, kleenex when someone was sick (the kids hated handkerchiefs), reusable plastic food storage containers, sandwich bags...I think that's it.
Now we've got it to zero.
We use:
cloth napkins;
cloth tp;
cloth mentstrual pads;
(cloth diapers and plastic pants when they were babies);
handkerchiefs;
cloth elasticized bowl covers to store food in fridge over regular bowls large and small;
rags for clean up;
dishcloths;
cloth kitchen handtowels;
gold coffee filter;
bulk tea using a small strainer;
cloth napkins to wrap sandwiches for lunch out
small muslin bags for things like chips or grapes, etc.
glass jars to store bulk foods
I'm sure there's more, but I can't think of any. We just don't go down those aises. We don't even reuse plastic produce bags. We buy the produce without bags and put it all in a cloth grocery bag. If we want it separated, I bring some muslin bags I sewed so the plums don't escape and slip between the avocados and get smushed!
We also don't use trash bags. We use a metal trash can and empty it outside each night like we did when I was a kid.
The bowl covers don't keep food for as long so we just don't make very many leftovers.
Who wants old food in the fridge and trash in the house anyway?
And we didn't buy those things new. For example, I found 3 beautiful lightweight linen shirts at the thrift store for a couple of dollars and I sewed 4 handkerchiefs from each shirt.
I made dishcloth mitts from waffle weave dishtowels also from the thrift store for half a dollar or less for 2 mitts.
It's been fun to see how simple we can get things. Mostly we just stopped using the disposable item and decided whether or not it needed a replacement. (TP is obvious you'd think, but in India you wash with water after you go and don't use a cloth. But we use a cloth!)
We used very little as it was, but we still bought tp, aluminum foil, kleenex when someone was sick (the kids hated handkerchiefs), reusable plastic food storage containers, sandwich bags...I think that's it.
Now we've got it to zero.
We use:
cloth napkins;
cloth tp;
cloth mentstrual pads;
(cloth diapers and plastic pants when they were babies);
handkerchiefs;
cloth elasticized bowl covers to store food in fridge over regular bowls large and small;
rags for clean up;
dishcloths;
cloth kitchen handtowels;
gold coffee filter;
bulk tea using a small strainer;
cloth napkins to wrap sandwiches for lunch out
small muslin bags for things like chips or grapes, etc.
glass jars to store bulk foods
I'm sure there's more, but I can't think of any. We just don't go down those aises. We don't even reuse plastic produce bags. We buy the produce without bags and put it all in a cloth grocery bag. If we want it separated, I bring some muslin bags I sewed so the plums don't escape and slip between the avocados and get smushed!
We also don't use trash bags. We use a metal trash can and empty it outside each night like we did when I was a kid.
The bowl covers don't keep food for as long so we just don't make very many leftovers.
Who wants old food in the fridge and trash in the house anyway?
And we didn't buy those things new. For example, I found 3 beautiful lightweight linen shirts at the thrift store for a couple of dollars and I sewed 4 handkerchiefs from each shirt.
I made dishcloth mitts from waffle weave dishtowels also from the thrift store for half a dollar or less for 2 mitts.
It's been fun to see how simple we can get things. Mostly we just stopped using the disposable item and decided whether or not it needed a replacement. (TP is obvious you'd think, but in India you wash with water after you go and don't use a cloth. But we use a cloth!)
