Thursday, February 26, 2009

Look, Ma, No More Paper Towels!

It's official: the Travnik household used up their last roll of paper towels six weeks ago and haven't bought another roll since.

There wasn't really any particular reason why we stopped using paper towels. Well, Ok, maybe there was. Being the frugal zealot that I am, it's always thrill to save a buck here or there....Anyways, we ran out and I didn't really feel like buying more, so I thought we'd give a paper-towel-free lifestyle a try.

In place of the paper towels, we're using old receiving blankets. Some receiving blankets were quartered while others were cut into sixteen smaller squares. I then zig zagged around the raw edges.

The larger squares are used for cleaning the bathroom and the smaller pieces are used for spills or wiping out our cast iron pans after they are seasoned.

I use newspapers and a vinegar/water solution to clean our glass and mirrors at home. I've always done this because newspapers give the best streak free shine!

You know what? At the end of these six weeks, I haven't missed the paper towels once. I'll be making a trip to the second hand store sometime soon to pick up used receiving blankets to make into more wipes for the bathroom. Thanks to a potty-training, I have learned you can never have too many rags for bathroom cleaning.

I know that Kindra has also cut up old receiving blankets to use as baby wipes.

Now, I just have to convince Nialle that it would be really cool to make up our own reusable "toilet paper" out of receiving blankets! :)

3 comments:

Grandma Farm said...

OH, I have an old receiving blanket for you to use. For the mirrors, that is, not for toilet paper.

arlene said...

I feel no guilt over the excessive luxury of soft, white T.P. However, your re-use of receiving blankets is brilliant!

Karyn said...

reusable TP? Um....I might try to go without the paper towels (although it would be difficult - I love paper towels) but I think I'll stick to the flushable TP