I am just a little bit green. I have not gone all the way there yet, but I would love to get there (eventually)! It would be so much easier to be green without the munchkins negating everything I try to do as soon as I try to do it.
The one thing I HAVE gotten them to do is use cloth napkins every night for dinner. I realize that no one has that many cloth napkins, and neither did I, so I went to Wal-Mart and bought a pack of bar cloths. They come in a pack of 30 or so, they are the right size and we can wash them every day without feeling too bad.
I am on my second pack already, and they need to be replaced again, SOON. The first pack now has a second life as cleaning rags, so each time I get new ones, they are slightly different so I know the difference between my napkins and cleaning cloths. They were cheap (I forget how cheap, but CHEAP) and I don’t even fold them. I have a low drawer dedicated to them and the youngest kiddo, who is 3, still thinks it is cool to help out with laundry, so when we do a load with them in it, he sorts out the “napkins” and puts them back into the drawer.
It takes almost no extra effort, because I am doing a gazillion loads of laundry anyway, so throwing in a few of these every time I do whites is no extra work, and I like to think I am doing a little something-something for the environment.
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About Mom Spark
Kristen-This is a great idea! I rely so much on paper towels, I should make the switch!
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what a great idea
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we’re trying to switch to cloth napkins, too! we have a terrible paper towel habit in my house…
i found some nice acorn ones at target, in the dollar section, for 50% off!
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I have always used cloth napkins for aesthetic reasons but lately have been wondering about how much energy I use to wash. If I had a clothesline like I used when I lived in France, it might be different. But, dryers SUCK electricity! I can’t imagine not using cloth though.
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That is a berry, I mean very, good point about the energy it takes to wash the cloths. Hmmm… I wonder if it outweighs the use of paper??
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