One of the most obvious ways to save money while going green is to “ditch the disposables.” Paper towels, facial tissue, Swiffer pads, baby diapers… they all cost a lot of money, aren’t meant to hold up to long term use and, of course, have to be purchased over and over again. Even with coupons and sales, you are never going to come out ahead using, for example, paper napkins at every meal over cloth.
It is a huge undertaking to think about changing over to 100% reusable resources in your home, so like starting to shop for organics, let’s not think about it that way.
- So many people have made the transition to reusable grocery bags already and pretty seamlessly. If that’s a good place for you to start, grab that canvas bag you got at a conference and toss it in your car for your next shopping trip. Or if you don’t have any canvas bags and don’t want to spend the money to buy them, you can make your own out of an old t-shirt. See our previous Green Space post about that here. Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good — You don’t have to have the exact number of bags you need for every trip to consider your efforts a success. I forget my Envirosaxs all the time, but I try to slide them into my glove compartment when I can.
- Already made the grocery bag switch? Graduate to another product. I’m sure you already have some cloth kitchen towels. Try to get in the habit of reaching for those before paper towels. Once you’re out of the mindset, you may find, like we do, that one roll (in a household with 3 infants and a preschooler) lasts about a month. To encourage using kitchen towels or cloth napkins, make sure that you have a conveniently placed laundry basket for the items so that they don’t pile up, making you discouraged. We have a 1st floor laundry basket that is just the size for one load of soiled baby clothes and bibs, cloth napkins and kitchen towels, bathroom hand towels, and the like, along with muddy socks or whatever else accumulates around the kitchen, dining room, or family room.
- The web is full of cool reusable items that are often upcycled, or patterns to make them yourself if you are the crafty type! On Etsy you can find all sorts of household goods like knit dish towels and washable fabric Swiffer pads. Knitters can clean a few old t-shirts out of their closets to transform into dish scrubbers.
- Forgive yourself certain necessities. I have a 3.5 year old with a perpetual cold and marginal-at-best nose blowing skills. Paper facial tissues will have a place in our home for the foreseeable future, but I carry a pretty cloth napkin for my own use at work and at home.
What dispoables have you already ditched? What are you willing to try? Have any tips to help me remember my reusable bags more often?!? 🙂
