Dispose of the Disposables

When grocery shopping, have you ever noticed how many things in your basket are designed to go to the trashcan?

Kleenex, toilet paper (OK, toilet, not can), paper towels, paper plates, diapers, wipes, swifter, toilet wands, makeup wipes, etc.

"Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare." Isaiah 55:2

We spend good money on things to throw in the garbage.


Now, I do that too. I'm not saying we shouldn't. I am saying we should look at those things and evaluate if we could really live with a non-disposable alternative. Buying a permanent solution is cheaper, and often easier and better, than mindlessly throwing our money in the garbage.

Floors

I used a swifter for the first time the other day (did floors at someone else's house and it was the only mop they had.) I do see why it is thought to be easier, but, honestly, I didn't think the ease worth the money added to every grocery bill. 

For about $10 more than the startup cost of a swifter, you can get a mop (Scrubbie Doo) from CleanReport.com with a washable, microfiber head. I bought the string mop version a couple decades ago (before the microfiber ones were available) and am still using that original head. These swivel just like a swifter. In fact, I think the swifter was patterned after these mops (Scrubbee Doo or Doodle Bugs). And when it's dirty, instead of tossing it in the garbage, you toss it in the wash. I have literally not spent money on mops in nearly two decades. 

Clean Report also sells dust mop heads and a variety of scrubbing heads. Some use these to scrub their showers from the outside (I don't but, see why others would.)

If you already have a Swifter, I have heard of people sewing a hem and elastic around a wash cloth and ending up with the same non disposable idea as a Scrubbie Doo.

Toilets

I've never used a toilet wand and don't intend to. That seems one of most ridiculous spurious conveniences there is. You can buy toilet brushes at the dollar store and "good" ones aren't much more. If you rinse them in the toilet when you flush the cleaner down, they stay nice for quite a while; dollar store ones for a good year, more expensive for a couple of years. 

Noses

One year I bought my Hubby a pack of men's white handkerchiefs for Christmas. He thought this a very weird gift .... until his next cold. For the first time in his life all the blowing his nose didn't cause it to get so red and raw it nearly bled. 

In fact, this worked so well I have since added about 6/ person to our household, mostly western style bandanas from Walmart (about $1 each).

I keep one box of Kleenex in the cupboard "just in case," but haven't used it in years. Everyone prefers the cloth. It is so much softer and easier on the noses! 

And even with all 11 of us sick, I have never run out:-) 

Yes, it's a bit gross to get them from sick beds to the washer, but no grosser than getting the used Kleenex from the sick beds to the trashcans. And since I do all my wash in hot water followed by a hot dryer, germs are not an issue. 

Makeup

Remember those Kleenexes? A bit of Olive Oil or cold cream on a handkerchief will do just as good a job- only softer- as disposable makeup wipes, though, honestly, I just take a shower and use soap and a rag. 

Paper Cloths

What do you suppose your grandma did when her kids made a mess? 

She grabbed one of the rags she had cut up from old clothes or towels from under her sink and cleaned it up. If it was something easily washable (milk, eggs, etc) she just tossed it in with the other laundry. If it was messy-gross (i.e. grease from the oven) she just tossed it in the garbage. 

I do have paper towels in my house- for a packing project I am fixing to do. 

I have not used paper towels to clean up with in years. 

Yes, I know a roll only costs $1, but that adds up, especially with kids. I just keep old, warn bath towels, dish towels, and bits of old t-shirts under my sink to clean up messes with. (I'm looking for a pretty basket for them:-) They actually work faster and easier than the paper version and don't really add much to the laundry (all my non-disposables together now add up to about a load a week on the messiest weeks. Pennies. And that is for a household of 11).

And what about napkins? Imagine the luxury of using cloth napkins at ever meal? You can pick up some real pretty ones at the thrift store for $.10-.50 each and they add no appreciable amount to the wash, even for my size family. In fact, figure in the time it takes in the store to find, choose and buy each disposable and even the washing and folding isn't that much more in time. Many roll theirs artistically and put them in a pretty basket or box in the middle of the table so they are handy during informal meals.

Babies

Our mothers used cloth diapers. You can buy fancy, plastic lined new ones for about half what it costs for disposables for one child. Cloth will last 2-3 kids. So, that's a big savings there. To be honest, I only used cloth about half the time. Especially away from the house I felt disposables were worth the cost. 

And what do you suppose our grandma's used to wipe dirty bottoms? 

I have seen so many posts "Make your own non disposable baby wipes!" Really? 

Grandma just grabbed a wash cloth. 

My experience is that a wash cloth will do what it takes four wipes to accomplish. It is quicker and appears easier on baby's bottom than paper wipes. 

And you can buy extra wash clothes at Walmart for about $10/18; enough to take care of several babies. Buy them in a different color if you don't want to mix them in with your "normal" ones and just toss them in with the diapers to wash. Now, away from the house I almost always used disposable, but at home, the cloth was easier and nicer. And cheaper. 

Straws

My Hubby claims the best gift I ever gave him was a drinking straw. 

A glass drinking straw.

These make his drinks taste so much better. They are available at http://www.strawesome.com/  When my youngest is old enough to be responsible, we will switch everyone to glass or steel straws and quit buying the cheap plastic ones. 

Actually, hmmm, no reason to not start getting steel ones now. It's not like even the littlest one could break them.

What I go ahead and dispose of

Paper plates. Hubby insists we use these frequently, so I do. The cheapest ones cost about $.02 each, and the more expensive ones $.05 ($.04 through Amazon Subscribe and Save). This a small price to pay to make Hubby happy. 

If I wanted to, though, I could save a good $20 a month by simply using only real dishes. 

On vacation we buy all disposable dishes and flatware. We could save a lot by washing, but then would have the problem of finding somewhere to wash. Hubby would rather use disposables, so that's what we do.

Feminine products: I did try cloth pads. There are some really nice ones out there. But the logistics of using both disposables and cloth in our small house for 5 women is just too much to deal with. And exclusive cloth logistics would be too difficult too. If I was single or had no kids in the house, or had a bigger house, maybe I would use the cloth, but I just don't want to deal with it at this point (though disposable for 5 women really adds up, too). 

Our grandma's didn't have the fancy plastic-lined cloth pads we have available, of course. They just used whatever rags were handy. In a pinch, we could too. Or make our own from prefolded diapers, wash clothes, flannel bought just for that, etc. 

So that's a potential saving point if you are interested and still in that time of life.

Toilet Paper: Yes, some are going back to using cloth here, too, buying nice, soft flannel. Cutting it into 4" squares. Putting a pretty pot by the "Pot" to put them in after use. 

I intentionally never told Hubby about this option because after the handkerchief incident, I knew what his response would be. Sure enough, when he ran across an article on it himself..."Ooooo flannel...." 

Me: No.

Just the logistics in our size family would be more than I want to deal with. 

So, he gets his paper plates and I get my toilet paper for our luxuries :-D

But seriously, you could save quite a bit by going cloth. The bigger your family, the more you could save.

Surgical gloves: I keep a box of these on hand (Walmart) for emptying mouse traps and other germ ridden jobs. Hubby uses them when he checks the oil in the car. A large box lasts us about two months, and that's with the occasional balloon or pet being made out of them. We could use something like dish gloves and toss them in the washer, but I'm not sure how much we would actually save.

Ziploc: I find these the best method of storage for my family and well worth the price. They are so much simpler than trying to keep containers and their lids matched, finding a place to store them, haveing a big enough selection of sizes, etc. It's just so much simpler to keep two sizes of Ziplocs on hand and use them for everything.

And I don't often wash them either. 

Another article on the subject.of going paperless.

And one on a paperless kitchen: http://happyhealthymama.com/2015/04/5-simple-tips-to-transition-to-a-paperless-kitchen.html#_a5y_p=4135818

Over all, look at what you buy each week and contemplate what your grandma did and what could be used to replace these things with now. 

So what have I missed? What other disposable items could be replaced with something reusable?

Next Time: Scratch It