A Recycling Challenge

I mentioned in an earlier post that I'm attempting to be a little "greener" and I've been reading the book "Organic Housekeeping." After reading a particular chapter in the book, I made a challenge to myself and my family. A suggestion in the book recommends using clean cotton cloths instead of paper towels. Hmmm...She suggests using other "unusable" items (old t-shirts, socks, towels, burp rags, etc...). Cut them up, wash them in hot water, and voila! So, I cleaned through Walt's undershirts (I'm not sure how he can completely rip the underarm out of an undershirt in just a couple of months, but he does). I grabbed a few of the ripped up ones, cut them into rags, and instantly had a stash of about 50 clean cotton rags to use. I put them in a basket on the kitchen table and made it our challenge to use those for anything we could (wiping counters, high chair, runny noses, swiffer covers, etc...). I also used them to clean the bathroom yesterday. Each time I moved to a new surface, I got a new rag out (one for the counter, toilet, shower ,etc...). Amazing.

I counted up the dirty ones as I put them in the wash last night. 35. That's how many paper towels I would have wasted yesterday cleaning. I couldn't believe it! So we've made it our challenge to use them when we can (obviously, some jobs are better left to disposable towels). I'll let you know how it goes as we continue our challenge!