And Another Thing...

Ditch the Disposables Challenge: Reusable cloth snack bags

As part of the Ditch the Disposables Challenge, I decided to make some reusable cloth snack bags for my kids.  The tutorial came up in one of the blogs I read and I knew that it would be a hit! 
These were ridiculously easy to make and I think from cutting to finished product it took about 30 minutes to make five.  I used unbleached muslin for the lining, scrap fabric for the outside and hook and loop tape from the dollar bin at the fabric store; so in addition to being easy, it was also cheap (like the cost of 2 boxes of plastic snack bags).  I'm going to take the time later this week to make up a second batch so that we have a spare for each kid.

Ditch the Disposables

A few years ago, we decided to start getting serious about reducing the amount of waste that comes out of our house.  We started out doing two of the simplest and cheapest things you can do.  We stopped buying paper napkins and paper towels.

A while back, I discovered the joys of white washcloths.  For whatever reason, these simple little things just sing to me.  I can hardly stand to pass them up when I see them in the store and to make matters worse, Ikea washcloths have a tiny little colored tab on one corner.  These are nearly irresistible to me. 

I prefer to use the washcloths and tea towels in lieu of paper towels mostly because I think they do a better job of cleaning things up.  I also think that they are better for our little blue planet than killing trees and using chemicals to make paper towels. 

When an Ikea opened near us, we discovered that they had very nice and super cheap cloth napkins.  I bought 4 sets, spending about $15 and never looked back.  In the time since then, I have acquired several different styles of cloth napkins at clearance sales, garage sales and second-hand stores.  I probably have spent less than $30 to build up our napkin supply which is way less than the money that I would have spent buying paper napkins over the years.

Aside from the obvious environmental benefits of  using one thing over and over again, I think it makes smart economic sense to build up a supply of something and not have a recurring cost to deal with all the time.  If you also have the dedication to hang your re-usable washcloths and towels on the line to dry, instead of using the clothes dryer, it makes even more ecological and economical sense.  I have to admit that I lack that determination quite a bit of the time, but I'm getting better!