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Your mission, if you choose to accept it (on a Friday!), is to decrease what you throw away while attempting to keep a clean house.
Level of Commitment: Baby Steps
Watching some people clean up is like being the unfortunate witness to another mother’s child’s screaming hissy fit: I’m embarrassed and pained to watch, and the memory can be seared into my brain in the “ugliness” folder. I can still picture an uncle grabbing literal handfuls of non-absorbent brown paper towel to try to clean up a little water spill from my son’s cup last Christmas. Yes, a whole year ago. I was becoming so committed to using towels and avoiding waste at that point that it nearly killed me to watch the waste, the amount of paper towel that was just bunched up in his hands and didn’t even touch the liquid anyway. *sigh*
I know it’s a small improvement on the world’s waste to avoid a few paper towels here and there in your own home, when schools and businesses are filling dumpsters daily with bathroom papers towels and paper waste, when we throw away more bags of wrapping paper at one Christmas gathering than I would use in a year’s worth of spill clean-ups with paper towel, but I believe that every bit counts.
I trust that even if I’m making the tiniest of impacts on the health of the Earth, my God will know my intentions and (1) honor my effort with His grace in my family’s life and (2) use my sacrifice, if there is one involved, to make a greater impact in the spiritual life of the world. Let us all offer up our green cleaning for the soul-cleaning of our society and double our influence.
Today, as many of us make resolutions for the New Year, let’s consider what we’re leaving for our children. I want to teach mine to be “green” and to take care of the Earth God has entrusted to us.
What do you throw away when you clean?
For many of us, it’s paper towels, sponges, Swiffer cloths, and whatever incidental cleaning solutions go down the drain or into the garbage.
I think we can do better than that. I’m challenging myself to see how long a roll of paper towel can remain around before I reach the center. It’s going to be like the old question: “How many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie Roll in a Tootsie Roll Pop?” I’m positive I can have more self control than that old owl!
What to Use Instead of Paper Towel for Cleaning
- Old towels, washcloths, etc. for mopping and wipe-ups
- Old T-shirts are great for dusting
- Holey socks for cleaning the toilet (this is a new idea for me, but I’m thrilled to 1. not have to wash rags that I’ve used on the toilet – ew. and 2. feel better about throwing away holey socks – I just can’t craft with them all!)
- Skoy cloths instead of sponges, paper towels for wipe-ups (win them here!)
- Microfiber cloths for dusting, wiping down the shower, cleaning mirrors and counters (more on how to clean with microfibers)
All of these ideas apply to those “convenient” new wipes that are pre-moistened with a cleaning solution for whatever job you’re doing. In my opinion, they generate more waste because they’re easier to grab, in a plastic container that has to be disposed of, and you always have to use a whole one.
Now about those chemicals we might be washing down the drain and allowing in our indoor air…
They don’t exactly fit into the disposables theme, but if you’re still using bleach to clean up (or cleaners containing bleach or other toxic chemcials), be sure to read about my three frugal, eco-friendly cleaners…that people even give to me for Christmas! With the microfibers, I don’t even need to use any sprays to clean my glass, including baby fingerprints.
Think about what you have in your home right now that you could use as a rag, and implement a system for storing, using and laundering. (For example, where will you put the rags when they’re dirty?) Make it easy, make it work for you, and pat yourself on the back for saving the Earth a little bit today.
What other ways can we avoid tossing “stuff” into the trash while we clean up? Any ideas for my son’s twin-sized sheets that are totally threadbare? I’m not sure what to do with the fabric…
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See all of Decreasing Disposables in December here.
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My grandmother used to sew several layers of threadbare sheets together to make throws to take outside or to the beach. They worked great!
We’ve never bought paper towels – at first because they always seemed so expensive for something that is made to throw away and then for more green reasons. I’ve always kept a stack of bar mops and old cut up towels on the counter. If it’s a particularly icky mess I can toss them, but a run in the washer will usually take care of it.
I do find it unnerves some people to find out you don’t use or even have paper towels – it took my mother-in-law years to understand why, but now she has her own stack and tells others to do it =)
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Katie Reply:
January 2nd, 2010 at 1:16 am
Samantha,
Katie
Thanks for the tips and encouragement to get rid of those PTs!
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My friend made handkerchiefs out of old sheets and she loves them!
It does surprise me to read about you throwing away socks that have been used to clean the toilet. I would think you’d tend toward the cloth diaper realm…which would be a lot “grosser” than washing a rag that’s been used on a toilet.
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Katie Reply:
January 2nd, 2010 at 1:18 am
Terri,
Welcome aboard! I have confessed before that I *gasp* don’t use cloth diapers. We’re all on a journey, and my green side hasn’t taken me there. Another baby, perhaps I will use cloth. And I suppose I could keep the socks around, but who needs 50 toilet cleaning rags a year (the number of socks my hubby swears he is going through at the moment)?
Great idea for handkerchiefs – I’m just trying to use those more right now, so that’s perfect!
Katie
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Hey Katie! You were kind enough to visit my blog, so I figured I would return the favor! You should do well with the mayonnaise, but it is very critical that you do the exact process and not change it. Happy New Year!
Meagan ´s last blog ..GF Restaurant Review: Rafferty’s Pub, North Conway
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We had a pair of sheets that I couldn’t repair anymore so I cut them up and use them as toilet “paper”. Yes, it’s a bit of an adjustment, but you can wash them with the cloth diapers if you’re using them. I only use them for number one, which is actually pretty sterile. Might be more than you wanted to know!
I really like your idea of offering up any “sacrifices” related to cleaning and recycling. I get bogged down in the idea that what I do is so insignificant – forgetting that with God nothing is insignificant.
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Katie Reply:
January 2nd, 2010 at 1:23 am
Karyn,
Hmmm…picnic blankets, a braided rug (in my email), hankies, or TP? How will I ever decide what to do w/my sheets? (Or will I be forced to throw them out by the “have to get rid of stuff to move” motivation?)
I suppose if I have to throw them away anyway, I could use them for no. 1 and then throw away, and at least I’m saving something!
Awesome comment – thank you!
Katie
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for the threadbare sheets…not a helpful human craft, but pooches appreciate it (maybe donate to humane society?). i did a 4-H craft where we used fabric & braided/plaited it lanyard style to make dog chew toys. very fun & my dog enjoyed hers. we cut the fabric into strips, knotting them together & lacing them together boondoggle style. wider/multiple strips taken together, make larger toys.
what’s boondoggling? – http://www.boondoggleman.com/
(use the simple 4 strand, square lacing pattern)
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Similar to Tonya’s idea, cut the blanket into strips for braiding a rug. Pioneers did this with their fabric when it was no longer mend-able, clothes, dish towels, linens, etc. If you build a stash you can come up with fun designs or color combinations for your rug.
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Old sheets are good as absorbent layers in cloth diapers.
If you have any need to sew them anymore. Or, of course, you could turn them into a cape or other dress-up clothes for the kids.
I have about 14 yards of birdseye cotton upstairs just WAITING to be turned into various cloth projects, to replace everything in my kitchen. Hmm…you keep reminding me I need to get to that!
Kate´s last blog ..Happy New Year’s Eve!
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I thought of the braided rug as well. A few years ago I worked with a Mennonite group to make quilts to donate overseas. We used all sorts of cloth not only for the outside but for stuffing. Afterward I found ‘the ugly quilt pattern’ on line and used some old drapes for one side, old sheets for the other and all sorts of odds and ends for the ‘batting’. I sewed across bottom closed and up the sides to make a sleeping bag cocoon. I added a secret pocket and included some toiletries. Old neck ties made a strap to bundle and carry the bag. I learned that the homeless, even if not sleeping outside, go through a sleeping bag every 3 months on average.
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Katie Reply:
January 2nd, 2010 at 1:29 am
Wow! That quilt sounds absolutely amazing. I wish I was so crafty! Anyone want a threadbare sheet to do a craft at their house?
Katie
Thanks for the idea!
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I just wanted to say that I’m enjoying your site very much. I’m so with you on everything! Thanks for your writing!
Mary @ The Writer’s Block´s last blog ..Reflections on 2009 and The Last Decade
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Katie Reply:
January 2nd, 2010 at 1:30 am
Aw, thanks Mary – it’s good to have you here!
Happy New Year – Katie
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Because I am “cheap”, I refuse to buy those Swiffer mop pad things. I use a wash cloth and two rubberbands that I wrap around the Swiffer mop thing. Then I toss the rag into the towel basket to wash. I use a spray bottle of vinegar on the floor and spray a bit of water and mop. Works just as good as the Swiffer pads and solution.
Paula´s last blog ..Craziest Photo of Me Evah! 2/365
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Well, this post was an eye opener for me. I always have done a lot of tossing when it came to doing a big clean. It is so discouraging to have so many little things I don’t know what to do with, that (until now) I have just tossed. Thanks for the awareness!
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Katie Reply:
January 4th, 2010 at 3:19 am
Welcome! I’m glad you found some helpful info here. I love your blog name.
Katie
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All Things Eco Blog Carnival Volume Eighty Four » Focus Organic.com // Jan 12, 2010 at 8:58 pm
[...] presents Monday Mission: Clean Up Without Throwing Out | Kitchen Stewardship posted at Kitchen Stewardship. Katie describes this submission as, "7 tips for reducing what you [...]