Friday, April 11, 2008

Organizing

Today was an organizing type of day. I cleared out the linen closet and restocked it with what we actually USE rather than things left over from, I kid you not, Ted's baby shower. Oh the lotions we had! It feels very good to have that done!

After finding Crunchy Chicken, I think I just may have met my match in crunchiness. She would fit in perfectly in Boulder. This may be TMI for some of you, so feel free to stop reading now. Stop now. Gone? OK. So, for the rest of you, most of you know I cloth diapered all 3 of my kids. It was no big deal. Maybe two extra loads a week? I am by no means an OCD type of cleaner, and none of my kids, or anyone in my family for that matter, came down with any diseases. So, after reading about making the move to cloth wipes instead of toilet paper, I thought, why didn't I think of that?! Duh! We already use cloth napkins (when we use them, that is), cloth towels and rags in the kitchen. My dad still carries a hanky (or at least, he did in my last memory of him and hankies...) so why not? Without TP, paper towels and kleenex, I wouldn't need to shop at Costco AT ALL. This goes nicely with the Buy Nothing Challenge. I spent some time this afternoon cutting an old flannel sheet into squares for this very purpose. I even remember my recipe for wipe solution! (You can put it in a squirt bottle and squirt the cloth first.) My recipe is from Diaper Pin, where I bought all my cloth diaper supplies back in 2002. Wow. That seems like such a long time ago. Anyway, the recipe is: 3 drops tea tree oil + 1 TBSP Dr. Bronner's soap + water. The boys are TOTALLY on board with this. Ted said "That's a GREAT idea Mama! We can save lots of trees that way!" I love how environmental kids are naturally.

If you want to jump on board with any of these challenges, c'mon on! I am finding them quite enjoyable so far. And I LOVE the Crunchy Chicken Website! I love finding new cool sites. Happy Friday! Tomorrow Ted and I test for our Camo Belts! Woo hoo!

2 comments:

Crunchy Chicken said...

Hey, congratulations on giving the wipes a try. I ran a "test" last summer before the challenge, thinking it wouldn't last very long. Well, here I am almost 10 months later and still using the fabric scraps I cut up back then. Since then, my husband started using them too.

By the way, my brother used to live in Boulder (he moved back to Seattle a few years ago) and I love that town. And, yes, I probably would fit in there with all my crunchitude.

I'm glad you are enjoying the challenge!

Anonymous said...

Hey Ellen:
Perhaps you don't realize that today's sanitary collection systems and sewage treatment works require a substantial percentage of cellulose fiber to operate efficiently. The toilet paper mixes with the wastes to help smooth the flow down to the plant, where it further serves to balance pH and provide optimum structural matrix for the biological reactions that take place there. These systems are designed around a regular supply of paper products in the mix. If everyone did as you are doing, our sewers would clog up and our treatment plants would fail, which would lead to obvious but unpleasant environmental consequences. Please consider the environment next time you wipe!