Homemade tissues can help break our reliance on single-use products

Sometimes breaking our reliance on single-use products can be difficult. Here is one easy way to start! For years, we have been using our own tissues at home rather than buying a box after box of paper tissues from the store. Cloth tissues are easy to make and care for. To make your own cloth tissues, you simply need a piece of flannel cloth. I like to use ripped sheets, but if I don’t have any I will run to a thrift store and look for a flannel sheet to buy. If you want to start small, a pillowcase will make quite a few!

Cut your flannel sheet into squares. I like mine to be about 8 inches square but have them in many different sizes because I didn’t want any leftover fabric. After cutting, you’re done if you want! Fold your tissues and store in a container around the house. You can also choose to bind the edges by surging or folding over and sewing. I don’t do that anymore; it takes more time and my kids prefer quantity over quality when they’ve got colds. Eventually the flannel unravels, but that’s generally about the time they’re getting stained or holey and they end up in the compost pile.
To care for your tissues; simply throw into the wash with your other laundry!

Recycling SuperHero

How do you encourage kids to be eco-friendly? Teach them young! Our two year old daughter Abby just pulled a piece of used aluminum foil off of the counter and tried to put it in the recycling bin in the garage. She knew right where it belonged, but just needed help reaching it.

I told her she was a Recycling SuperHero, and she ran off to the other room to “tell” her Dad and get a high-five!

Recycle-Hero

Did you know?

According to the EPA, in 2006 the US (residents, businesses, and institutions) generated more than 251 million tons of trash (municipal solid waste or MSW).  This equates to about 4.6 pounds of waste per person per day. Of that 4.6 pounds, 1.5 pounds was recycled and around .1 pound was composted. The remaining  3 lbs of trash was discarded or incinerated. The largest portion of waste generated, 31.7 percent, was made up of containers and packaging.  See the full report at http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/nonhaz/municipal/pubs/msw06.pdf