Welcome to the January 2012 Carnival of Natural Parenting: Experiments in Natural Family Living
This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Hobo Mama and Code Name: Mama. This month our participants have reported on week long trials to make their lives a little greener and gentler. Please read to the end to find a list of links to the other carnival participants.
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I feel quite confident in calling myself an Eco-Mama. We do our best to live in a low impact and sustainable way but there is always room for improvement. In my teen years my step-father would say that ‘someone is eating the toilet roll’ as his way of saying that I was using a little too much! I’ve improved since then but I totally admired another one of my eco-friends who said she always counted how many squares of toilet tissue each time. Then I saw this post on Little Green Blog which took this reducing tactic to a next level – moving to reusable cloth to replace toilet tissue. It made me think. And think. And think. If I used cloth diapers and wipes for my babies, cloth menstrual pads for myself, what could really be the problem in cloth wipes for the toilet function? It was time for make a change. With the topic for the January Carnival of Natural Parenting – ‘Experiments in Natural Family Living’, I was given the all important push to an even more sustainable and eco-lifestyle. I chose to stop flushing trees (not literally of course) and use cloth wipes instead.
Now I’m sure the reactions to this declaration mainly fall into the two camps that responded to me when I made the transition from disposable to cloth menstrual pads ‘some are freaked out and use words such as ‘yuck’, ‘gross’, ‘eeewwwww!’, whilst the other group are either already doing the same thing or at least intrigued to find out more.’ Honestly, to even write this post it feels like I’m coming out of the closet and opening up to the world what should be kept to myself in the bathroom but I will divulge all!
For anyone that can’t imagine what the fuss could possibly be with a little toilet tissue let me sum up with a few quick facts:
- Worldwide, the equivalent of almost 27,000 trees attributable to toilet paper is either flushed or dumped in landfills every day.(1)
- Toilet paper is bleached with chlorine which creates toxic by-products including cancer causing dioxins which end up in our water systems, soils, wildlife and breast milk.
- Lloyd Alter of the website Treehugger reports that making a single roll of toilet paper requires 37 gallons of water, 1.3 kilowatt/hours (KWh) of electricity and some 1.5 pounds of wood.(2)
- 98% of toilet paper used by Americans is made from Virgin wood. Allen Hershkowitz, a senior scientist at the Natural Resources Defence Council says: “Future generations are going to look at the way we make toilet paper as one of the greatest excesses of our age. Making toilet paper from virgin wood is a lot worse than driving Hummers in terms of global warming pollution.”(3)
The transition to cloth wipes also solved another eco-conundrum for me – the recycling of stained baby clothes. I’ve been stashing away all the onesies with stains thinking that I can’t possibly give them away as I do with most of the other outgrown clothes but not feeling up to any major crafting/quilting project to transform them. It was like a ‘Eureka’ moment when I connected the dots and decided to make them into my new toilet cloths.
Baby clothes for upcycling
The Onesie with cuttable sections marked out. (Also saved the fasteners for a fun instant kids game and future craft project!)
Stash of cut cloths ready to be sewn
After cutting out all my squares I organized for Organic Dad to watch the kiddos one Sunday while I spent the afternoon at my neighbours house using her sewing machine. It was a fun and simple endeavour. I used the seam of the material to provide one edge of the cloth, sewed around almost all the 3 remaining edges before turning the inside out and completing the last part of the stitching on the outside. Of course I used green thread! I timed myself and it took just about 2 minutes 30 seconds to do each one. Within a short time I had 25 lovely new cloths to return home with.
Me at the sewing machine and basking in the sunlight through the window
The finished cloths - ta-da!
Gratuitous green photo. Raindrops on dasheen leaves on my walk home.
I began the experiment on Monday 19th December placing a stash of cloths in a 2 waterproof ziplock bags and putting them by each of our toilets. It felt like a novelty to remember to take one before I sat on the ‘throne’ and also remember not to flush it down the toilet! (I have so far thrown three in the toilet and had to rescue it and thrown one in that got flushed!). Washing them is the easiest part of the process as I still have wet buckets for the kids’ cloth diapers and they just get tossed in together. My little ones only use diapers at night now but I still wash them every day. Probably when they are completely diaper free I’ll have to wash my own cloths less frequently and make more or take the plunge and after a good rinse, add them to a regular load of laundry (this doesn’t appeal to me right now).
After a few days of getting into full swing with my new cloth wipes and very much enjoying the new soft feeling, (much better than even the softest tissue) my period arrived. At first I continued using my wipes but I worried they would stain. They probably wouldn’t have as I dry everything on an outside line where the sun bleaches everything but I really didn’t like the idea of my freshly made cloths looking ‘dirty’. So when the ‘red sea’ was in the height of its flow I reverted to the regular tissue for a few days and decided to make some darker cloths for next month as my special menstrual cloths.
Okay if I haven’t lost you to the ‘ewwwww, yuck’ crowd yet I am assuming it is safe to continue with further details…what to do with poop? Funny enough I’m quite happy to wipe my kids poops straight into the cloth using our homemade wipe liquid, rinse and wash but I didn’t feel I wanted to do that myself. For many years (on and off) I’ve used the method of washing with water before wiping away a number 2 (like a bidet but using a bottle of water), so decided this would be the way to go while using the cloth wipes. All I’ll say is that it works beautifully and feels extra clean.
One issue that came up for me during this transition was how would other people react to this? What would I say if they asked about my stash of wipes in the bathroom or flapping wildly in the breeze? Would I proudly tell all or pretend that they are for the children? (Now I’ve written this blog post I’ve essentially quashed the latter option!) I sometimes feel that every ‘alternative’ environmentally minded choice I make seems to make me more different, isolated and viewed as a little strange. Probably it’s good for me to continually process these feelings on this so I can support my children as they grow in a lifestyle that is decidedly different from the mainstream. Maybe one day I’ll find my ‘tribe’ and live in a beautiful eco village community which shares and promotes values of living in harmony with nature and each other. (And perhaps there we won’t even have to use cloth wipes as there are some plants growing in Dominica with very soft leaves!)
I am very happy to have made a change from toilet tissue to reusable cloth and plan to continue long into the future with my new wipes. Maybe in the future I’ll get super radical and take them with me wherever I go in discreet little wet bags (or maybe not but ‘never say never’ right?!) I feel good that I have reduced the need to use another disposable paper product that is destructive and polluting for our planet. Maybe in some small way I am making a difference – will you try it too?
(1) http://www.worldwatch.org/node/6403
(2) http://green.yahoo.com/blog/daily_green_news/243/would-you-use-a-bidet-to-save-water-and-paper.html
(3) http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/feb/26/toilet-roll-america
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Visit Hobo Mama and Code Name: Mama to find out how you can participate in the next Carnival of Natural Parenting!
Please take time to read the submissions by the other carnival participants:
- Make your own moisturizer! — Megan at boho mama whips up a winter skin-friendly moisturizer.
- Cold Water Only — Brittany at The Pistachio Project talks about how you do not need hot water to wash laundry.
- Family Cloth… Really?? — After lots of forethought and consideration, Momma Jorje finally decides to take the plunge with family cloth.
- Reduce, Reuse, Recycle : 5-5-5 Things A Day — Luschka from Diary of a First Child writes about decluttering her home in an attempt to create a gentler living space. She takes on a new project where she sets a goal of reducing, reusing and recycling every day.
- Pros and cons of family cloth — Lauren at Hobo Mama would love to continue replacing paper products with family cloth … if she could only get over how damp she feels.
- Craftily Parenting — Kellie at Our Mindful Life finds that crafting makes her a better parent.
- Changes — Laura at Pug in the Kitchen couldn’t choose just one area to experiment with, so she wrote a long post about all the fun changes initiated in her life!
- Life without Internet: Not all it’s Cracked up to Be — Adrienne at Mommying My Way tries to go a week without the Internet, only to realize a healthy dose of Internet usage really helps keep this stay-at-home mom connected.
- My Progression to Raw Milk — Kerry at City Kids Homeschooling shares her natural parenting progression all the way to trying raw milk.
- mama’s new little friend. — Sarah at Bitty Bird tries a menstrual cup to “green her period,” and is pleasantly surprised when she falls in love with the product!
- Before you throw it out, try homemade laundry soap! — Jennifer at Practical OH Mommy shows visual proof that homemade laundry soap is cheaper, easier, and works better than the store-bought chemicals!
- Oil, Oil, No Toil, No Trouble — K from Very Simple Secret talks about her foray into the oil-cleansing method.
- I Need a Hobby — Amanda at Let’s Take the Metro couldn’t decide which experiment to run, so she did them all.
- 7 days of macrobiotics for a balanced family — The Stones make a [successful] attempt to release the “holiday junking” with 7 days of macrobiotic meals to balance their bodies and souls. Elisabeth at Manic Mrs. Stone includes an explanation of macrobiotics.
- Chemical Free Beauty Challenge — Jenn at Monkey Butt Junction turned to natural alternatives for her daily beauty and cleaning routine, with great results.
- Greening my Armpits!? My Green Resolution — Shannon at The Artful Mama talks about how she decided to give up her traditional antiperspirant and make the switch over to crystal deodorants and definitely isn’t looking back!
- Going Raw (for a while) — Jenny at Chronicles of a Nursing Mom shares her family’s experience with raw food.
- Do we get to eat gluten today? — Sheila at A Gift Universe has been trying to figure out if her son does better with or without gluten in his diet … but it’s really hard to tell for sure.
- Hippies Can Smell and Look Fabulous Too! — Arpita of Up, Down And Natural details her experience of going shampoo-free and overhauling her cosmetics to find the balance between feeling beautifully fabulous and honoring her inner hippie.
- Our cupboards are full…but there’s nothing to eat — Lucy at Dreaming Aloud takes on the challenge of chomping through the contents of her storecupboard rather than going shopping — but there’s something that she just can’t bring herself to do …
- Elimination Experiment 3.0 — MudpieMama recounts the messy adventures of her baby daughter trying to be diaper free.
- Family Cloth Trial — Amyables at Toddler in Tow talks about making and using family cloth wipes in the bathroom for the first time.
- Taking a Hiatus — Amy at Peace 4 Parents shares how her experience of much less internet interaction affected her family and how it will change her approach in the future.
- Trying Out the Menstrual Cup — Lindsey at an unschooling adventure ditches the tampons and gives menstrual cups a try.
- Managing Food Waste in Our Home — Tired of the holiday waste, Robbie at Going Green Mama takes a weeklong focus on reducing food waste in her home, and learns some lessons that can take her through the new year.
- Going Offline, Cloth Tissues, and Simplicity — Jennifer at Hybrid Rasta Mama muses over her time away from blogging and social networking. In addition, she shares her newfound love of cloth tissues and simplicity.
- The Oil Cleansing Method — Erica at ChildOrganics explores an easy, organic and natural way to tackle skin care.
- Experiments in Natural Family Living – Natural Toys! — Lani at Boobie Time enjoys the silence of natural toys and being more present with her son.
- Discovering a New City and Organic Foods — Amy at A Secure Base describes her family’s switch to and search for organic foods for one week.
- My Experiment in Homemade Bread — Crunchy Con Mommy tried — and loved — baking her own homemade bread.
- Menu Planning: Stop the Excuses — Gaby at Tmuffin stopped the excuses and started planning her weekly meals, drastically cutting her grocery budget and stress level and improving the quality of foods she fed her family.
- My First Menstrual Cup — Mandy at Living Peacefully with Children was pleasantly surprised with her first experience using a menstrual cup.
- My Natural Beauty Regime — Christine at African Babies Don’t Cry shares the results of banishing cleanser and soaps from her bathroom, as well as a couple of natural homemade recipes that have worked well on her skin.
- Unplugging and Creating a Rhythm: Our Experiment in Natural Family Living — Dionna at Code Name: Mama focused less on gadgets and spent more time with her family to create a healthy rhythm for the new year.
- Experiments in Natural Family Living: 5 First Steps Toward Preparing for a Natural Birth — Charise at I Thought I Knew Mama discusses how she tackled the pressing matter of how to begin preparing for a natural birth.
- All you need is…vinegar! — Kristen at My Semi-Crunchy Life learns that one household product can replace all the cleaners in her cabinet.
- Nope Nada Ixnay Negative Pass Decline — Zoie at TouchstoneZ finds out what shakes loose if she says, “YES!!” to anything anyone asks of her over the space of 10 days.
- Reducing our exposure to toxins found in plastics — Syenna at Gently Parenting Twins throws out the melamine and BPA plastics which have been hanging around the kitchen for too long.
- Duh! — Kat at Loving {Almost} Every Moment shares how she began the process of helping her 2-year-old son stop physically acting out.
- Experiments in Natural Parenting: Starting, Stopping, and Gaining Perspective — Melissa at Vibrant Wanderings explains how pregnancy brain interfered with her attempts to complete an experiment, but how she gained some interesting perspective as she started and stopped several.
- From Experiment to Lifestyle — Abbie at Farmer’s Daughter shares her experience avoiding processed foods for a month, and deciding to make it a permanent lifestyle change.
- From Disposable Paper to Reusable Cloth – AGAIN! — Terri at Child of the Nature Isle stops flushing trees down the toilet and switches to the softest ever butt-wiping material: cloth.
- Extra! Extra! Water Heater Turned Down, Mom Doesn’t Notice! — Thomasin at Propson Palingenesis finds an energy-saving experiment that’s so easy she didn’t even realize it was happening.
- Worm Tea — CatholicMommy isn’t sure how successful her worm bin will be, but she’s having fun anyway.
- Miles to Go … — Rachael at The Variegated Life learns that when it comes to sleep debt, she’s in real deep.
- My Month With Water Kefir — Paige at Baby Dust Diaries experiments with a new fermented probiotic drink homemade in her own kitchen.
- OMG Mom is Home… All Day Everyday: A Week-Long Experiment in Connecting — What a difference a week makes! Ana at Pandamoly is afforded a week off from work and takes the chance to reconnect and reattach with her 16-month-old son through an experiment in simply being there.
- Creating Healthy Family Recipes — Deb Chitwood at Living Montessori Now shares her experiment with healthy, gluten-free recipes and a chocolate muffin recipe that was created during the experiment.
- Adventures in Alternative Haircare: No ‘Poo — This guest post at Natural Parents Network from Amy at Anktangle chronicles a months-long journey into the world of no ‘poo.
- My Experiment in Natural Family Living: Natural Family Planning — Birth control options are seriously limited for those of us trying to live a little closer to the earth, so Mama Psalmist experiments with natural family planning.
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Wow, you’re hardcore, you’re doing poop . like you I’ve wondered about the ‘other people’ reactions and have decided to keep my actions discreet. Basically, at home anythings goes, but things get put away when people stay and when out and about I just use regular TP. You’ve got me thinking though, and thinking, and thinking … Thanks so much for the kick up my conscience
Mrs green @Littlegreenblog recently posted..5 questions to ask before choosing a wood burning stove
Lovely post! It was a great idea to reuse the stained baby clothes. I wasn’t aware that so much toilet roll is produced from virgin wood. Here in the UK it’s quite easy to pick up recycled toilet paper, but I imagine that cloth is still environmentally preferable. One day, I’d like to be eco-conscious enough to give it a go!
TwinMama recently posted..Reducing our exposure to toxins found in plastics
Success! I’m happy the switch to cloth worked so well for you. And I like the idea of a darker set of cloths to use during your period. Smart. Can I say “smart” to period toiletry cloths and not sound like a total wannabe hippy? Probably not.
My family isn’t here yet. But maybe they don’t have to be. Maybe only I have to be. That would take care of one person’s TP waste. Hmmm… You’ve given me something to think about, thank you!
Thomasin recently posted..Extra! Extra! Water Heater Turned Down, Mom Doesn’t Notice!
Thanks so much for sharing your experience! Those statistics are beyond what I imagined!
I have been going over the idea of making the switch in my head, but number twos are still a bit hard for me to feel comfortable with. I still use cloth wipes from the diaper days with Annabelle, and when using the bathroom where they’re kept, I use them for myself, too, but not for solids. I like your idea of rinsing with water first, and that may help me get over my fear of poo wipes. I had thought about using a spray bottle for that purpose – what do you use? A peri bottle could be good, too. Really, I just want a bidet, though I guess that’s probably a bit wasteful, too!
Melissa recently posted..Experiments in Natural Parenting: Starting, Stopping, and Gaining Perspective
Inspiring! I admire the whole process, you even made them yourself! When me and my bro were kids my parents had this practice implemented…it didn’t seem like such a big deal to us…until we got into the teens! I like the idea of using a water bottle to rinse first..people should be doing that anyways, even when using TP! Definitely given me a lot to think about, I sure would like to do something green like this!
I love, love, love our family cloth. And FWIW, I threw ours in with regular laundry after Kieran got out of diapers. They were just fine
(btw, read The Pistachio Project’s post about hot water for proof that it shouldn’t matter 
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Yeah I’m loving it too. That’s good to know that they easily go in the regular wash…I will do that when there are no more diapers to wash. The diapers are the only items that get washed with hot water as I connect a special heater for them. We don’t have mains hot water in our home so everything else, me included, gets washed with cold water!
Thank you for this unashamed post about family cloth. I have to admit that my family is divided on the family cloth issue. I use it most of the time and so do my sons, sometimes. But, my husband won’t even consider it. I don’t push it because we’ve given up every other disposable paper product and that was a big stretch for him.
Zoie @ TouchstoneZ recently posted..Nope Nada Ixnay Negative Pass Decline
Thanks Zoie. It works for me but I haven’t even offered it to my partner. Maybe after a while I will. I think the main toilet paper consumer was me so we’ve made a significant reduction anyway!
I’ve been using cloth wipes for many months now doing both poop and pee. It’s not something I tell people I meet because it’s not the norm but just an encouragement to you that a fellow Dominican is in the camp. The savings on toilet paper has been enormous. Hubby and the boys are not doing it but that’s ok, it feels better to me.
Jennifer Valerie recently posted..Just
Wohoo! I’m also soooo glad another Dominican is doing the same and doesn’t think I’m completely crazy! I haven’t even started measuring the toilet tissue savings but I know it’s making a difference!