Easy Green: Use REAL Napkins

I’d have to say that is was early summer when we made the switch to using real cloth napkins at home.  We still had our reserve supply of disposable on-hand for emergencies and/or laziness.  When we first started out, we got a small batch from my wife’s grandmother.  We began to get hooked, so we sought out more.  My friend Joy hooked me up with another stack that she got at a local thrift store (thanks Joy!).  Now whenever we have to use disposable napkins at home because we haven’t washed the others yet it just feels very weird.  Feeling weird is good, though.  I’m trained - as much as I can be, I guess.

The first benefit is easy - you’re not throwing away the waste.  The counter argument is that you’re using water to wash the napkins in the laundry.  Yes, you are using water in the washing machine, but it is far less than the water that is needed to produce the paper napkin that you use once and toss.  Many napkins are made from virgin wood and contain minimal recycled paper.  Even if you buy 100% recycled paper napkins, you’re far better off using cloth.  The recycling process uses lots of water and lots of energy.  I don’t want to hear about it being gross, either.  Its a napkin and a modern washing machine. 

We were at the in-law’s tonight where they use disposable napkins like most people do.  My four year old son says to his grandmother something to the effect of “you should use real napkins because those ones are wasteful.”  It was pretty funny to all of us, but I guess he does pay attention to us.  Maybe it’s because I just bought another 6 napkins for a whopping $0.82 today.

So I had planned on writing this post today when I happened to check a great blog, The Green Daily.  Ironically, they also wrote on this topic today.  They link out to a site that teaches you to make your own napkins, as well.  Check it.

Easy Green: Shaving Brush and Soap

Every week or so I’ll be posting items that are easy and are green.  This week’s topic is shaving.  While this post is mainly for the men, ladies aren’t to be leftout.  There are shave creams, soaps, and brushes for women, too.  Check out a company called WHISH designed specificly for women.

I first sought out a shave brush about three years ago.  Being green with shaving wasn’t even a thought in my mind.  I wanted to change to get a better shave.  I have sensitive skin and get ingrown hair very easily.  So a great way to combat that is to use a shave brush.  It lifts the hair for a better shave.

I have a pretty inexpensive shave brush made by Tweezerman.  Some brushes get very expensive.  Just get yourself a basic badger hair brush.  As for razors, I use a regular Mach3 - not a fancy old-style razor.  The heads are replacable and create minimum waste.  Go with what you like in that department.

Next up is the soap.  My first soap was Williams Mug soap.  I got it at the local Walgreen’s for under $2.  One bar of shave soap will last me about 9-12 months.  There were no CFC’s being released.  No metal canisters to dispose of.  Just a small cardboard box that I recycled.  I next tried Proraso.  It’s an Italian shave soap.  This stuff rocks, if you can find it.  Target used to carry it.  Now I have to buy it online.  Proraso has menthol in it.  So you get that nice tingly feeling - and a great shave.  The one I bought came in a plastic container.  Not ideal, but it actually was.  I still use that same container and put my Williams soap in it.  It makes a great little travel case, too.  There are a ton of different shave soaps out there.  You can even just use Dr Bronner’s bar soap.  That works great and has that peppermint tingle, too.

Overall - shaving can be green and you probably never throught twice about it.  Not only is it green - it’s cheap!