Sometimes saving money is also good for the environment. Back in my really really poor days, I looked for just about any way to buy less. I found a lot of inspiration to be had from looking back in time and seeing how things used to be done.
One thing that occurred to me was this ingrained attachment many of us seem to have to paper products. Something that we buy to throw away virtually instantaneously. My generation grew up with the ads on TV and the products on our homes. They were convenient as you simply threw them away (and there's many such products of course). I'm talking specifically paper towels, paper napkins and facial tissues, aka kleenex. Until much later in life than was necessary, I blindly continued to buy these products because I didn't have the imagination to think that there might be alternatives.
It was a trip to a second-hand store where I noticed men's handkerchiefs and thought to myself that buying these for 25 and 50 cents each would sure save a lot on kleenex purchases. They're easy to launder and stick in a pocket or purse. Lately I've discovered beautiful hand-embroidered lady's handkerchiefs at a local antique store for about $2 a piece. Considering the use I'll get out of them, I think that is a deal.
As for paper towels (and don't get me wrong, there are still uses for kleenexes and paper towels on occasion in my household), I give old pajamas and t-shirts, worn-out underwear, and even old handkerchiefs a second life mopping up spills, washing windows, dusting, etc. Then they go back in the washing machine to be used again. No trip to the landfill and no trees were killed or chlorine bleach dying agents added.
They get hung up to dry on a clothesline, naturally.
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