No T.P. for Pee Pee

I am sure I lost some of my 3 readers just with my title, but I will charge on nevertheless...

Since February, I have been using Family Wipes. Yes, dear reader, I threatened it, you were horrified, but I was undaunted. I am a Family Wipe fan!

Let me count the reasons why...

1. Absorbency - I was still pregnant when I bought these and was having issues with, let's just say, dryness. Cloth is obviously much more absorbent than paper. Dryness is achieved with one wipe of a folded square cloth instead of the handful of wadded tissue most use.

2. Cleanliness - Beyond just dryness, I was having an issue with toilet paper dingleberries. (Okay, fine... that's t.m.i. Like I'm the only person it's ever happened to though!) This is completely eliminated with cloth. Well, maybe I find a little lint now and then, but so what?

3. No emergency trips to the store - I hate running to the store. There is no such thing as a quick trip with 4 kids. Washable t.p. to the rescue again!

4. Millions of trees - It is estimated that over 7 million trees are used to produce the toilet paper for the United States EACH YEAR. This number could be drastically reduced if people would buy recycled toilet paper, but most of us are much too spoiled with that "cloth-like" feeling. Why not just cut out the middleman and use cloth?

5. $ - Though the cloth wipes were a bigger expenditure at first than t.p. would be, over time they have definitely paid for themselves. Even with the 2 hold outs in the family, we have cut our paper usage drastically. I buy toilet paper in a 12 pack less than once a month now. Probably closer to once every other month.

I decided to buy my wipes, but they could easily be made for less money by any crafty person. Since buying mine, I keep coming across things to reuse as wipes that would need no alterations. Shoe mitts from hotel stays and surplus baby washcloths are abundant in my house!

I bought mine from Moo Cow Momma. I found her prices to be quite reasonable. I believe I purchased 25 wipes for $20 and I got to pick the fabrics! Her selection is vast and I had fun choosing my prints. She makes many other reusable cloth items as well. My next purchase will be her reusable organic cotton and bamboo tampons. Check out her website!http://moocowmomma.com/

My entire family was appalled by the idea of washable wipes when I first brought it up. Rowan was the first to come around, and requested wipes of her own about a month after I got mine. Once those arrived, Lydia became an instant convert. To her credit, Molly actually tried the wipes, but thought they were "gross". Since we are just using them for #1, Wave was off the hook from the beginning.

So what to do about #2? The girls continue to use paper for that business. I use a flushable wipe. I find it cleans much better with less product than paper. Duh, really... You wouldn't wipe a baby's booty with paper, so why an adult?

Washing is simple. The wipes go into the laundry with Desmond's diapers. We do one full load a week and are done with it!

I find that getting used to cloth wipes was very simple. When I am away from home for any period of time, I really miss them. If you have ever even vaguely considered trying them I cheer you on to make the move!

Green Peace has issued a tissue guide to assist consumers in purchasing more eco-friendly toilet papers.http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/campaigns/forests/tissueguide

Learn about the history of toilet paper!http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toilet_paper