Sometimes It's Easy Being Green

    Around our house we dutifully recycle and usually take our reusable shopping bags to the grocery store.  We even started a little garden this year and have the tomatoes to prove it.  However, after being around some family members who are extremely “green,” I realized we could be doing a lot more.

    About a year ago I stopped buying paper towels.  I noticed that when I had them I would use a roll very quickly.  If I didn’t have them, I simply grabbed a rag. I thought about that as I tried to think of ways we could be a bit more environmentally friendly around our house.  Naturally, I thought about the paper napkins that we still use.  I wondered if we could do without those as well.  It turns out we can.

    Over the weekend, I snagged some new place mats, cloth napkins and napkin rings on clearance.  I bought five different napkin rings and rolled a napkin into each one.  I told the kids which napkin ring belonged to them and explained that we would be trying to do without paper napkins as much as possible.  They loved the idea!

    Now, my children look forward to spreading out their napkins before they eat.  They are learning manners while being a bit greener.

    Another added benefit to using the cloth napkins has been that our meals feel fancy even when they involve peanut butter and jelly.

     If using cloth napkins continues to work, I’ll soon be looking for other ways to reduce our waste.  However, one thing I know I’ll have a hard time parting with is wipes.  Even now after my children are out of diapers, I find they are incredibly handy to wipe sticky hands and faces when out and about.

    Has your family done anything recently to be a little kinder to the environment?  Do you have any ideas on how to break the wipe habit when you have young children?  Do share.