I’ve quit tissues. This is a big deal for someone with a perpetually runny nose, so obviously I had to find an alternative.
So, why did I quit tissues? I noticed about 1/4 of my bin was tissues. Noooo! That’s so wasteful! Sad Caitlin! 😦
Every single one of those required a tree or bamboo to be prepped, planted, grow, be cut down, transported, cut up, soaked in water, ground up, bleached, shaken, squished, heated, squished again, cut, packaged, transported and bought. Once used they were being thrown in the bin (Think of all the methane those will make in landfill!) or composted. That’s a lot of energy and fossil fuels for something with a perfectly good reusable alternative.
So now I use hankies! I realised that I needed quite a few to deal with my allergies, so I re-purposed a pillow case with a hole in it, a second hand bed sheet, a shirt with a hole in it, and an old school shirt that everyone had signed when I left Namibia.
I felt a bit bad cutting up the shirt because of all the cute messages on it, but before it was just gathering dust so at least now I can read those well-wishes whenever I blow my nose. It’s cute… kinda.
They aren’t exactly fashion pieces because I am too lazy to hem them properly, so just over-locked them. I also rounded the corners so I could do them each in one continuous seam. So lazy.
Now all these lovely hankies can live in a jar on my bedside table where my tissues used to live and I hardly have to change my habits at all! I pop used ones straight in the laundry basket and shove them back in the jar once they are clean and dry.
Whenever I am going out I chuck a couple in my purse and I can avoid paper napkins at cafes and takeaway places too!
Do you have any cool ways ideas to reduce paper and disposables in your life? Leave me a comment! 🙂
xo Cait
Wasteless Wanderess 