The simplest switch yet...

We live in a world of disposable everything. Napkins, diapers, even mop heads are now disposable. To stop for a second and think about where all that disposable junk is going is rather terrifying. Stop. Think. Piles and piles of garbage that grow bigger everyday. Won't we eventually run out of room for garbage? Have you seen the movie Wall-E? The movie is set in the future. Humans have trashed and vacated the planet, only to leave their mountains of garbage and sweet, little robots to attempt to clean it up. I had to turn it off after the first 15 minutes because I found it so depressing. Seriously, isn't this supposed to be a feel-good children's movie? I think it's time for us humans to think about all of the trash we produce. When something goes into the garbage can, it doesn't just disappear when the garbage man picks it up. Stop. Think. Is that Swiffer really more efficient at cleaning your house than a regular old broom? Did that paper towel clean that mess better than a cloth towel would? And thus, the topic of this blog- the simplest switch I've made yet- cloth napkins. I bought 3 dozen cloth napkins through an online wholesale site. I think I spent around $25. They are kept in a basket on our table for easy access during meals. To refute you naysayers who are probably already trying to come up with a downside to this- no, I have not had to do any extra loads of laundry to keep up with cloth napkin use. Because they are so small, they easily fit into my loads of towels without creating another load. And, no, we have never run out of cloth napkins before I wash more. And yes, I think this significantly has reduced the amount of trash we produce each week. With the amount of spills and messes our toddler has, and as sloppy of eaters as the husband and I are, we've cut back on a lot of trash. I can eat pizza and only use ONE napkin for the whole meal(those that know me should realize how amazing this is- one meal of pizza generally equals 7-8 paper napkins for this slob). My only complaint I have with the napkins I purchased is the color. I intended to purchase napkins with a soft, subtle green to match my dishes and towels. The color was called 'tea green' and looked nice on the website. Unfortunately, the napkins I received were bright, neon green, and before I even considered returning them, the box and receipt were lost in the meyhem of a toddler-run household. Oh, well. I guess the green napkins can be my reminder to try to be more green everyday.