Earth Girls Are Easy: Paper Towel Challenge

Paper Towel Challenge

Sophie says:

In an effort to reduce my waste and save some trees,  I began a Paper Towel Challenge in January.  My long term goal is to be completely paper towel free, but right now I’m just going for less dependent. On average, my household was using one paper towel roll every two to three days.

That's how we rolled!

Now ten weeks into the challenge, one roll lasts us eleven days!  Did I mention that I’m doing this challenge with… myself? That is, up until now.

Nina says:

I really don’t want to do this. I love paper towels! When I told Kali this she asked, “But don’t you love trees more?” No. No, I don’t. I don’t like trees. I don’t like outside. I don’t like leaving the house. But, fine. I’ll try it. Because this isn’t about me. It’s about the planet I’m leaving my children, and my children’s children, etc., etc., so forth, and so on.

Do you want to know how I got roped into this?

One day, a few months ago, Sophie and I were chatting on the phone. She was going through her budget/grocery spreadsheet thing-a-majig, and lamenting on how much paper towel they were using.

I was on the sofa, just finishing up a peanut butter sandwich that had been resting on a piece of paper towel. As we talked, one my boobs began to leak. I folded the paper towel into a square and tucked it into my bra.

“Sophie! I just reused!”

I gave her the details.

“First of all, you nasty. Secondly, why are you using a paper towel for your sandwich? Why not a plate?”

“That’s what they’re for! I don’t want to ‘waste’ a plate.”

Hee-hee

Then she explained the challenge…

Sophie says…

For me, it was just about using less. The day the light bulb went off, I had just witnessed my husband use THREE paper towels to sop up less than a ¼ cup of spilled orange juice.

When my mom would come over she would always put the snack on a paper towel, using Nina’s line, she didn’t want to “waste a plate.” Um, how is it wasting if you wash it? It’s the traditional reusable item. Ya use it, and ya wash it and ya use it again!

I decided then and there that I was going to crack down on paper towel usage. My husband’s not slow, really he’s not, but I had to remind him over and over again that we were doing this challenge… together… as a family. That means you can’t use four paper towels to line a plate to cook bacon in the microwave. You don’t have to use half a roll to clean the baby’s potty (even if it is a poopy one). And last but not least, you can not use paper towels for this…

Look Ma, no trees!

… no matter how funny it is.

How I Cut Back on Paper Towel Usage:

1) I use rags made from old towels to clean up spills around the house.

2) I also use these rags for cleaning counters, sinks, tables, etc.

3) I use paper towels, sparingly.

Another way to help is to buy paper products (toilet paper included) with recycled content and post-consumer fibers. Also, look for paper products that are unbleached or chlorine-free since the bleaching process requires toxic chemicals that eventually end up in our air and water.

“If every household in the U.S. replaced just one roll of 120 ct. virgin-fiber paper towels with our 100% recycled ones, we could save 1,000,000 trees.” -Seventh Generation

So before you do this…

Hold it, hold it...

think about it. Maybe you can use something else to clean up that mess.  Think about how many rolls you go through a week and just try to decrease it a bit. So far 11 days has been my best. I’m still working on it though.  How many rolls do you use a week? Any ideas for alternatives to paper towels? And how ’bout we all chip in and buy Nina some breastpads??

Nina says…

That ain’t funny.

So, what tips do you have to use less paper towels? How many rolls do you go through a week? Care to take the challenge?

Earth Girls Are Easy: The Four Rs

Nina Says:

Sophie is the most environmentally friendly person I know. In fact, she and the environment are BFF’s. Me? Not so much. My heart is in the right place and I mean well, it’s just I don’t always do the things I know I should. One of my three new year’s resolutions was to try and be as environmentally responsible as possible – do the best I can, when I can. And for that I, of course, looked to Sophie who makes being green look oh so easy.

She often scolds me. Like the other day:

Nina: I have this free trial of PowerPoint on my new laptop, but I only get a few uses before it runs out. I use it a lot for Biology class, so what I think I’m going to do is keep it open the whole semester.

Sophie: How can you leave it open the whole semester? Don’t you have to shut your laptop down at night?

Nina: Uh, I do?

Sophie: NINA!

My bad. I just don’t think about things like that. And now I imagine myself like a huge Godzilla trouncing around the Earth oblivious to the damage in my wake. Sophie tells me getting started is easy and all I have to do is think of the Three Rs.

Nina: Um, Recycle, Reuse… and what else?

Sophie: It’s Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle, and you have to put them in that order.

Nina: Why?

Below, Sophie explains why.

Sophie Says:

First off, let me just say that as much as I would like to take credit for single-handedly saving the Earth, I can’t. I am merely just a woman. One woman doing her part to make this world a better place for her children and yours.

Now the three Rs are as follows:

Reduce: reducing  the number of items that you consume.

Reuse: using an item in another way to extend its life.

Recycle: sending that item to the big recycling center in the sky, to be reincarnated later as something else. But remember, recycling requires energy, WAY more energy than the other two Rs.

Think of it in terms of best, better, and good.

Nina Says:

We’re gonna add a fourth R, because we can. Remember. If you’re anything like me, you’ll need help remembering to put some of Sophie’s suggestions into practice.

Sophie Says:

This week we’re gonna talk about reducing waste and one way to do that is by BYOB to the grocery store and every store. When I go to the grocery store or Farmers Market, I always take my grocery bags. I have about eight. When I go to the mall, I always have my cute little tote. I’m not one of those people who collect reusable bags from every store that offers them, because that kind of defeats the purpose.

I wasn’t always so diligent, but I got the hang of it and now it’s like second nature. I pull into my parking spot, take the bags out, then take the babies out. I put them (the bags, not the babies) in the hull of the cart and shop responsibly, all the while mindful of excess packaging. (Reduce, remember?)

Some markets even offer a small discount per bag (that you use) on your groceries if you use your own. Shoprite offers a 10 cent discount per bag, so if you bring five bags but only use three to pack your groceries, that’s 30 cents off your total purchase. Every little bit helps, right?

The bags I sent to Nina

I’ve had the same bags for about three years and don’t need or plan on getting anymore. For those of you who think that plastic bags aren’t so bad or you use them to line your small trash cans, or scoop your dog’s poop, here’s a little nugget. Plastic bags are not biodegradable, they photodegrade, which means they break down into tiny toxic bits that eventually make their way into our food chain.

I don't eat turtle, but I'm sure somebody does.

Nina Says:

Yes, Sophie sent me those bags like two years ago. How sweet, right? Well, ask me how long it took me to use them? Hey, don’t judge me! This whole going green thing takes some getting used to.

Remember tip: Keep them in your car. Always. Once I got past Donny’s irrational refusal to use them, we began keeping them in the trunk of the car… and we still forgot to use them. You know, out of sight and all that. So, we began keeping a few in the backseat or passenger seat.

Also, without having to be asked or told, Donny began to use them when returning and picking up library books, taking Kali to my parents’ house, running errands with lots of stuff, etc.

Occasionally, we’ll get weird looks from people in the market, but a judgmental look from them to their plastic bag, and back to them with an, “Earth killer” thrown in for good measure, and that usually puts an end to that.

You can purchase your own bags at most local grocery stores for about 99 cents, or you can purchase them online. While you wait for them to arrive, you can use canvas totes that you have around the house. Sophie doesn’t think you should order online because they have to be shipped and that’s another waste of resources. She’s good, huh?

Every other Thursday Sophie will be sharing her mother nature protection tips, and I’ll report on how well (hopefully) I’m doing. You can post any green tips and ideas you may have that week’s particular topic. If we work together, perhaps we can save our planet from being shot to shit.

So, do you have reusable bags? Do you use them? Any funny stories to share? What reactions have you had when you’ve used them? If you don’t use them, can you pledge to try and use them for the next two weeks until the next Earth Girls Are Easy blogs and report back on your progress?