Less Paper...More Fun

                I have a confession to make. Since becoming a more budget-conscious buyer, one of my favorite categories to stock up on is paper products.  I love that after only a few months of clipping coupons, I have a seemingly endless supply of paper towels. I am easily able to clean up every mess made by my puppies and even my “handy” husband.  While it has been great to have the grab-and-go convenience of paper towels, napkins and wipes, I was recently reminded by my mother that I did not grow up in a paper product loving household.

             As a child, I remember frequenting estate sales and outdoor markets with my parents. My mother has always hand that keen eye to pick a diamond out of a pile of well….junk. She used to find fun sets of napkins and napkin rings; bring them home, clean them up and mix and match.  Then we would get to choose which napkin or napkin ring was ours. Before sitting down to dinner, we would grab our designated napkin out of a bowl that sat on the kitchen counter and place it at our spot.  When dinner was finished (if our napkin wasn’t too dirty) we folded it back up, secured it with our napkin ring and placed it back in the bowl.  If our napkin was dirty, it went into the laundry basket.  At the end of the week, my mother would collect the napkins from the bowl and throw them in the wash with the rest of the laundry.

          While we always had paper towels around the house, as a child, I reached for a clean, cloth rag before paper to wipe up a spill or clean a counter top.  In my childhood home, we had two, medium-sized plastic bins filled with rags.  One was labeled Clean Rags and the Other Dirty Rags. They were actually labeled in Spanish as well (part of my mother’s diligent work to raise a bilingual child.) When something needed wiping or dusting, a rag was used. If the rag was very wet, it was rinsed out in the sink right away, if it was only a bit dirty, it was thrown in the dirty rag bin and washed a later with the rest of the laundry. In many cases, the rags were more absorbent and efficient than paper towels.

        Thinking back, my family was being green prior to a time when it was the “it” thing to do. Also, my mother got to have fun with our table settings and gave us an exciting choice and sense of responsibility. I have now issued myself a challenge to see if I can consume a bit less of my beloved paper products. In my recent trips to HomeGoods, Marshall’s and Dollar Tree I have picked up some fun and funky napkins and rings.  I have even used some decorative crafting materials I had leftover from the holidays to customize my rings.  

        Over the next month, I am going to take this frugal challenge.  I am even going to use my Sunday paper (after I am done clipping coupons) to clean the windows.  While I will most likely still grab a paper towel to clean up a mess that my puppy made, I encourage you to take the challenge as well and get the whole family involved. Customizing a napkin ring with your child can be both fun and provide a sense of ownership and responsibility in a small and simple way. There is something special about that first family meal with that extra personal and eco-friendly touch!