We use cloth everything (almost)!

We don't use paper and/or disposable products in our house.  *gasp!*  Paper napkins, paper towels, paper plates, disposable diapers, disposable pads ad tampons, disposable wipes are some of the things that haven't been added to my grocery list in a while.

For me as a Christian, it is a conviction that I have to take care of God's creation, which includes my body and the environment, and avoid frivolous spending as much as possible.

Most of us spend more money on items that literally become garbage than we donate to stopping sex trafficking, landfills are overflowing, and some of the chemicals used to make these products cause not only a lot of waste, but are not good for our bodies.

My journey with cloth began when I sewed cloth napkins out of remnants at the fabric store for us to use about 3 years ago.  We have about 20 cloth napkins that we use regularly, and still look brand new.  From there I decided it was time to eliminate paper towels.  Last year at this time, my goal was to use 1 roll of paper towels a year.  It's been one year, and I still have about a half roll left! 

It was around that time that I heard of Mama Cloth and ended up making my own.  My friend Annalise blogged about it perfectly from her postpartum perspective using them on Day 1 and then again on Day 5.  I used disposable pads the hospital provided for the first few days after having India because I was nervous about having more laundry, but the disposable pads left me very uncomfortable, and I quickly switched to cloth once I was home.  Relief is all I will say!

I blogged about my journey with cloth diapers and wipes (mostly homemade from scraps and remnants) here and we don't use disposable plates, silverware, cups, etc if we can help it.  Of course, when we are guests with other people we use (and eat) whatever is set before us! :-)

We don't use family cloth, although I know a lot of people absolutely love it.  My husband asked me when and if we are switching to family cloth, but I think we're going to let that one be for a while.  :-)

We are saving hundreds of dollars right now by using cloth as much as possible.  It's not all about saving money, we are lessening our trash and using products with less chemical residues.

I'm not sharing all this to pat myself on the back.  I mention this to share how easy it really is. I know it is intimidating.  I remember wanting to grab a paper towel when I spilled something or to clean something because I was intimidated.

I never would have guessed that years ago I would use so much cloth, as I was all about convenience, but my perspectives have changed greatly over the years as I've read and researched.  I've also seen way too many people who would love to have what we call garbage, making it very hard for me to waste.

What do you use cloth for?  Have you ever considered using more cloth items?  What worries you about cloth products?