Thursday, February 08, 2007

PAPER TOWEL ROLL!

For those of you who read my Shoe boxes post you’ll get what I mean when I say PAPER TOWEL ROLL!

Several years ago I banned rolls of paper towels from the inside of the house. Why? Because we can’t be responsible with them. Every time a hand is washed it is dried with a paper towel. Every time a counter is wiped it is wiped with a paper towel. We were going through them at an alarming rate. I was beginning to picture the dump being filled with Milly’s paper towels a forest cleared of it’s beauty. I had only one choice take the things away to save the environment.

Now the teacher wants a paper towel roll. I am going to send a roll of paper towels with a note.

Dear Mrs.

My family has chosen not to fall into the over use of paper products ever again, therefor we no longer use paper towels in our home please feel free to use the towels yourself.
Thank you,
Milly and Co.

Now I don’t want to sound like I’m not over using other paper products I use paper plates a lot.

Are you taking a stand on something to help the environment?
I’d love some ideas.

9 comments:

Patchouli said...

Milly, we have provoked the ire from many family members by our "no more paper towels!" stance for more than a decade and a half. I can count on one hand the times I've bought them in 18 years of marriage.

Two recycling boxes filled and overflowing each week

Old bath towels get reduced to kitchen duty

I shop at the local Thrift Shops (you would not beLIEVE what some people will throw away!)

No magazine or newspaper subscriptions

Used cars (WAY used! Em drives a '79 Volvo with a c-converter)

and (drum roll while you present a medal to me)

CLOTH DIAPERS!

Anonymous said...

Milly when we get to going, selling gas made from corn, maybe you and I can get rich selling corn-cobbs. and save the trees. just joking I am all for conservation.

karen said...

Hmmm...good question, Milly, in this time of "green" thinking...it should always be "green" thinking.
We use paper towels appropriately...in particularly germy things...puke, nasty stuff, reptiles. Washing all those towels and such also uses up water, gas, electric, etc., because in order to get clean...hot water. We have a programmed thermostat; we recycle EVERYTHING-2 bins. Donate all old clothes whether used or not..they will get recycled...small house, less resources, organic yard, compost.....

Anonymous said...

Laymond,
I'm in let's make a ton of cash!You're so funny!

DougALug said...

Milly,

I'm sorry sister, I just can't resist. Please know that you are loved.

Lol... okay... I'm already grinning. Let me see: you aren't using paper towels, a replenishable resource, and one that is highly recyclable, in light of (I'm assuming) using regular cloth towels instead.

To clean said cloth-towels are you using detergent? Well detergent is made from petrolium a non-replenishable resource.

In addition, unless your cloths are cotton-based. They are also enormously bad on the environmnet when they are thrown away.

Here's my suggestion: go back to using paper towels. Or stop cleaning your cloth ones with detergent. ROFL.


God Bless
Doug

DougALug said...

Patchouli,

I'd like to point out that, according to emmisions, a 2006 Chevy Subburban emits 1/10th the Co2 into the atmosphere of an early 80's Volvo.

Imagine how it compares to a Toyota Yaris?

God Bless
Doug

Anonymous said...

dugalug,
The thing about the paper towels was that we were going through a ton of them. I have a washer that uses very little detergent and I'm picky about what kind of detergent I use. I agree in fact I looked at the differences. I use cloth and only wash full loads. My washer also uses less water. It’s kind of a 6 or one and half a dozen of the other thing.

DougALug said...

Milly,

Forgive me, sometimes I can't help myself. I think it is great that are you thinking about the environment.

Here is the only analogy I can think of. I have two friends who are vegitarians. One does it because she believes it is healthy for her to do so. The other thinks it is cruel to kill animals.

The first is fine with me. His view makes sense for him and, as a big-beef guy, who am I to argue with about health. We get along just fine, though he does like to chide me on my bad eating habbits.

The second, judges me for eating meat. All the time I think, for a single loaf of white bread, anywhere from one to three pounds of insects must be killed. In other words, she is killing life and is judging me for essentially doing the same. In the end of the day, she has built a moral standard that I don't live up to. And I see her as a woeful hypocrite.

I don't know if that makes sense.

God Bless
Doug

Anonymous said...

Dougalug,
I know what you mean I’ve had discussions about how cruel it is to eat animals with vegies myself. I ask about where the clothes they are wearing come from. Children are killed and forced into slavery for the things we put on every day, so do we give up clothes? Unless you are completely organic with the food you eat then you have also contributed to the environment falling apart.

When I was a vegetarian it was for this reason they killed my pet calf for food and then I was a meat cutter in a steak house, it drove my bosses crazy that I didn’t eat meat. I just hated the smell and looking at it all the time.

I say we do what we can and the way that we can. I want to give up my bad eating habits for sure. I doubt that I will completely give meat up. God made um for us to eat.