6 Ways to Reduce Our Use of Paper Products

by Mary Ann Romans | More from this Blogger

Paper products, such as paper towels, paper plates, paper napkins, baby wipes and even printer paper are certainly convenient in today's world. But, let's face it, these products aren't very frugal. We have come to believe that many of these products are a necessary part of our household, but are they really? Reduce the use of your paper products, and you'll reduce the amount of money that you spend.

Here are 10 ways that we can reduce our use of paper products.

1. Purchase inexpensive dish towels or cut up old towels and use those in place of paper towels.

2. Purchase inexpensive wash cloths or cut up old towels and use those for small spills and for cleaning little faces.

3. Washcloths will make wonderful baby wipes. Just use plain water for newborns, or create your own baby soap, baby oil and water solution and add it to a spray bottle. Then spray the washcloth before using the cloth to clean up messes. Rinse and launder the cloth. If you are squeamish about big messes, just use the washcloths for wet diapers.

4. Don't let paper plates and cups into the house. If you are entertaining and don't want to use your regular plates, invest in some plastic ones that can be used over and over again. There are a lot of great designs for these plates and cups, especially during the summer season.

5. Use newspaper to clean your windows instead of paper towels. I know it sounds weird, but it works and does not leave newsprint on the window.

6. Take advantage of all of the paper that already comes into your house for drawing, writing lists and printing. In a typical week, we get about seven notices from the school. Most of these notices are printed on one side of the page. Most of the time when we have something to print, we can use the blank side of a notice to serve the purpose. Use junk mail to write out grocery lists, phone messages and other notes. How much money do you spend on paper products?

Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, technology in the Computing Blog, and creating a home in the Home Blog. Starting June 1st, don't miss her articles in the Baby Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here.

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Learn more about Mary Ann Romans

Mary Ann Romans is a freelance writer, online content manager, wife and mother of three children. She lives in Pennsylvania in the middle of the woods but close enough to Target and Home Depot.

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