Paperless House

Paperless house. It's true! Over the past year, we've gone completely paperless here. It was intimidating at first, to be honest. But now, it's a way of life. It's hard to do things the 'old way' - even if it's at someone else's house. For example: using paper plates. Silly, but so weird to do! Here are the ways we've gotten around paper in our house:

Diaper stash

1. Disposable Diapers: This was the first thing we ever changed. And not for the fact that we were going through diapers at the speed of light. But because they were cheap. We're cheap. Easy to make the change. We started four years ago with Esther, but weren't super committed. It got better with Abigail. And now, at a month old, Lydia has never worn a disposable diaper. We're pretty proud of that! After more research we've found that disposables contain chemicals that we really don't want on our baby's skin or to put into the environment. Those weren't intentional reasons - just bonus reasons! Score! We've used a few different types and brands and settled on the absolute cheapest way to go: prefolds and covers. We like Flip covers because they're adjustable and durable. Some people use a wide variety of diapers, but I just wanted a nice, streamlined process.
2. Disposable Baby Wipes: This took me a while, too, really out of shear laziness. I thought it wasn't a big deal and blah blah blah. But really, if you're going to cloth diaper, you should definitely cloth wipe. It's silly to have to put the soiled cloth diaper into one receptacle and the wipes into another. Why not streamline? I have several friends who make their own wipes, which is awesome and easy. I just went to Toys R Us and bought cheap wash cloths (did you read I'm lazy?). They do the trick! I use water in a spray bottle when they're super little and add a few drops of tea tree oil when they're older (simply to protect that tiny newbie skin. And really, with an exclusively breast fed baby, you won't need more than water anyway). 
3. Paper Plates: Definitely the easiest change. Just stopped buying them. That simple. Last year for Christmas, we received Correlle dishes - they don't take up a lot of space and are super easy to wash. Perfect solution for us. They're also chip and break resistant, which is great with kids. I have broken one plate - I dropped it on the tile floor. And my sister-in-law's cats have broken a large number of them, which is hilarious, but maybe for another post. For us, they work out great. 
4. Paper Napkins: This one took us a while. We don't use napkins a ton, but definitely find the need on

   

   Cloth napkins

   occasion. I recently made up 10 or so cloth napkins out of cheap cotton. Now, I wanted the corners to look professional - mitered corners. It took my pregnant brain forever to figure this out and even required the help of the husband to accomplish. Very impressive, fancy corners. Very impressive. Regardless, I did it and they don't look like a dumpster find, so I'm happy. I think we actually use them more than we did paper napkins. I know for sure the girls do because of the novelty - apparently wiping your face a bajillion times with a cloth napkin during a meal is amazing. Who knew? 
5. Paper Towels: It took us a long time to nix the paper towels. They're just so convenient!! And we were sort of addicted, using them for everything from spills, to household cleaning, to wiping out the cast iron pans, to cleaning off little faces. So easy! But alas, we have discontinued use and moved to rags. We have some specific rags for food stuffs - wiping out pans and whatnot. And specific rags for cleaning. They work pretty well, sometimes even better! 
6. Cotton Balls: A silly little simple thing that we really don't use often in our home, but still a very easy change to make. I just took an old cotton shirt and cut it up into nice little squares (I didn't even finish the edges). So easy to use and they take up no space to store. (well, SOME, but not a lot). I mostly use them for cleaning off eye makeup. I have a little mesh laundry bag that I throw them into for cleaning lest the sock monster steal them.
7. Toilet Paper: OK. This is a big one. I know what you're thinking. You're completely grossed out and are reaching for the mouse to navigate away from this has-to-be-fiction story. I was once you. I read an entire Facebook thread on this idea, judging each individual person for how revolting it was. And then, for whatever reason, it clicked. If I'm using cloth wipes for my babies and toddlers, why switch to paper when they are using the toilet? Seemed a little backwards. So, I bought a fistful of wipes off my friend to use for our new family cloth adventure. They're two-ply and flannel. And fun prints, which makes bathroom time so much more entertaining. After a little trial run, I was convinced and so were my girls. I made up some more to bulk our stash up and we haven't looked back. I actually had to defuse a giant tantrum from the two year old because we ran out of family cloth and had to use toilet paper. Yipes. I keep the wipes on the back of the toilet in a cute little basket and have a little

   

   Mama cloth and family cloth

   re-purposed trash can for the used wipes. I wash them with our cloth diapers, usually, since I'm doing that laundry more frequently than our general clothing. I imagine once we're done with diapers, I might bulk our stash up again so that we can go longer periods between washings. This method works well for us. I will reiterate that we do still purchase toilet paper, the husband is not sold on family cloth which is fine, plus I would never expect a guest to be subject to our crazy crunchiness. BUT the toilet paper purchases are infrequent at best.
8. Feminine Products: Again, calm down. I've had all the same thoughts you have, just hear me out! It never occurred to me to use anything else than paper products during my cycle. I suppose I didn't even know there was another option, probably also didn't care. Again, I read through a Facebook thread, in complete disgust at the thought. But then started to do some research as recommended by said thread and found out the amount of chemicals that are in these disposable products. More complete disgust. I decided to give the 'green' method a try and low and behold, I'm a believer. I'm a big fan of the Diva Cup - easy to use and comfortable to wear. Of course, you can't make use of this product post partum, so I used cloth pads. Take a deep breath and read on. It took me a while to come around to the idea of using cloth. I just really thought it would be uncomfortable. I was wrong, oh so wrong. I hate paper pads in general, but these were different. And awesome. I could not be more happy with my decision to use mama cloth while post partum (I haven't used a paper product at all!). I feel way more comfortable. If you're interested in researching your options, Hobo Mama gives a great and extensive overview at the Natural Parents Network. It's a great place to at least start, but it is what convinced me to take the plunge. The mama cloth I love are Moms Crafts 4 U - they're inexpensive, handmade by a mama and well made! Full disclosure, I haven't tried anything else, but I'm not willing to now that I've found my mama cloth soul mate.

Do you find ways to navigate life without paper products? What do you find helpful? 

My bestie's paper free, too! Check out Adrienne's post on their paperless house!