Going Wipeless...

I'm about to make a serious change in our lifestyle that will hopefully eliminate both some waste and save us a few bucks.

I'm going wipeless.

No, not giving up the toilet paper (and probably not the paper towels, but more in a minute on that) but I am going to change my methods of cleaning by switching out all my convenient wipe-type products and go back to the method that people used for eons...rags.

Seems like a simple enough habit but there's a reason why wipes of every kind sell like hot-cakes. The convenience factor is high. Pull out a wipe, clean the intended part of the house with it, toss it. No mess, no fuss, and a new clean wipe every time. I've known for a long time that such products are really unnecessary, that they pollute the earth, and cost a ton more than regular cleaners. But I've sort of ignored those thoughts, kind of like I ignore the little voice in my head that tells me french fries are bad for me. Somewhere along the line, I've convinced myself that wipes are the best thing since sliced bread and french fries count as a vegetable serving.

Yesterday, though, I was reading an article on AOL; it was basically readers' comments on the 41 things that are a complete waste of money. One, of course, was wipes, and the way it was worded was "it's basically like paying money for your trash." Something about that hit me in a different way...and set me on my new adventure of wipeless cleaning.

There are three types of wipes I use. The first is Clorox wipes, which are the best thing in the world to a clean freak. They're good for everything from counters to toilet seats to sinks--the smell of Clorox working is so powerful you can practically see germs curling up and dying. I love these things. As someone who likes it clean and also someone with a child, dog, and husband (and cat, but she keeps herself clean) I rely on them greatly. I will say that since my efforts to go green came about, I've cut down on the wipes quite a bit...but not completely. I still have 3.5 containers of these floating around the house. I am going to ration their use to serious situations--basically times when I am so crunched for time I really don't have the extra two seconds to scrub a little harder. But--when they're gone, they're gone. I have pretty much kept a container in each bathroom and the kitchen since about 2002 or whenever they came out. I've instead stocked each area with some rags and a bottle of the Clorox Anywhere (which another reader told me is quite easy to make by diluting regular Clorox vs buying the slightly more expensive sprays--may try this in the future).

The next wipe is the Swiffer. I know they are ridiculously expensive but one can't deny the convenience of attaching a cloth to your Swiffer mop, mopping, and then throwing it away. It is for sure less work than the bucket and regular mop. I use Swiffer a lot. I have for a long time and its also going to be a tough one to say good-bye to. And, unlike the Clorox wipes, I have just 3 single Swiffer wet wipes left...and when they are gone, they're gone. I do have a sponge mop, and I bought a second sponge mop for upstairs for about $7.00 (which is about the cost of a container of Swiffer wipes, ironically.) Buying replacement mop heads is pretty inexpensive. I also had the brainstorm of attaching a wet rag to my Swiffer mop in the same fashion as the wipes and directly spraying the floor with floor cleaner. I attempted this method in my bathroom yesterday and I have to say it went well, and was only about 10% more effort than the regular old Swiffer.

The final type of wipe I use are the Mr. Clean Magic Reach ones. I love these just because the wand makes it easy to clean the entire tub without a lot of bending and stretching, but again--its nothing I can't do with a rag and some tub cleaner. I have none of these types of wipes left so I'll be going straight to the greener method.

The two types of wipes I'm not quite ready to do away with are baby wipes and paper towels. Baby wipes are pretty essential--I've heard you can make them but you use super soft paper towels to do it, so isn't that just as bad? I do buy the refill packages instead of a new tub each time, so I suppose the plastic used is a bit less.

For paper towels--I would say that we've cut down on our usage quite a bit simply by me alone deciding to use rags in place of them as much as possible. My husband purchased some snazzy microfiber rags for cleaning the inside of the car, which was probably his biggest use for paper towels. I'm not saying I won't still use them on occasion--sometimes there are things to clean up that just need to be thrown away (dog vomit is one of those.) But I have consciously tried to keep my usage to 1 roll or less a month--and I've been surprised how easy it is. I have about 10 rolls stored up so it will be interesting to see if I can go a year before needing more.

So the overview: I would say the average cost of each type of wipe is between $3.00 and $7.00 (more if you're buying in bulk.) The Clorox Magic Reach wipes come like 8 in a pack, so I mean--that's totally a waste, right? Consider that yesterday I spent about $12 on a mop, an extra mop head, and rags. (Walmart has an 80-pack of rags for $3.00.) $12 would probably not have bought me 1 package of each of the 3 types of wipes. I realize I will have to replace the mop head occasionally (okay, often) but its still less waste. And, at about $2.00 a head, less cost.

Stay tuned for updates on how this transition goes for me...I'm hoping as easily as switching to hanging my laundry has been--I thought that would be such a hassle but it really hasn't been, I've cut down dryer useage by 75%, and I'm technically preserving the life of our clothes since dryer lint is apparently clothing falling apart, bit by bit...