This past week, my family has been trying to go green in an area where we don't usually do so well. And I'm guessing we aren't the only ones. Paper products are our problem.
I haven't been able to convince myself to buy cloth napkins to use on a daily basis, and considering the laundry pile I have now and the cost of them, I don't see it happening anytime soon. Instead, my husband tears off a paper towel for each family member for every meal. That's a lot of paper towels. Thankfully, we now use the "you choose your own size" kind of paper towels, but it still makes me uncomfortable.
While I do at least use our dish towels for most spills and other items, my husband doesn't. And we use a lot of them for cleaning things like windows (ha ha ha -- oh I made myself laugh there) or cleaning off the deck table before we eat. I'm realizing that I'm actually not a big user of paper towels, so I'm placing the blame fully on the rest of my family.
And of course toilet paper, but I've yet to find a way to replace toilet paper, and I'm not looking.
I feel a little bit better now. SCOTT Naturals™ sent me a sample of some of their new products to test out -- napkins, paper towels, and toilet paper. They're all made from recycled content, which makes me feel much better. That includes not just the product itself but also the packaging (20% recycled plastic).
I made my family use the napkins, and they thankfully work fairly well. I can verify this after having cleaned up two milk spills in the same meal using only the napkins on the table. They held up pretty well, and that's really all I can ask of a napkin. Plus, I feel better.
And did I mention it has a smart opening? All you do is open the perforated edge and you can take out as many napkins as you need without having the rest of them then get all messy in your cabinet. This is a huge improvement for me, and it's actually one of the reasons I don't use napkins more often, having replaced them with the neater to maintain paper towels. I can't stand the mess they make in my cabinets.
I was pretty leery of the toilet paper though. I have to confess that I am a toilet paper snob. I buy only the triple ply quilted extra thick stuff. I'm pretty sure part of the reason I have the bladder of a camel and refuse to go to the bathroom in public is that I know they'll have icky toilet paper.
While the SCOTT Naturals™ toilet paper (which they call Tissue btw) isn't quite in the same league as my ummm spoiled bottom toilet paper, it's so much better than I expected. It was actually shockingly soft. I'd compare it to a normal two ply toilet paper roll. Personally, I probably wouldn't buy it, but that is my own personal issue. If I were a normal person, the toilet paper would be great -- in other words, no one else in my family noticed a difference. You can look at the roll and see that it's pretty hefty (and has pretty quilted designs).
And the SCOTT Naturals™ paper towels? They're a touch rougher than my usual paper towels, but I was happy to see that their commitment to the environment continued with the choose your size option I've grown to love with my "other" brand. It didn't break apart at all when I or my husband used them, and they cleaned up his coffee mess (or so he told me) quite nicely. This is a product I'd switch to over my current brand.
The other benefit? I was able to clip some Box Tops for Education from these guys! I didn't even realize they participated in this program, but with Mister Man's kindergarten collecting them, I clip them whenever I see them. Yay, SCOTT Naturals™ !
Scott Naturals has also teamed up with Kathi Lee to produce several vignettes illustrating easy ways to green your own home. Check out the videos here for some ideas.
To celebrate the nationwide availability of these products, SCOTT Naturals™ is offering one lucky reader a Green Gift Bag – a reusable tote filled with SCOTT Naturals™ product coupons, a reusable water bottle, green light bulbs, and cleaning products from Clorox Green Works.
This contest will be open until Wednesday September 23 at 9pm CDT. The winner will be drawn via random.org and will have 48 hours to contact me or another winner will be selected. Leave me your email address or another method to contact you, or you'll be out of luck. US entries only, sorry! Read the entry instructions below, as ineligible entries will be deleted.
Mandatory Entry: To enter, leave a comment below letting me know one step you’re taking to go green at home.
Bonus Entries If you do not complete the mandatory entry, these will not count:
1) Follow this review blog. If you already follow, let me know (one additional entry - leave an extra comment).
2) Follow my "real" blog over at Honest & Truly! Again, if you already follow, let me know (one additional entry - leave an extra comment)
3) Go check out the SCOTT Naturals™ site and tell me something you learned from it that I didn't mention above (one additional entry).
4) Tweet about it and post the link back here (one additional entry).
Good luck!
