Happy Earth Day! I decided I was going to stop using paper towels last year in an effort to save money and be kinder to Mother Earth. We were going through about 6 rolls a month and I’m kind of a paper towel snob (Viva or nothin’) so it was costing a pretty penny. I took the paper towel holder off my counter and put a bunch of old rags in a bucket under the sink. For the first few weeks, we all automatically reached where the paper towels were, but we slowly got used to reaching under the sink for a rag instead. I’ve found that they actually do a much better job of cleaning messes. They can be old burp rags, dish cloths, towels that accidentally got bleached, old t-shirts, etc. The dirty ones go in a bucket on top of the washing machine to be thrown in the next load.

Don’t have many rags? Go to your bathroom, pick up an old towel (off the floor, of course it’s on the floor. Towels hung up properly are a scarcity in this house) that you’ve been meaning to replace and cut it up. Then, take the money you would have spent on the 6 packs of paper towels and buy yourself a new, fluffy towel for your bathroom.

I have to disclose that I do have 1 roll of paper towels hidden in a secret spot for extra messy spills involving bodily fluids or cleaning toilets, but we’ve cut waaay back on paper towel use and just not having them out on the counter was a huge step.

Have you taken any earth-friendly steps in your house?

is just as important as what you do. I truly believe this. There are so many good things in life to choose from. It’s hard choosing the best things for ourselves and our families, but as we all know, something’s gotta give. The perfect woman who does everything doesn’t exist. And if she did, she just wouldn’t be very much fun. I’m convinced of that. One of my very favorite Simple Mom posts of all time is The Great Myth. Go read it. There is also a wonderful discussion over at Angie’s. I told her I would respond in a post that I’ve been meaning to write forever. So here we go~
In Tsh fashion, I’m sharing some things I don’t do to make room for the things I’d rather do:
I don’t sew. I wish I did. Someday I want to, but right now, my glue gun and hemming tape are best friends.
I don’t scrapbook. I used to, but I didn’t love it. Now, I just load my family pictures to our family blog and call it good. The plan is to publish the blog into a book every few years. But I’m really behind with that too, so we’ll see. :)
Ironing? What’s that? I threw out any shirt of my husband’s that didn’t look great after a few minutes in the dryer with a wet cloth.
The PTA hates me. I know I’m on their black list. I haven’t signed up to help with anything for the past year.

This week has flown with spring break~we've gotten some good cleaning in, with a few of these:

photo from RealSimple

Mwooo ha ha ha~I am the meanest mom on Earth! But, before you call me Miss Hannigan we do have some fun in store as well. We've (okay, I've) decided each day we'll work until noon, and then the rest of the day is for fun. Our little house has had some neglect since the baby came, so we're taking the opportunity to catch up. Each day we're tackling different areas of the house. Yesterday morning was dentist appointments for everyone.
Ughhhh.

I'll take spring cleaning any day.

• pull out beds and furniture, vacuum behind.

go through toys: put strays back where they belong, put ones we don't want in yard sale pile in shed, put fresh batteries in ones that have died.

go through art projects, coloring pages, crafts, and little treasures stashed in desk drawers.

switch out winter clothes, pajamas, shoes, coats for spring/summer. Donate, save for hand me downs, or add to yard sale pile.

go through, sort, and organize books

make list of any clothing items we need to be on the lookout for at yard sales.

Fun for the day:

pic source

Go fly kites down at the big church field

We'll see how it goes~wish us all luck! Oh, and Happy St. Patrick's Day!