Some may be surprised to know, but our family does not use family cloth.
“What is family cloth?!” some of you are asking. Some of you don’t want to know. lol
It’s cloth that’s used in place of toilet paper!
In all the years I’ve been making reusuable cloth products we have never used family cloth. The funny thing is, even when our kids were babes, we DID use cloth wipes. Why I felt family cloth was any different then using cloth wipes for babe’s poopy bottoms is kind of beyond me now.
I’ve actually been pretty opposed to family cloth all these years.
However, I’m really picky about toilet paper. The only toilet paper I really like and that doesn’t give me any kind of grief is the costco kirkland brand. With others I develope sensitivity issues, some are too bleach-y or some just fall apart too easily and others are like… well… recycled paper! Yuck on all accounts!
We’ve recently allowed our costco membership to remain un-renewed. Our family is not “poor”, but we have been in a ‘tight spot’ financially since my husband’s business went downhill a couple of years ago. We’ve been playing “catch up”, now we have almost caught up, and next we’re aiming towards “getting ahead”.
Things have been very TIGHT! But, each month we squeak by, each month a teeny, tiny, bit better then the month before. So things like a costco membership, have simply remained at the bottom of the list of things to put out hard earned funds for. So getting my kirkland toilet paper has become a little more difficult.
Our nightly ritual since dh has been gone, (and has not been here to keep up this nightly ritual with the kids) is to watch a bit of tv together before bed each night. They often check the tv listings to see what show they should ‘tape’ for that night’s tv viewing time. Sometimes it’s shows like Kitchen Nightmares, or My 600 Pound Life, Toddlers & Tiara’s (I told them I just can’t do that show anymore lol), Dirty Jobs (one of MY favs), Mythbusters, or any other such show. Usually Discovery or TLC (we were going to cut cable, but were able to get a better deal with our tv, internet, and phone combined, so we still have cable, AND a free pvr) and then we watch it together.
One night the girls had Extreme Cheapskates ‘taped’ for us.
Ok, some things on this show… YUCK! Eating a goats head?! Yick-phooey!!! I think I would dig up worms to fry before I’d even consider eating a goat’s head!
However, one couple did get my attention. They shared that during their first while of marriage they had incurred quite a large sum of debt, and once they realized what they were doing, they pinched every penny and paid off their very large debt in about a year. One way they saved was to use cloth toilet paper, family cloth. They have 6 kids. We have 5 kids. I KNOW how much toilet paper a family that size goes through in a day.
I have already been pinching our pennies everywhere I can think of. For years we’ve used cloth instead of paper towels. I’ve been thinking lately that cloth really just is SO much nicer then paper, of any kind, in pretty much any situation. When I switched to cloth pads my journey was kind of slow like this too.
At first my reaction to cloth pads was simply, “GROSS!!!!!!!!!!!” and “NO WAY!! That’s just plain old DISGUSTING!!”
But yet, every so often this little ‘niggle’ would get to me, I’d have issues with the paper/plastic products and I’d remember all the info I had read on cloth. Too many things about cloth began to make sense and I couldn’t keep thinking “GROSS!”
My thinking began to change to… “maybe… I could? maybe I could at least… try?”
And so eventually I tried. And I liked. No, I loved.
I loved how cloth felt compared to paper and plastic products. I loved how much I saved with cloth compared to paper and plastic. I ONLY switched to cloth liners at first. By the time I had my cycle after switching to the cloth liners, by that very first evening after using paper/plastic products for just a couple of hours, I was cutting and sewing like a mad woman because I HAD TO HAVE cloth instead. I could not STAND the paper/plastic any more! Now that I had felt the difference of cloth, I could not go to bed that night until I had CLOTH instead!
So… lately, this has been playing through my head when I use toilet paper.
Now that we no longer have a costco membership, I’m thinking maybe… just maybe… I should make the switch to cloth. At least for the ‘not-messy’ times. I’m still not completely sold on family cloth 100% of the time, I’m not sure I ever will be completely sold on it, but I think it’s worth at least some effort.
Just me though. The kids still think it’s completely gross, and honestly, I’m ok with that! Hubby agrees with the kids. lol Heck, I thought it was gross! No one is forcing me to change my mind, yet I may just be. I’m thinking if cloth is an option in the house, quite possibly, they may change their minds too.
If I WERE rich, I’d have a mountain of these in my bathroom:
But for now, they must go into the shop, and I’ll settle for the plain and simple to start out with. 😉
What’s YOUR thoughts on “family cloth”?
Love it, hate it, might like to try it, not sure?
I seen that show too. It got me thinking to about switching. Like you said for the “not messy time”. But I’m still not there yet.
I am not especially crunchy, but the idea of family cloth for “non-messy” times doesn’t gross me out at all. My husband and my sons both use cloth handkerchiefs to wipe their snotty noses, how is family cloth any more gross? With eight kids, I regularly launder blood-stained, sweat-streaked, nasty dirty clothes and linens; what difference is one more load gonna make? I say, if it helps you reach your financial goals sooner, then go for it! 🙂
Birdy
We use FC for per only and for less messy times. So .much better than paper. Like baby wipes you can always wet them if you need a little extra cleansing. I have about 150 pieces and wash once a week. We also use cloth in the kitchen instead of paper towels. Really does save a lot.
I’ve been using family cloth for about two years now. I love it! It leaves me feeling so much cleaner and drier than TP. I love it especially for the messy times of the month. For number 2 I do an initial wipe with TP then go to family cloth for the remainder of the clean up. The wipes I use are cotton flannel/cotton velour. Not as nice and soft and luxurious as your luxury wipes, but more affordable and they feel just fine and get the job done. 🙂
Interesting in our household. When I switched to cloth menstrual products I loved how much better they felt. I was still using cloth wipes for our kids when they went to the bathroom. I was making a transition to using toilet paper for my oldest. For whatever reason it dawned on me that he could still be using the wipes, and why wasn’t I? I use tons of toilet paper.
Since trying cloth wipes (a year ago maybe?) I have been a convert. It feels SO much better, we use WAY less toilet paper, and I cringe when I have to use dry sticky clingy toilet paper to wipe my nether regions.
My husband thinks it is gross 🙂 But that’s fine, he can use the toilet paper. We also buy toilet paper for guest.
Not for me, no thanks.
The toilet paper is not for me that is 😉
We, er, I and my three year old (hubby isn’t on board…) just use flannel squares that I zigzagged the edges on, a few are double layer, but most are single. After three years they’re still going strong…if somewhat faded, but I wouldn’t go back. We still have paper, and I use it some, but feel much cleaner with cloth! And since it is all scraps from other projects, they’re basically free!
We’ve used cloth baby wipes and love them. We have a stack of family cloth when we really need them and funny, we ONLY use it for the messy times when we’d otherwise be using a mountain of toilet paper!!! I recently read how North America’s addiction to ‘ultrasoft’ and quilted toilet paper is using more natural resources (due to the virgin wood, bleaching, etc.) than many auto pollution/environmental impact claims. With the birth of #2 soon, we’ll be cloth diapering again and I think a total switch to family cloth is in our near future. Thanks for a great post!
I like the idea of using cloth for “#1” and I’ve tried it already because I’m sensitive to toilet paper. Also, I’ve read that a lot of toilet paper out there might contain BPA. Another reason to switch. I don’t think I can switch to it completely though because the only poopy cloth wipes I want to deal with are my baby’s and my 4 year old’s.
We started using family cloth a few years ago. After cloth diapering two kids, and using cloth pads myself, it seemed the next logical step. I will confess, however, that we don’t use it for “solid waste”. But with two females in the house (and a little boy who is picky about being clean there) the family cloth does get used well. One of these days I might take the plunge to ditching the disposable TP altogether (this involves using a peri-bottle or bidet-type system to clean yourself so the waste doesn’t end up all over the cloth). My husband has already stated categorically that he wants no part of that, and I don’t think the kids will be on board either!
Been throwing the idea around for a couple years but,.. never took the plunge… at least for the less messy times? Tired of the TP battle too,.. explodes in your hands, leaves half itself behind, almost like sandpaper… UGH.
I’ve tried family cloth, too. Just for myself, and just for the “non-messy times”. I liked it a lot, but had issues with storage. I couldn’t seem to find a convenient spot to keep the clean ones easily accessible without reaching behind me, and I got tired of carrying the used ones into my son’s room to put them in the wet bag with his cloth diapers and wipes. But I should really try to find solutions to these things and try again! I have tons of cloth wipes (just baby facecloths that we’ve been using for over for years now, since my oldest was born), so they might as well be used.
Thanks for the motivation to try again!
I saw that show, too, and I agree about the goat’s head! I have a friend who uses cloth instead of TP. While I did use cloth menstrual pads, I haven’t made the leap to FC. Maybe for the non-messy times, like you said. Something to think about.
I have been using family cloth for a few years now. I use cloth pads, cloth diapers and cloth baby wipes so why not! I do only use it for #1. I just cut up a bunch of fleece fabric, no need to sew the edges as they don’t fray. I am the only one in the family using it as the rest think it is gross. 😉
This gives me lots to consider. We have no washer/dryer in our little house so we use public laundry… so not sure if I’d do this just yet.
I like what someone else suggested about a peri bottle. Makes thinking about a total switch that much easier! lol
Yeah, I’m thinking you’re right. 🙂
We use cloth instead of paper towels too. SO easy!
That sounds like a good idea Jen, tp first, then cloth! It still saves!
Glad to hear your experience Wendy!!
It’s funny how many hubby’s don’t seem to be on board! I guess since they get to just ‘shake it’, it easy for them to say. LOL
Glad you liked it Lisa. If you make the total switch over, be sure to let me know how it goes!!
Yeah, that was kind of my thoughts on the ‘poopy wipes’ too Agnes! The peri bottle suggestion made by someone else was great though. It would solve that problem!
I really like your peri bottle suggestion! I think that would make the switch much easier.
Let me know if you go for it Melanie! We can do it together. lol
I’m thinking of using two bags. A regular draw string, simply type, for clean, and then a large wetbag for dirty. It’s the only thing I can think of to keep it real simple. In that show, they used a basket hung on the wall for the clean, and then a waste paper basket type for the dirty. I think that could work too.
Yeah, I think it’s worth at least some of the time. I know in our house in just the one bathroom we use one roll a day. It’d be neat to see what that would be brought down to if even just “I” made the switch.
Yeah, I’ll be alone too I think. lol
I think it’d definitely be harder without a washer/dryer at home Suzi!