Reusable Cloth Toilet Paper 
 
 We have hit the one-week “using cloth wipes instead of toilet paper” mark and we haven’t died. Nor have I given up shaving my armpits. So win-win. 
 
 Many of you, after throwing up a bit in your mouth, wondered why people go the reusable toilet paper/cloth wipes/family cloth route. Here’s a big list of reasons why one might ditch the tp and use homemade wipes instead. To be clear, we switched to reusable wipes as an experiment. Some of the reasons listed below are personally compelling to me, some are not. 
 
 ENVIRONMENTAL 
 
 Most modern toilet paper in the developed world is designed to decompose in septic tanks, so there’s no information I could find indicating it messes with our sewage. I’m assuming there’s little to no environmental concern with tp once it is flushed, but I could be totally wrong and the stuff could be causing fish death or the increasing growth of female facial hair. 
 
 The environmental issue comes from the manufacturing and delivery of the toilet paper. The average American uses 50 pounds of tissue paper per year which is 50% more than the average of Western countries or Japan. We use more toilet paper because much of the world use bidets or spray hoses to clean off the poop and we wipe it. 
 
 Toilet paper requires trees and Americans like their soft, fluffy toilet paper. From a NY Times article: 
 
 Fluffiness comes at a price: millions of trees harvested in North America and in Latin American countries, including some percentage of trees from rare old-growth forests in Canada. Although toilet tissue can be made at similar cost from recycled material, it is the fiber taken from standing trees that help give it that plush feel, and most large manufacturers rely on them. Customers “demand soft and comfortable,” said James Malone, a spokesman for Georgia Pacific, the maker of Quilted Northern. “Recycled fiber cannot do it.” 
 
 Our wonderfully soft, white toilet paper requires using standing trees, and oftentimes it’s old-growth forests. 
 
 Recycled toilet paper is certainly a better environmental choice, given that it doesn’t require cutting down trees, but there is still the manufacturing that uses natural resources and I think it’s naive to discount the amount of energy, water, chemicals, and fuel it takes to make the toilet paper. 
 
 Using reusable wipes means: 
 
 You’re not using trees to make the toilet paper. 
 
 You’re not using the chemicals and resources required to manufacture the toilet paper. 
 
 You don’t need the packaging to keep the rolls together (plastic shell and the paper covering individual rolls in some cases). 
 
 You don’t need the fuel to transport the resources to the toilet paper making plant and the product from the plant to the store. 
 
 PERSONAL 
 
 Every single person out there reporting on their experience with reusable homemade wipes rave about how it feels. After the first few uses, everyone sees the wipes as an actual upgrade from toilet paper, even the fluffy three-ply stuff. 
 
 Wipes are soft. 
 
 They clean your parts better (and don’t leave bits of paper behind), partly because you’re using a wet cloth for #2. 
 
 No chance of “finger break-through” that puts you in contact with feces (urine is sterile, so you’re good with that type of contact). 
 
 They help prevent hemorrhoid irritation (you know that wiping paper on those things makes it worse, right?). 
 
 Toilet paper creation requires chemicals. Wipes means no bleach, BPA, BPS, or other processing chemicals coming in contact with your body. 
 
 FINANCIAL 
 
 Many, many, many of you commented that washing the wipes would negate any savings over buying toilet paper. Wrong. It’s actually much cheaper to buy and wash reusable wipes. 
 
 Cost of using toilet paper: 
 
 Americans use an average of 20,000 sheets of toilet paper a year. Here’s the math for my family of 6 (I’m not counting Baby Lucy), using the average sheets per person: 
 
 20,000 sheets x 6 people = 120,000 sheets used by our family per year 120,000 sheets / 264 sheets (the # of sheets in an Angel Soft double roll — the Amazon deal we often promote) = 454 rolls 454 rolls x $.50 (the most I’d pay for a double roll) = $227 per year 
 
 I don’t like paying $.50 per double roll — I shoot for $.30, so that would be $136.20 per year spent on toilet paper for our family. 
 
 Cost of using reusable wipes: 
 
 SUPPLIES 
 
 $21 for 7 yards of cotton flannel fabric at JoAnn’s to make the wipes 
 
 $2 for 2 plastic garbage bins 
 
 $4 for 2 sweater-sized laundry mesh bags to line the garbage bins so I don’t have to touch my husband’s wipes 
 
 WASHING 
 
 Our entire wipes supply fill up about one-fifth of our front-loading washing machine. I end up needing to wash them about three times a week and they do get washed with other clothing in hot water. I used the calculator here to determine it costs about $.50 per load using our equipment (washed with hot water and dried on hot, including detergent costs). 
 
 0.6 loads per week x $.50 per load = $.30 per week to wash the wipes 
 
 $.30 per week x 52 weeks = $15.60 per year 
 
 YEARLY COST COMPARISON: 
 
 Toilet paper = $136.20 
 
 Reusable wipes = $42.60 
 
 Obviously, the price of wipes in the second year will plummet because you’re not factoring in the cost making them. Also, you could just cut up an old towel, shirt, whatever to make the wipes for free. 
 
 Still fascinated? Be sure to read why we tried out using reusable cloth toilet paper and our big reusable cloth toilet paper FAQ post. 
 
 Reusable toilet paper not your thing? No biggie. Here are the best deals on toilet paper and baby wipes — all of them are cheaper than Costco: 
 
 Angel Soft 
 
 Quilted Northern Ultra Soft & Strong 
 
 Huggies Simply Clean Baby Wipes ||||| 180 526 0 0 0 
 
 
 
 Bumf, bum wad, loo roll/paper, bog roll, toilet roll, dunny roll/paper, bathroom/toilet tissue, TP, arsewipe, and just tissue. 
 
 What funny names for Toilet Paper. I personally just say plain ol’ TP. Although, my personal favorites are, “bumf” and “arsewipe”. 
 
 Imagine with me for a second, someone yelling from the restroom, “MOM!!!! I need some more BUMF!!!!” Or replace it with “arsewipe” …….Bahahah! 
 
 Can’t resist. It just makes me laugh. 
 
 I am pretty excited and slightly nervous to be writing a blog post, about me NOT using toilet paper, that will be available for the whole world to see. But here goes… 
 
 My sweet, sweet husband got a phone call from me a while ago at work and it went something like this: 
 
 Me: “Hey! How are you?” 
 
 Him: “Good. What’s up?” 
 
 Me: “well……. (long awkward pause, while a few nervous giggles from me bubble out) I stumbled upon a blog that was talking about not using toilet paper any more and switching to Cloth Toilet paper. And I um…( a few more giggles trying to get the nerve to ask my still fairly new husband who i don’t want to think he got stuck with some crazy weirdo chick who is going to change his whole world as he knows it) was wondering if you would want to try it with me?? 
 
 (a few more questions back and forth on how they did it, what they used, etc He said:) 
 
 Him: “Sure. Sounds good to me.” 
 
 Gosh, I love him. 
 
 I was pretty excited when he was on board and wanted to give it a whirl with me. We made a pact that we wouldn’t tell anyone yet (for fear of the awkward questions and weird looks that we were going to get, while we ourselves were still a little unsure) and then I let him get back to work, and I started to day dream about using Cloth Toilet Paper instead of the paper kind. 
 
 So without further ado, here is the tutorial how to make all your cloth toilet paper dreams come true in 5 easy steps!! 
 
 How to Make Cloth Toilet Paper 
 
 Supplies/Equipment: 
 
 -2 yards of Flannel (go ahead and make it cute! and if you want, coordinate different colors one for each side) 
 
 -Sharp Scissors or Rotary Cutter and Board 
 
 -Sewing Machine or a Serger 
 
 -Matching Thread 
 
 – A sharp pencil or a chop stick 
 
 Makes about 36-Ish Wipes. (I think it has the potential to make more but we got one yard one size and the other yard a different size and it didn’t seem to add up like we planned. Plus material isn’t perfect so that is why it is -ish-) 
 
 STEP 1: Wash and Dry Material 
 
 – Gets rid of the chemicals they use and then it helps with the shrinkage factor before you sew them together. 
 
 STEP 2: Cut the flannel into 6 1/2X6 1/2 inch squares 
 
 -It helped to have a big flat something and measure out the measurements and mark it with a pencil. Then Cut them out. 
 
 – I feel like this is the perfect size but if you want to adjust the size (possibly for trying to make baby wipes or whatever else) have fun experimenting! (ending amount will vary) 
 
 *Note we planned the seem allowance so the end product was about 6×6 
 
 STEP 3: Put them together 
 
 Sewing Machine Serger 
 
 -Put the right sides together -Put the wrong sides together 
 
 -Sew 1/4″ around the edges -Sew 1/4″ around the whole 
 
 except leaving a 2 inch gap thing and Viol’a you’re done! 
 
 STEP 4: Turn them inside out 
 
 -Those pesky corners are a true pain. But it helps if you have a sharp pencil or a chopstick to poke them out. 
 
 STEP 5: Close the gap 
 
 -In order to close the gap without it looking super tacky I just folded the sides in and made them match the rest of the sewn edges and then just did another go around with the sewing machine closing it off and in doing so adding a little more reinforcement. 
 
 -Clip the threads. 
 
 -You can iron them if you so desire, otherwise YOU’RE DONE!! 
 
 My Journey 
 
 My secret pact I had made with the hubby, it didn’t last too long. I had to share my excitement and weirdness with someone! I told my sister in law a couple of days after deciding to go for it and she thought it was a weird but cool idea. And even said she wanted give it a shot too! Man I was stoked. This gave me the courage to share my story and what I think about it with anyone. 
 
 Pros 
 
 -Get’s rid of the toxin’s touching my *wahoo* 
 
 -Saves money in the long run 
 
 -Helps protect from infections 
 
 -I feel cleaner and not smelly 
 
 -They are super soft 
 
 Cons 
 
 -One more load of laundry (unless your are cloth diapering then go ahead and throw those babies in together) 
 
 -Takes time getting used too 
 
 *Note: somethings might be a little TMI-ee but don’t worry I will give you a heads up if you feel the need to avert your eyes 
 
 So after I have made my dreamy cloth toilet paper what the heck happens next?? 
 
 Storage 
 
 -A simple basket on top of the toilet will do. 
 
 Usage 
 
 -You can choose to use the wipes dry or wet 
 
 -You can use a spray bottle to get them wet (if so desired you can put a drop or two of essential oil in the water to make you feel all freshened up) 
 
 -(TMI WARNING) My experience: I use a spray bottle and use it on the mist setting, getting one side moist but not soaking. Then I wipe once with the wet side,fold it in half and use the more dry side to wipe a second time to dry off. You can fold it again if you feel the need or call it good. I love the way I feel afterwards! It is like, I am actually clean, and not just smearing my pee around. 
 
 After Use 
 
 -A couple of people had said that they used a trashcan that had a lid on it and used a pillow case as the liner and placed them there until it was time to wash. 
 
 -Some people fill up a waste basket or a water proof bag with a vinegar and water mixture (Huge fan of vinegar here, so I just dump enough in until I feel like it is good enough) and place them in that until it is time to wash them. 
 
 -You can choose to place the #1’s and the #2’s in the same area or you can have them separate. 
 
 (I have personally, tried both the dry and wet way. For my #1’s I like placing them just a dry container and my #2’s I like placing them in the vinegar/water mixture.) 
 
 Sanatizing 
 
 -I use my hottest water setting on my washer and (again huge fan of vinegar) I dump in a lot of vinegar in and wash them like normal. (if you want you can wash them twice but they were fine after just one wash) 
 
 -I dry them like any normal thing but if you want you can use your higher heat setting on your dryer. 
 
 (Bonus!! If you are cloth diapering you can just wash them with your cloth diapers) 
 
 QUESTION/ANSWER (Possibly a little TMI) 
 
 -Q: What do you do for those who don’t want to use the cloth wipes? 
 
 
 
 -A: You can just keep some store bought TP on hand for your guests. You can let them know (if you want) that they are welcome to use the cloth wipes if they want to. 
 
 -Q: Can I really use these for my #2 business? 
 
 
 
 -A: Yep! If you have ever heard of the Squatty Potty or the more Eastern style of going to the restroom (squatting more instead of our 90 degree style of sitting) you are less likely to make a messy deposit. Therefore not leaving much to be wiped up. If you feel like it is going to be messy, then use some of the store bought TP that you have saved for guests. 
 
 -Q: Does it smell? 
 
 
 
 -A: I haven’t ever noticed a smell (and with a pregnant nose going on right now… that is pretty darn good.) If you feel like it smells, go ahead and wash them then and there. Also, using a storage container that has a lid will help to prevent smell. 
 
 -Q: How often do you wash them? 
 
 
 
 -A: Because it is just my husband and I (right now) I wash them when I run out. About once a week. (Because I am the one usually using them, going to the restroom a gazillion times a day) But, you can wash them as much as you feel necessary. 
 
 (ok, last question that (I can think of…) 
 
 -Q: What about when Aunt Flo comes for a visit?? 
 
 
 
 -A: Not having a period lately, I haven’t dealt with this yet. But, the things I have thought that I would give a shot are possibly: 
 
 –Making some monthly cloth wipes. Making them in the color red (so not to ruin the color of my other cloths) 
 
 –Using them and then rinsing them out and putting some hydrogen peroxide on them 
 
 –And my last thought was if I (or you) don’t feel comfortable with the upper options, you can use the store bought TP. (although I don’t recommend it) 
 
 Welp, that is all that I think anyone could want to know or knows about cloth toilet papering. But if you have questions, or any comments I would love to hear them! 
 
 -The Girl With Cloth Toilet Paper, 
 
 Makala 
 
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 This post is linked to:Tuned-in Tuesday, Party Wave Wednesday, Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, Fat Tuesday, Real Food Wednesday, Waste Not, Want Not Wednesday, Penny Pinching Party, Natural Living Link Up, Thank Your Body Thursday, Natural Family Friday, Sunday School. 
 
 Photo courtesy: Freedigitalphotos.net ||||| Downsizing has hit the toilet paper aisle as rolls become narrower, cardboard tubes grow in diameter, the number of sheets per roll falls, and the sheets get smaller. With Americans using an average of 46 sheets of toilet paper a day, according to Kimberly-Clark, you want to make sure the kind you buy gets the job done. Consumer Reports tests toilet paper for strength, softness, disintegration, and tearing ease. Two winners top our latest toilet paper tests. 
 
 
 
 At 25 cents per 100 sheets, White Cloud 3-Ply Ultra sold at Walmart was named a CR Best Buy. It got excellent marks for strength and softness, and disintegration and tearing ease was very good. While tearing ease for Charmin Ultra Strong was excellent, it did not score as high on the other three attributes and costs 41 cents for 100 sheets. But it too made our list of top toilet paper picks. 
 
 
 
 The also-rans include Scott 1000, 8 cents, which is neither soft nor strong; Marcal Small Steps, 25 cents, which is almost as harsh as Scott 1000 and doesn’t tear easily, and Cottonelle CleanCare with Touch of Soft Cotton. Despite its name, it’s less soft than many and at 44 cents per 100 sheets costs more than all but one other tissue in our tests. And don’t buy by brand alone. Various Scott, Cottonelle, and Charmin products scored quite differently. ||||| by 
 
 The other day I noticed we were on our last roll of toilet paper, so of course I added it to the grocery list on the fridge. 
 
 (What an exciting lead for a blog post, amiright? Last roll of toilet paper? I’m on the edge of my seat! Tell me more!) 
 
 Once at the grocery store, I scanned the aisle (half an aisle — both sides — in our local superstore is devoted to throwaway paper products) for whatever was on sale. Half off on Charmin? Sold. I hoisted the enormous cellophane-wrapped package — the size of a small treasure chest — into my cart, cringing at the additional $13 on our grocery bill, and the fact that there is no dignified way to buy toilet paper. You simply have to manhandle a ginormous, crinkly, saggy package of toilet paper rolls and wheel it around the store with you. There is no other way. 
 
 Once at home, I had the task of removing all that superfluous plastic packaging and stacking the rolls in our closet. But I discovered, to my dismay, that Charmin double-wraps its toilet paper: there’s the main packaging around the whole thing, but then inside, each pair of toilet paper rolls is also wrapped in another layer of plastic to hold everything together more neatly. 
 
 By the time I was done unwrapping everything, I had a huge pile of cellophane on my hands, which I had to stuff into my kitchen garbage can. 
 
 And more than ever before, this just did not feel right to me. 
 
 Respecting the Toilet Paper 
 
 I wrote recently about how I feel called to respect the material world around me. For me, this means eliminating disposables from my life as much as possible. 
 
 Respect means to look back or to look again. I talked about how using disposable items seems disrespectful to me — we buy things with the intent to only see them once. 
 
 Among other things, I’ve recently become troubled with our use of toilet paper. It just feels so wasteful. So . . . disrespectful. 
 
 We buy it, all wrapped up in plastic, and carry it into our bathrooms with the sole purpose of throwing it out. Just so we can go out and buy more of it. 
 
 (If you want more specific info about the environmental cost of toilet paper, check out Crunchy Chicken’s Post). 
 
 I know there are probably lots of other practices I engage in which are more wasteful and disrespectful of the earth’s resources, and I’m working on those, too; but this one seemed like a pretty quick and easy thing to change since we already use cloth diapers. (Actually, we just finished with diapers. HOORAY! But that’s another blog post.) 
 
 (I also want to briefly reiterate what I said in my last post: I am not assuming that this lifestyle change is realistic for everybody. It might not be an option for you right now. That’s okay. Guilt has no place in the Kingdom. I personally first read about cloth wipes a couple of years ago from SortaCrunchy Megan, and I filed it away in the Maybe Someday compartment of my brain. Until now.) 
 
 Anyway, we’d already been using cloth wipes on our babe, and it didn’t seem like a big adjustment to change all our personal hygiene items to cloth. We already had the lidded garbage cans hanging aroung and were used to throwing a load of smelly cloths into the wash every other night; we could totally handle this. 
 
 So here’s how we did it. 
 
 [Side note: one dear reader pointed out to me that since we already have a diaper sprayer attached to our toilet, we could use that as a bidet and forgo wipes altogether, like they do in countries all over the world. I thought that was a brilliant idea . . . until I let one drop of water from the sprayer drop onto my bare thigh. HOLY ICICLES! At least during a Canadian winter, I’m afraid that’s not an option. Perhaps I’ll try again in the summer.] 
 
 Our Switch to Cloth Toilet Paper 
 
 I’m finding that with all non-disposable items, the most difficult thing is putting a system in place that allows for easy/frequent laundering. Here’s how we’re tackling that. 
 
 You may recall our bathroom setup for cloth diapers, which included a second garbage can with a step-opening lid near the toilet. Even though we were just transitioning out of diapers with our little one, I decided to leave it there. 
 
 There’s still regular TP and a normal waste basket for guests to use (and for ourselves, at times). 
 
 I put a small basket on the toilet tank to hold the wipes. I’m sure there’s a more discreet approach, for people who don’t necessarily want to advertise their unconventional ways in the bathroom, but I already had this on hand. 
 
 I started out using Lydia’s old cloth wipes (which were just cheap baby wash cloths) to try out, but they were too big. I dunno – I just didn’t like the feel of a big 8×8-inch piece of fabric, folded up several times, to do such a small job. You know? 
 
 So I made my own. 
 
 I just took an old flannel receiving blanket and divided it into 25 or so 5½ x 5½–inch squares with a ruler and pencil. (One blanket was all I needed, since you only need one sheet per use). 
 
 I borrowed my mom’s serger, which cut and serged the edges so they wouldn’t fray in the wash. I believe pinking shears would give similar results. 
 
 I put them in the basket on the back of the toilet. Done! 
 
 When I’m done with a wipe, I just toss it into the garbage can with the lid. The inner pail can be removed and brought down to the laundry room. 
 
 After a week of using the cloth wipes, I discovered that I preferred to line the garbage can with an old pillowcase. It felt kinda gross to toss damp cloths into a sealed plastic can for some reason. And with the pillowcase, I don’t have to see the cloths again until they’re clean. I can just throw the whole pillowcase — with all its contents — into the wash. 
 
 Right now, we’re still using that same garbage can to hold any wet training pants when Lydia has an accident, and we wash everything every 2-3 days. As her accidents get more infrequent, we’ll probably stretch that out to about once a week. 
 
 After washing, I hang them up in our laundry room in the basement with this handy-dandy tool from Ikea. Quick and easy! They dry super-fast. 
 
 FAQ’s and Notes for the Crazy Courageous 
 
 (Note: Not for the Faint of Heart) 
 
 Can I just use cloth part-time? 
 
 Absolutely! We’re not completely committed to using it 100% of the time, but it’s at least available for when we want to use cloth. 
 
 If using cloth for #2 seems too much, you could use them just for #1. That’s what we’re doing for now. 
 
 What about That Time of the Month? 
 
 As above: you don’t have to use cloth 100%. You totally can use it throughout your cycle — especially if you already use cloth pads — but if you don’t want to stain your cloth, or for whatever reason, you can use regular toilet paper during that part of your cycle. Also note that if you’re using a Diva Cup or tampon, there’s not that much blood to clean up. 
 
 How does it work with natural family planning / fertility awareness? 
 
 I confess, this has given me a little bit of trouble. Many women use toilet paper to help them observe cervical fluid. Since cloth is more absorbent, this might make it a little tricky. 
 
 Since I also rely on my basal body temperature to pinpoint ovulation, and since I’m not trying to prevent pregnancy, it’s not that big a deal for me. I’m just doing my best with the cloth. Others might have to improvise. 
 
 I won’t go into any more detail. 
 
 * * * 
 
 So, what do you think? Too gag-inducing? Seem to complicated? Have any questions? Am I forgetting any important details? 
 
 Shared on Your Green Resource with SortaCrunchy.
– Does your toilet paper seem smaller to you these days? Well, you're not crazy: It is. As the Washington Post reports, toilet paper squares used to be 4.5 inches by 4.5 inches. Nowadays, they're up to a half-inch narrower, shorter—or both. (Apparently, it's enough of a difference to be noticeable to the naked eye: Last week, a reader wrote in to the Los Angeles Times complaining about a "26% reduction in surface area.") And, as Consumer Reports noted last year, the cardboard tubes are also increasing in diameter as the number of sheets per roll decreases. But the price is not falling: In 2012 and 2013, the unit price rose about 2% per year. (In 2013, the Wall Street Journal explained that the process of selling less paper for the same price is known as "desheeting.") "A standard roll is much smaller than it used to be, so now they're selling double rolls. So, without being scientific, I think a double roll is pretty well equivalent to what a standard roll was perhaps a decade ago," a research analyst tells NPR. One not-as-obvious reason for the TP trend is that companies that make toilet paper also make products like paper towels and napkins. Though toilet paper is essential—Americans are estimated to use an average of 46 sheets per day, and that's probably not set to change any time soon—paper towel and napkin sales are falling. In particular, large companies, like offices and restaurants, are moving toward things like air dryers or, the analyst explains, rationing how many napkins they dole out to customers. But they'll never cut down on their TP orders in an attempt to ration that particular product, so orders will remain steady. (As for those hand dryers, you might not want to use them.)