"What is family cloth?" you might be asking yourself. That was what my family asked, as well. They had an idea, but their idea was far from what "family cloth" actually is.
So what is it?
Reusable toilet cloth!
I know...I know. It sounds crazy. But, I tell you, lots of people are doing it. I have been on a quest to lower our monthly budget and simplify, for quite a few years. We stopped using paper towels, paper plates and other such non-essentials and have not gone back. We have a stockpile of dish towels and rags and find them to be quite useful in soaking up messes. So, I suppose family cloth was the next logical step.
We spend, on average, depending on the brand, no less than $1.00 a day on toilet paper. Maybe this is an expense you are willing to pay for the convenience of toilet paper, but my goal is to give you enough information that you will at least want to try family cloth. $365 a year is a lot of money to spend on something you are just going to throw in the toilet! We've been using family cloth for a little over two weeks now, and I love it. My family has stopped thinking I am crazy (well, at least in this area) and I actually heard from my 14 year old son, "mom, family cloth isn't so bad".
It cleans better. Doesn't leave little paper dust behind. It's pretty. Smells good. Easy to use. Easy to make. Cheap. And is saving us money!
So...how do ya do it?
Gather old cotton t-shirts or flannel shirts. Cut out seams and make large squares out of the material. Cut those large squares into smaller 5 x 5 inch squares. Sew two together to make an extra thick cloth.
Place your finished cloths in the bin and mix up a cup of wipes solution. There are many recipes out there, but I am using this one at the moment.
2 drops lavender essential oil
1 drop eucalyptus oil
1 T. glycerin
1/2 t. Doctor Bronner's liquid castile soap
1 cup of purified water
You can find tons of recipes at this site that I just love. Makes me want another baby...well, everything makes me want another baby :-)
So...anywho, mix up your solution and pour over your wipes. Flip them over a few times to get them all saturated and then squeeze out any excess liquid. You don't want them sopping wet, just damp. Also, please note that I have only filled my bin about half way full. You don't want your wipes sitting in there wet for more than a few days. Only put about three days worth of wipes in, as you are going to want to wash these every three days. You'll find out how much solution and how many wipes are right for your family as you start using them.
Now for the part that makes people cringe. What do you do...after...?
I bought this 10 gallon garbage bin at walmart for $5. Add a few drops of tea tree oil, maybe 5 drops or so, I forget to count :-) and then fill the bin half full with water. This is going to be your "soaking" water for three days. Every time you use your family cloth, you are going to stick it in the bin after you use it. The tea tree oil inhibits the growth of bacteria, you can add a few drops of eucalyptus oil as well, as it does the same thing.
After three days, empty the water as best as you can in the toilet, being careful not to dump your family cloth in there as well! Wash the cloths in your washing machine with hot water. I soak mine in hot water first and then do a regular wash. They come out clean every time and do not smell. I don't even use regular store bought detergent, I use a homemade soap and they still come out clean and smelling fresh.
You don't have to dry these, just stick them back in the lidded bin and add your solution. Easy peasy!
I love family cloth and we will continue to use it. We still have toilet paper for company, but I think for the most part, my family is using the cloth, at least part of the time.
This might not be for everybody, but I think it is awesome after you get past the "ew" factor. Have fun, and experiment; just keep it by the toilet and see what happens. My husband and son both used it on their own volition and both liked it!
Ok I don't think your nuts and I am not to far from you .... ;0) Great Post!
ReplyDeleteI fully understand the concept of family cloth, ESP been a cloth nappy (diaper) lover. I think economically though things must be different over there as it costs us $4-$6 per fortnight for toliet paper, but to add 3 extra hot washes per week would cost us $10-$15 more a week.
ReplyDeleteHowever I say good on you and ESP for been brave enough to blog about it!
Luv Donna
Your family cloth looks great! I'm glad that Andi pointed this post out.
ReplyDeleteWould you share your laundry detergent recipe? I've seen quite a few of them but haven't tried making my own yet.
Glad to see others doing it also. I started about a month or so ago. Even have a post ready to publish. Maybe its time to help promote the idea. Thanks so much for sharing! blessings ~ Carmen
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments ladies. I wash these on a small load because there really aren't very many cloths in the dirty bin at the end of three days time. I will have to look at my electric bill next month to see if there is a significant increase due to hot water usage. If so, I will wash in cold water, with perhaps another rinse cycle or something and see how that works.
ReplyDeleteMillie, I was actually going to post the recipe for laundry soap tomorrow:-) But, it's really simple. Equal parts borax, washing soda and grated Ivory soap all whizzed together in the blender. Use 1 or 2 tablespoons per load.
Monica,
ReplyDeleteI have heard talk of the family cloth...but still could not "put the pieces together" in my brain. This was the most informative and complete post I ahve seen on it yet and it really helped me see the process from begining to end. Thanks!
I have two questions for ya.
1.(I have lots of little ones.) Do you have any small children? I am wondering if this is practical to manage with lots of littles.
2. Have you had a chance to do the breakdown on the math for the cost of the solution supplies? I am curious how it compares.
Blessings,
pamela
p.s One more question. Do you keep paper TP for company?
ReplyDeletePamela- My youngest is 8 so I don't have a whole lot of experience with little ones lately :-) But, when my kiddos were little we actually bought wet wipes for them to keep on the back of the toilet to make clean ups a little easier and to ensure that they got it all cleaned up. Family cloth is the same concept. The only thing you might have issues with is making sure they don't flush it! I accidentally dropped one in the toilet once...won't do that again :-)
ReplyDeleteI haven't done a break down on the supplies. You don't need anything fancy though. You can actually steep chamomile tea and use that as a solution. Or, just use a little olive oil and water, or a squirt of soap, or just plain water. However, I use a very small amount of each of the ingredients for each batch of solution, that I believe it will last quite a while. You don't even have to use a wet cloth, you can use dry. Or keep a spray bottle by your container of dry wipes for those times when you DO want a moist cloth.
Having a bin of wet cloths in the bathroom comes in handy though. If there is a spill, or someone has missed the toilet, I can just grab a wet cloth and clean up the mess real quick and toss the cloth in the dirty bin. In fact I like this aspect of family cloth so much that I am thinking about making a separate bin of wet cloths that are specifically for counter clean ups and things like that.
As far as company is concerned, we always have a roll of toilet paper out.
Thanks for your questions!