.jpg)
I wish I could say I live a zero-waste life. But I don’t. And most likely, that’s off the cards for me. But what I do is live a low-waste life. Always have, it’s how I was raised. It’s how I’m teaching my daughter…
This is a story about my butterfly napkins really. A few years ago I was at a tag sale with my mum, at this really fancy house nearby where she lived. There was this set of napkins, 12 of them altogether, and I just loved them. I walked around with them, but kept trying to talk myself out of them. They were $12., a lot for a tag sale find, but they were neatly ironed and folded, and if they’d been used more than once I’d be amazed. So I coughed up the cash (much to my mum’s horror, lol) and home with me they came.
I love them so much. I love them on my table, I love them when I’m using them (they are such lovely material), I love everything about them. Turns out it was $12. really well spent. I don’t think they’ve been ironed since. They’re getting a bit faded from use (and love), but they are one of those tiny little things in life that brings me joy.
As we’re all three home for every meal, whereas usually, a few napkins go in each load of laundry, now we can fill an entire load (but to be fair, it’s not an often occurrence because we have dozens). When I folded the tea towels and napkins today, I thought about the difference between using cloth and paper. In the photo of today’s laundry basket, I have the butterfly napkins, of course. Which are not only joy bringing, but they remind me of a lovely day with my mum, which I’ll never get to have again, so it’s a precious memory. There are napkins from her house which we used at holidays and family gatherings. There are other napkins I bought from thrift shops because I loved them. There are, of course, napkins that I (gasp!!) lol, bought new, there are even napkins from my grandmother’s house in there. She died in 1992.
And of course, the tea towels, which deserve their own post someday. I have a bunch of my mum’s. I have a few of my grandmother’s. Many are gifts. I buy them when I go on my magical adventures, and smile when I hang up one from Iceland, or Scotland, or Norway, or of course England where the bulk are from. Some are decades old, some are ridiculously ratty (they usually move to the cleaning tea towel section unless they’re super special, which sadly, most are, haha), one is brand new. I just got it from this fantastic store in Lyme Regis, it’s a seaweed print. I couldn’t love it more. It has yet to hang in the kitchen, but I think today’s its day. The one on top is from the Alice in Wonderland shop in Oxford, England, that I went to with my best friend who lives an ocean away from me. (I have napkins she sent me for Christmas that year from there too). We use the tea towels for everything from drying hands and dishes, to cleaning up spills and messes. A roll of paper towels can last months and months at my house. I occasionally use them when I’m creating art, (and then it’s the tiniest piece I can rip off) or if the dog makes a mess, otherwise I never even think about them.
And of course, there are my little dishcloths I crochet by the dozens. Wonky little suckers, but they do a great job of washing dishes, cleaning up spills and wiping down the tables and countertops, plus at the end of the day when it’s time for a new one, they’re also useful to wipe off my quote chalk-board, when it needs changing, before they’re thrown in the laundry.
In these crazy days of Corona, I’ve never been more grateful for some of the little ways we live our life. Simple little things to make our walk on the planet lighter. And of course, April being Earth month, it’s good to think about ways we can save her.
I don’t have to worry about running out of paper towels or napkins, because we’ve always used cloth and tea towels for those things. I do have a package of recycled paper napkins, but I’m saving them in case we run out of toilet paper, haha. That is not an area I’m going zero waste in just yet if I can help it.
I’m pretty sure no one can come up with memories or stories about paper towels or napkins. Though there may be a few to come about toilet paper before all this is over. haha. Please share how you are lowering your footprint.
Stay safe and healthy. xo
