revenge of the germ freak

I'm a bit of a germ freak. Putting it mildly, I fairly shiver in fright over doorknobs and common restroom hand towels. I just HATE to be sick. With my illness the last few years, I've had more than my share of cold and flu. So I came up with an idea to use paper towels in my bathroom. It really helped. I also used my damp paper towel to polish the bathroom each time I was in there. Thus my need for neatness and my disgust of germs were taken care of in one fell swoop.

But my frugal bones were not happy. Usually, I make each penny scream for mercy. Every week I spent three or four dollars on paper to be thrown out. Our garbage can at the curb was always hugely over the top each week. Although I'm anything but a tree-hugger, I wanted to find a way to ease our landfill burden. Paper products and plastic water bottles would have to go.

This is my compromise for bathroom hand towels. Each one gets one use and a thorough washing in hot bleach water. I can still polish the faucet and sink after I wash my hands. The cloths came in a bundle for about $4.00 so they paid for themselves in the first couple days. I already had the basket and the frame, which tells people what the towels are for and where to dispose of them. Joseph was very pleased as am I.

Paper napkins have been replaced with cloth. Plastic water bottles have been replaced with a large capacity PUR water dispenser and regular glasses. Paper plates and such are a thing of the past. I like consuming less and holding on to my money. A little elbow grease never hurt anyone--and the garbage can is not so embarrasingly full.