Family Cloth: Why You Shouldn't Be Squeamish

By now you probably know how much I enjoy frugality. It shows in my home, my eating style, my wardrobe, and now it's showing in my bathroom.

Family cloth. Do you know what it is? In case you don't: family cloth is what you use instead of toilet paper. It it reusable, washable cloth. I made ours out of the flannel receiving blankets we had used for our little one's home birth. I cut them into squares and sewed them - 192, in all. They look pretty and feel absolutely luxurious.



I can sense the discomfort you are feeling, and let me assure you: you are selling yourself short if you don't at least consider such an option. Even if you don't want to make it yourself, there are places to buy such a thing.

"But it's so unsanitary!" Why? Don't you wear your underwear over and over?

"I don't want to touch dirty cloth - or smell it." I store mine in a tub with laundry soap and water in it. No smell, and I just dump it in the washer with my other laundry.

"I can't mix it with other stuff!" Read the above comment about underwear...

"What if I use the same cloth someone else used?" Well, you're sitting on the same toilet, and that's much more likely to spread disease.

It really doesn't make sense to be so against it, even if you're obsessed with cleanliness. It's actually more sanitary, and it's much more pleasant. Some people switch to cloth because toilet paper was causing abrasions (yes, cringe with me) - something you can avoid completely by using cloth. The benefits so far outweigh the downsides.

Like I said, I made my own. It took me about five minutes per wipe, but I wanted them to be a lot nicer than most people care about, and I made double layered wipes so nothing would seep through when I was using them. I asked my husband - who was reluctant - to just try it once, and he was completely sold. We are almost completely paper free in our home, at this point.

Just once, won't you try it? See what you think :).