Saturday, April 12, 2008

Change # 16 - Paper towels (used in emergencies only)

When Ian was born we received many, many, many beautiful gifts. We really appreciated all of them. We were also very lucky that a friend from work (that I didn't even know that well) very kindly offered to lend us a bunch of baby things. She lent us: a Peg Perego Infant car seat (which fit in our Peg Perego stroller), a baby bathtub, a co-sleeper thingey, a baby swing, two mobiles, a baby monitor and some clothes. We easily could have afforded to buy all of these things brand new but what I really loved about borrowing them instead, is that we were 'reusing' them which meant fewer of all of these things would end up in the landfill. What I also soon learned, is that, babies grow at an astonishing rate and they quickly outgrow everything in their first year (some things we never even used, like the swing... he hated it). So why buy new when you can beg, borrow and reuse? Hopefully we'll be able to do the same with our second baby.

Where am I going with this? Oh yeah. We also received gently used items like several used receiving blankets which had seen better days. Instead of donating them or throwing them out (which I could never do anyway) I cut them all into four pieces. They make amazing rags. They are soft and don't fray at the edges and I've been able to wash and reuse them several times now and they are still very nice. So I'm commiting to only using these rags now when I clean the house. No more paper towels. I will only use them in dire emergencies... like when Bagel 'mistakes' the dining room floor for a fire hydrant (which thankfully rarely happens these days). Whose kidding who?... those aren't 'accidents'. They are carefully plotted reminders that he is the master of his bladder, thank you very much, and how DARE YOU leave the house and go for walks with the hairless puppy (also known as Ian) and leave me here all alone!!!

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