I'm all for living an eco-friendly lifestyle, but one thing I'm absolutely NOT willing to give up is my toilet paper. Apparently there are people out there that don't wipe their behinds with toilet paper. In fact, Huffington Post recently did a live segment where they interviewed three women who have made the switch from toilet paper to alternative homemade reusable cloths. They swear these things save them money and are better for the environment. I'm sorry, I'd rather waste paper than wipe my butt with a piece of cloth I have to wash myself afterwards. Gross!
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And I'm not the only one weirded out by this strange sustainable practice. Huffington Post host Caitlyn Becker seemed just as disturbed. She didn't even know how to begin the interview. Her first question to the panelists was literally: "Wh-wh-why?" Because why the hell would someone even consider doing this?
Angela Davis from FrugalLiving NW claims that this was just another way for her and her family to go green. So far she's gone without toilet paper for two weeks and feels great about not wasting paper. She believes she's saving around $136 a year on toilet paper. How is $136 a year on toilet paper a lot of money?
So how does this so-called reusable paper toilet thing even work? Well for these three ladies, they cut up old cloth (Kathleen Quiring actually uses flannel from an old baby blanket) into square pieces and then store them in a box in their bathrooms. Once they're done using a piece, they toss it into a waste basket. At the end of the week the used cloths get thrown into their washing machines. But what about the pieces that have poop stains on them? I'm just supposed to throw these feces-infested cloths into my machine and go about my day? How is this more hygienic than traditional toilet paper?
It's one thing to replace your toilet paper, for disposable wipes or something. That I get! But cutting up old rags that you're going to wind up washing afterwards is just ridiculous. Plus, how eco-friendly can they really be if you have to run a separate wash just to clean them? I'd like to think these chicks aren't combining their reusable cloths with their clothes. Imagine what those washing machines smell like? Ugh!
Image via Corbis
