around here, we don’t have too many paper products. in fact, the only paper product you’ll find is toilet paper and even then, part of the household uses cloth wipes for that as well.
i make two sizes of wipes for our general use (in addition to chinese prefolds which rock the world for absorbing spills like there’s no tomorrow). i make 11 x11 for general wipes…runny noses, dirty hands, to clean eggs off with, wipe up watercolor paint spills, etc. and, i make 5 x 5 for the controversial toilet paper replacement.
to make both, i use old flannel sheets. these can be picked up cheaply at thrift stores and garage sales for very reasonable prices and they come in a large variety of colors and designs. i prefer white or light colors, not sure why but that’s what i have so that’s what i use.
to make them, first cut your sheet into strips…the strips should be about 1/2″ larger than you want the finished size to be so for the large wipes, i cut 11 1/2″ and for the small wipes i cut 5 1/2″. there really is no hard and fast on this, just make sure you give yourself a seam allowance for each edge. 1/4″ usually does it for me because i only fold them over once. if you want to completely hide your edges, you’ll want to allow at least 1/2″ for each side. i find this to be a tedious and unnecessary step to completely hide the edges so i don’t.
next, cut those strips into squares.
now, you’re ready to begin sewing. i set the machine to zig zag stitch since i don’t own a serger. i first fold over the edge of the last side i’ll be sewing and then fold over the edge of the first side i’ll be sewing to create the corner. this part i place under the sewing machine foot. 
then, i sew down the side, folding over the edge before i get to the end to turn the fabric and sew the next side. 
once i’ve gone all the way around, i finish off the stitches by reversing it for a few and then, viola! one wipe is finished.
i used to be fun and sew different colors on the edges but now, i use whatever is in the machine. this time it happened to be a mix of green and brown. 
i stash all of these in a rectangular basket i found at the thrift shop. it keeps them all neatly in place and hides them from unsuspecting guests who would freak at the thought of using a reusable wipe. i keep a thunder mug beside one toilet to stash the used ones in and a trash can style basket with a plastic liner next to the other toilet, discretely out of site from guests.
i generally wash these in with the diapers. now that my last one is mostly potty trained, the diapers are used to wipe up messes. i wash them in hot water and use vinegar instead of fabric softener. i also have one of those ‘wonder clean pressure washers‘ that can be purchased from lehman’s. if i need to just wash the wipes, i can do so in there. once we stop using diapers all together, i’ll be washing them all the toilet wipes like that (the general purpose wipes can usually be thrown in with the napkins).
to dry them, i simply shake each one out and stack them all up into a huge stack. in the summer or warmer days, i hang them one the line using a single clothespin to hold up about 7 at a time. in the winter, i lay those stacks on a drying rack behind the wood stove to dry. 
once a season or so, i will soak these in a sink with oxyclean to brighten them up a bit and remove any funk that might have settled in to them. otherwise, no special treatment is needed.
Thanks for posting this tansy.
I tried to go this route a couple years ago. I took old flannel sheets and PJs and sewed facecloths onto one side. The soft side was for the front and the rougher side (facecloth) was for the back. It worked out fine for Wolf but not for me. I ended up with a terrible rash because the flannel didn’t absorb enough. I was really bummed because I really wanted to get rid of TP.
Any suggestions?
We have a massive collection of cheap kitchen towels and rags that we use for general cleaning. Instead of handkerchiefs or tissues I use squares of old tshirt- soft and gentle on the nose. My coworkers when sick all get chapped noses but I don’t. I attribute it to the tshirt softness and regular neti potting.
At this point we have so many kitchen towels that I can half fill my washing machine with them and run them through on a medium load.
I’m not sure I could get into the reusable bathroom wipes and I’m pretty sure I’d never get them approved for use in my house.
Interesting stuff. While I don’t use that method for bath tissue (no plans to change over, the paper is working for me), I do use only soft cloth for handkerchiefs, napkins for meals and hands, cleaning rags/supplies, wipes for spills, etc. It really isn’t that hard to incorporate – plus, at least with the meals, I’m a bit of a mess so I can’t imagine the effect of using paper products (blush!).
Working on making the full switch to rags for clean-up. I have to admit that after I’ve wiped up a kitty accident the rags often go into the trash, but at least their useful life has been extended greatly. We still use paper towels sometimes. I need to find a place to store a small quantity so they’re easy to grab when something spills instead of reaching for the paper towels. (As to why we still have paper towels around, it’s a long story best abbreviated with the initials DH.)
While it’s good to be reminded of the rag “TP” option in case it’s ever needed, I’m not planning on switching unless civilization as we know it collapses and TP is no longer available. It seems like any savings and greenness would be eaten up by laundry costs and time…
hh – i’m not really sure! maybe they were too thick? i only use 1 layer for mine. did you try wetting them down and using soap? that’s one thing i LOVE about cloth wipes because when my little one poos, sometimes, it’s all over and i couldn’t imagine how much tp i’d go through trying to get him clean. however, with 1 or 2 wipes wetted down, off it comes with no hassle.
mangochild – so true. the softness of cloth for napkins and hankies is so much nicer than the harshness of kleenexes and paper towels. and, for me, its the same with tp. but, i know it’s a hard thing to get used to do or thinking it’s ok, especially in our society!
safira – there are times when rags get tossed into the compost because they are just too nasty and far gone. but, overall, they do save on using all the paper products and are more absorbable than their paper equivalents. as for the cost effectiveness of cloth tp, right now, they are being washed with diapers that would be washed anyway so no extra water being used there. and, once we stop using the diapers altogether or they are strictly for mopping up water messes and can be thrown in with towels, i’ll just use the wonder clean pressure washer. it uses about 2 quarts of water to wash and takes 15 minutes from start to finish of my time, once a week or every 10 days to do. so, for me, it is greener and cheaper.
to everyone – i’ve updated the article with a link to the wonder clean pressure washer.
I have a question about the wonderclean washer…I saw them advertised years ago and was thinking of purchasing one. Is it practical to do regular laundry in, and how much will it hold? Do you have to sit there and agitate it by turning the handle the whole time, and if so, is it hard to turn? I’m curious about it!
Robbyn
robbyn – you can do regular laundry, but not sheets or towels. and with jeans, you’ll be doing 1 at a time. but, for smaller things such as socks, undies, shirts, skirts, cloth pads, diapers, wipes, etc. it works pretty well. however, i wouldn’t recommend it being the only way to wash your clothes as it would take all day to do so because of the amount you can do at once. i think it says something like 3-4 shirts can be washed at a time.
use is pretty simple. you put in i think up to 6? qts. of water (the instructions are buried in a pile of books that i can’t get to at the moment). it’s got to be at least warm so nothing that needs to be washed in cool water. the hotter, the better as the heat actually helps to build up the pressure inside. also, you use a tiny bit of soap. maybe a teaspoon or two at the most. you have to crank it for a few minutes but seriously, once you get it going, the cranking’s not the hard part, it’s holding it down so it doesn’t fly off the counter! that’s my only complaint…they need to make some sort of clamp to attach it to a countertop. the pressure from the spinning and hot water force the water and soap to blast through the fabric, blasting out any dirt. then, you unpressurize it, dump it, and rinse the clothes. you can put them back in with plain water to rinse but usually i just do it in the sink by hand and wring them out.
2 years ago, i went 8 months w/o an electric indoor washing machine. i got the opportunity to try out just about every method known to man to wash clothes…the pressure washer, the hand plunger, the washboard and sinks, a wringer (which i returned because for the price, it wasn’t all that well made) and finally an old maytag electric washer. and while i prefer some over the other, the one thing i learned from that experience (and having 5 of us at home the majority of the time, it was quite an experience!) is that no one method met all needs and i had to mix and max depending on what i needed to wash.
hmmm, perhaps that’s another post all together?!
Tansy, for people who don’t have a sewing machine, pinking shears for the edges would work, and would make the edges softer… Just a thought.
moh – that’s an excellent idea! i never think about using pinking shears because i just sew everything but i know there are people who don’t have a machine and this would be a great solution.
I have been experimenting with the cloth wipes for #1′s. I am sewing challenged so I just use cut up squares of old flannel sheets. the used ones go into a mesh zippered bag and then into the regular laundry. I would obviously have to figure out a differnt method if we completely eliminated TP. I would like to get rid of paper towels as well, this igves me food for thought! Kris
I would LOVE a non-electric post!
Left out the word “Laundry” there.
Thanks for the post, Tansy. Just wanted to add that for grosser jobs (pet accidents, for example) one might try newspaper. We gave up paper towels several months ago. Recently, my dog threw up on the carpet. It was, I mean, GROSS (it looked almost like runny poop.) DH wouldn’t touch it. He made some sassy remark along the lines of me wishing I still had a paper towel in the house.
I grabbed a sheet of newspaper and folded it double. It picked up the mess a hundred times better than a big wad of paper towels would have done. It got it all with one grab, plus my hands didn’t get wet (it would have seeped through paper towels.) So, for those of you with pets, even if you DO have paper towels, I recommend you try newspaper for picking up pet messes.
We also have a collection of rags we use. I’ve been saving t-shirts to make hankies & other rags. I keep a few paper towels around they are only used to cleaning up thing I don’t want to have to wash out. We use maybe 2 rolls a year. I’ll have to use the newspaper idea – thank Cassandra.
We’re making the switch to cloth napkins as well.
we also use toilet wipes but as i have a serger, that is how i finish them. old receiving blankets make up a large part of our stash. i would love to have a basket for your like you do!
Tansy…Excellent post. Haven’t switched to the tp part yet but think most of the family would be open to it. We also considered the idea of maybe installing a bidet someday…for the same purpose…but would have to have it hooked to rain water to feel I was not just switching from one environmental issue to another.
Few comments for anyone else reading after my comment…..I watch for and buy old and new wash clothes continually on sale or at garage sales etc since I am not as motivated to sew as Tansy is. Of course we also keep all old shirts etc too but I do like a wash cloth for some things since they are thicker.
We don’t use newspaper or any paper products for: vomit, spills, hands, washing, wiping paint drips etc. We have enough that I do two half loads a week—adding in darks or lights to finish filling washer. If they are particularly bad with dog icky or something chunky or really stinky I will soak extra long and maybe don’t add clothes.
We switched to no paper towels eons ago…and only have problems with a few visiting family members who will “pick up” paper towels while they are here (to dry their hands on of all things!!) I keep the roll for a long time after they leave and use it to drain bacon strips….since that is the ONLY thing I haven’t found a good sub for. Ideas on the bacon issue?? I tried keeping a few cloth towels specifically for that but it didn’t work out so well.
Monica
hickchick – using cloth wipes for peeing only is a great way to start off getting the household used to it! also, probably darker and/or print cloth would also be helpful to ‘hide’ any stains.
robin – stay tuned!
cassandra – newspaper is great for cleaning windows too because they absorb so well!
chiot’s run – i used to do that with the paper towels but then, i had a pile of rags that were so far gone that i saved them for such a job and then i didn’t feel bad throwing them on the compost pile to decompose. once your rags wear down, maybe you can try this!
omelay – just maybe one will appear in your mailbox soon!
monica – somehow, once you’ve used cloth for everything else, using it for tp starts to seem natural, well, for most anyway!
monica – also, i meant to add that’s an excellent tip about the wash cloths (darned 4 yo distracting me while i’m trying to type!)
I tried out wee wipes (although once I starting using them it seemed silly to just use them for wee) a while ago. Had been thinking about it for ages – it was one of those things on my list to do when I wasn’t having to share a house anymore so once I got to Germany (moved here six months ago) I knew I’d get around to it. When I arrived I had a couple of paper rolls with me and thought to myself that I’d start when I’d finished them. But when that happened my brother was visiting and had a bit of a problem (all that very healthy German bread had a bit of an affect I think) and I had to buy more. So then I was going to wait till that pack was finished. Finally I got fed up of putting it off but also didn’t have the patience to get the sewing machine set up so I just chopped squares from an old towel. I do have a pinking shears but haven’t used them much and they weren’t really able to cut the towel easily so I just used an ordinary scissors. Of course, washing them, the ends unravel a lot so I’ve now put them on hold for a few weeks until I sew some up. Will probably need to cut bigger squares to allow for a seam but may try just cutting an old sheet with the pinking shears too. Really liked using them although as I live alone and am in work all day don’t really use enough to give them a wash on their own. I have the same problem with tea towels and dish cloths so they just all get washed with my clothes but I do make sure to keep cloths that I use for food related stuff (drying dishes, wiping counters etc) in a separate wash from the wee wipes. I had a couple of friends to stay recently and I had to put them away – they already think I’m a bit mad what with my non-disposable sanitary towels, no shampoo and general lack of bottles in the bathroom.
What an interesting idea. TP is really wasteful. It also is bad for many septic systems. Just drying your things on a clothes drying rack or clothesline is a great way to help the environment.