Family Cloth: My Experience with Cloth Toilet Paper

When I first read about cloth toilet paper, also known as family cloth, on a message board, I thought the idea sounded interesting. But, when I told my husband about it he made a face and said "No way." I tried to forget the idea, but I just couldn't.

I continued to think about the claims I heard like "it's softer" "no more fuzz" and "I'll never go back" so I decided I had to try it. After all, I was already washing cloth diapers. I could just throw my cloths right in the washer with them, no extra work required.

When I first tried cloth wipes I just cut up some old t-shirts. I'll admit I wasn't a convert from the first wipe. It didn't seem a whole lot softer but I pressed on. The first wash was a success, they looked and smelled clean. Maybe this would work after all.

I am a stay at home mom, sharing one car with my husband, so I don't get out a lot. But, the first time after switching to cloth that I used a public restroom and paper tp I noticed a difference. The paper felt rough and uncomfortable, something I had not noticed before.

The next huge difference was the massive change in toilet paper consumption. I didn't really keep track before but I estimate we went from buying one huge package every other week to one small package a month!!! For a family on a limited budget this is a major savings. After noticing this I knew there was no going back.

Since then I've moved up in quality of my wipes. I decided the couple of t-shirts I'd cut up weren't going to be enough, so I made more. I took some old flannel I bought on clearance for $1/yard and cut it into squares. I put two squares together, right side in, and sewed them together leaving a small opening in the middle of one side. I flipped it right side out through the opening I left, and top stitched them. The flannel is very soft, washes clean and looks much nicer than a pile of shredded t-shirts sitting in my bathroom. If you like the idea of cloth wipes, but don't think you can sew your own look online for cloth wipes intended for babies. There are many websites that sell them and you can get some great prices and prints.

I hope my experience gets you thinking about using cloth wipes. I believe that the savings is a huge selling point for most people but, if you have enough money to literally flush down the toilet, then consider making the change for the environment. It takes tons of trees to create all the toilet paper we use, and plenty of fuel to make and ship such large packages all over the country. Family cloth will save your pocketbook, as well as the earth.