Toilet Paper

This is a paper I never thought I would ever write. It all started when someone told me that if you ate properly you only needed one sheet of TP per day. I laughed and the subject was dropped, however it got me to wondering if it was possible to eliminate TP altogether.

I have traveled fairly extensively in my working career. Even though this was many years ago I could not help but remember how the Hong Kong harbor had a lot of tissue in the water. I noted that the water around Grand Cayman had a lot of TP when I was snorkeling there n the otherwise clear waters. I saw how the waters around Naples changed from the 1950s to the 1970s with a lot of waste paper residue in evidence in the Mediterranean. I also noted that the Adriatic smelled like urine and I would not swim in the waters, but that is another matter.

I gave up facial tissue many years ago as I simply switched to handkerchiefs. I actually made a big batch out of old cotton shirts that I had laying about.

I now keep an empty tissue box in my bathroom and store my handkerchiefs in it. It also acts as a pocket for my weekly handkerchief before I throw it in the hamper for laundering.

Back to  the topic of TP — I decided to use one sheet of TP with a fresh facecloth as a support for this single sheet. I use that to clean myself and then use the facecloth to actually wash and dry my backside. I rinse it out and put it up to dry, and eventually throw it in the clothes hamper when it is dry.

That’s it! No facial tissue at all and a reduction in TP usage of at least 75 percent and I know that I am washed and clean – not just wiped off. Not only do I save a pile of money, I believe that I make a significant contribution to the environment.