Ditch the Toilet Paper, It's time for something better!

Cavemen probably just used their hands, then one of them had the bright idea of using a banana leaf to keep his hands clean. Eventually Americans advanced to using a page of the Sears Catalog instead of the leaf. In the modern day, we are so advanced that we use . . . (drum roll) . . . Toilet Paper! Hey, exactly how is toilet paper any better than the first banana leaf? Well, they sell it at the grocery store and it comes in large rolls. But as far as getting you clean, it's not much better than the leaf or the catalog page. I'm sure you know what I mean. Have you ever wished for something better?

I know many people who use what they call "family cloth" or "cloth wipes" instead of toilet paper. The cloth works much better than paper, trust me! If you ever go to someone's house that has a stack of old washcloths or cut up t-shirts on the back of their toilet, they are using cloth. If you wet the cloth in the sink before you wipe, it works even better. They collect the wipes in a small bag or can near the toilet and wash them once or twice a week. No more toilet paper!

If you have ever traveled abroad to the right countries, you might be familiar with a bidet. We have them in the U.S. too, but most people here think that bidets are silly. Why? Because they've never used one. If they did, then I'm sure that they'd never go back. I myself am in the "I'll never go back to T.P." club. You don't have to install a bidet in your bathroom to experience the cleanliness. You can install a toilet seat bidet that does the same job right on the toilet. We installed a diaper sprayer to clean out the cloth diapers, and found that it worked well as a bidet also. It cost about $35, but you could probably make one for even less with parts from the hardware store. I use the sprayer every time I use the toilet, then dry off with the wipes that I mentioned above. The used wipe is only as dirty as my bath towel (just slightly wet). We drop those in the diaper pail to get washed with the diapers. When all my kids are out of diapers, I'll just wash the wipes with the bath towels. It's so easy.

My husband was at first reluctant to try the sprayer, but now he is in the club too. I catch him all the time explaining the benefits to friends and family. If you were to help me wash and fold the family underwear load, you would be a witness that we are clean everywhere! Not only are we cleaner than the average bear, we are saving money because we don't buy toilet paper anymore. Okay, we still have some T.P. in the house for the benefit of concerned guests, but four rolls will easily last us six months or more! Of course we are also conserving natural resources (trees) by not using the paper. And we are making the guys at the sewage treatment plant happy by not dumping all that paper in our toilet. This is a win, win, win situation, and I urge you to try it for yourself!