Paperless Nose Blowing

My grandfather never, ever used a tissue to blow his nose.  He didn’t need to; he had a handkerchief.  Have you ever had a handkerchief in your pocket?

No?  You haven’t?!

…me neither.

I had ever intention of making our home become tissue free a few years ago.

Martin and I tried at home.  I bought some fuzzy flannel fabric, cut it in squares, and sewed the edges.  They didn’t take any space in our washing machine.  But for whatever reason, the concept of reusable nose-blowing supplies just didn’t last.

Sometimes our best efforts fail.  Maybe we can try again.

Imagine having a cute little basket of various fabric handkerchiefs in the living room.  It might not get the guys, but maybe the women in the family would be reaching for fabric.  Every bit adds up.

One of these tutorials might offer some good tips for DIY handkerchiefs.  Or this handkerchief (pictured above) from etsy could be fun.

And because every bit adds up, we’re committed to buying 100% recycled tissues from a little local grocery store in town.  This particular box cost $2.25.

It proudly announces on the back side of the package:

If every household in the US replaced just one box of 100 sheet virgin fiber facial tissue with recycled ones, we could save:

  • 332,000 trees
  • 859,000 cubic feet of landfill space, equal to 1,200 full garbage trucks
  • 120 million gallons of water, a year’s supply for 900 families of four
  • and avoid 20,000 pounds of chlorinated pollution

Not bad for a little more than two bucks, huh?!

Have you gone paperless in the tissue department?  Do handkerchiefs or recycled tissues get a thumbs up or thumbs down in your house?

And as always, if you have any tips on bettering our tissue choices, you know we’d love to hear!

Craving more paper-free plans?  Here’s how we succeed in a paper-less kitchen.

(images from sources referenced)