Not using disposables is one of the main ways everyone knows to be frugal. Yet until this week this frugal queen was using disposables on a regular basis. Disposable tablecloths, that is.
We usually use wipe down and reuse plastic tablecloths for meals. However, once a week or so we have a big family get together, sit down fancy meal. A beautiful cloth tablecloth bedecks the tablecloth. Toddlers (and Mommies as well) usually have a hard time keeping a cloth table spill and dirt free. Especially white tablecloths.
My husband was getting annoyed at having to wash the whole tablecloth because of a dirty spot where my toddler (and where Mommy) sat, saying that it was a waste of money because the tablecloth took up practically a whole load.
He was right. It was a waste of water, electricity, and money.
So we were buying plastic disposable tablecloths to put on our cloth tablecloth, using them for a meal then chucking them. The disposable tablecloths didn't cost much money (about 2 dollars a month, and 104 dollars a year) but it bugged my husband to be spending any money on something that would just end up in the trash.
Yet he didn't want to wash the tablecloth every week.
We went back and forth, back and forth. One week washing the tablecloth, the next week chucking out the disposable.
And then finally we figured out the solution.
We bought a clear plastic tablecloth, non disposable, to go on top of our beautiful cloth tablecloth. Instead of throwing it out or washing every week, we just can wipe it down with a rag or a sponge.
Problem solved.
Now isn't it nice when these types of problems have such simple solutions?
We usually use wipe down and reuse plastic tablecloths for meals. However, once a week or so we have a big family get together, sit down fancy meal. A beautiful cloth tablecloth bedecks the tablecloth. Toddlers (and Mommies as well) usually have a hard time keeping a cloth table spill and dirt free. Especially white tablecloths.
My husband was getting annoyed at having to wash the whole tablecloth because of a dirty spot where my toddler (and where Mommy) sat, saying that it was a waste of money because the tablecloth took up practically a whole load.
He was right. It was a waste of water, electricity, and money.
So we were buying plastic disposable tablecloths to put on our cloth tablecloth, using them for a meal then chucking them. The disposable tablecloths didn't cost much money (about 2 dollars a month, and 104 dollars a year) but it bugged my husband to be spending any money on something that would just end up in the trash.
Yet he didn't want to wash the tablecloth every week.
We went back and forth, back and forth. One week washing the tablecloth, the next week chucking out the disposable.
And then finally we figured out the solution.
We bought a clear plastic tablecloth, non disposable, to go on top of our beautiful cloth tablecloth. Instead of throwing it out or washing every week, we just can wipe it down with a rag or a sponge.
Problem solved.
Now isn't it nice when these types of problems have such simple solutions?