Lately I have been taking baby steps in living a little "greener". Family and friends know that I will make the 2 hour trip to Ikea just to replenish my paper napkin supply. They are thick and have pretty designs on them. (call it my guilty pleasure) A couple of months ago I saw in a magazine how an event organizer buys Ikea dish towels and uses them for napkins at the event's she organizes. (light bulb goes off) So the last time I went to Ikea I picked up 20 of these dish towels and some solid colored one's as well.
I keep some on the counter.
I keep my reserves in a basket located in my pantry and keep an empty basket for dirty "napkins".
I thought the transition would be more difficult but the whole family took to the change very well.
The next "green step" was to eliminate air fresheners with VOCs. For years we have used plug in air fresheners. After doing some reading on VOCs and the effect they can have on your health I threw out all plug ins and began looking for alternatives. Other than opening windows and letting the fresh air in I found that beeswax candles with cotton wicks are a good alternative.
I found these candles at Target all for under $4. They also sell a vanilla , pineapple and Macintosh apple scent. They smell lovely and I feel MUCH better about the air my family is breathing in our home.
They may be little steps but it feels good.