#4 A Towel a Day Keeps the Lumberjack Away
When I was a child, I used to wear a neatly pressed handkerchief, which, to be honest, I hated, because it was so stiff I couldn’t actually use it. But have you seen the handkerchiefs sold today? Gosh, they’re just sooo awesome. From Hello Kitty prints (not that I love them, don’t get me wrong) to hankies with an out-of-this-world-fluffiness. There’s a hankie for every personality type.
And towels, of all sizes, colors and textures, from rags made of recycled plastic to unbleached responsibly grown cotton fiber towels with an ECO level of 1 million!
Look around the house and in your pockets or purse. There’s a high chance you have paper towel boxes and tissues in there. Go out and you’ll see them everywhere. Some shops are awesome and use biodegradable ones made from recycled paper, but the vast majority of them offer paper towels that have been literally made from trees and bleached, and even have their logo printed with unnatural dyes. Ew.
Making sure you always carry a small cotton towel (not the plastic fiber one) with you wherever you go can make a HUGE impact! Especially when doing the simple gesture of washing your hands after going to the loo.
Also, make sure you have towels all around the house, especially at the dinner table... and everywhere else when a family member has a cold :)
Speaking of which, as gross as you might think, blowing your nose using handkerchiefs is not as horrible as one might think. First, there is the “HankyBook” - a series of thin organic cotton hankies sewed together to create a small book, which can be tucked away to ensure the germs won't spread.
Then, there’s alcohol. You can carry a small spray with alcohol and each time you sneeze or blow your nose, you spray a little alcohol to kill the germs. Then wash your hands thoroughly. There! Germ problem eliminated without any headaches or a need for paper tissues!
You can wash them in the washing machine or by hand, and they can be reused for a long time. When they tear, you can use them as rags until they can breathe no more :) And because they are organic cotton, you can then easily throw them away without feeling guilty.
So how is your 30 day challenge going so far? Are you enjoying changing the world yet?
Let's review our checklist so far before going out the door:
□ Wallet/purse
□ Smartphone
□ Keys
□ MYbag
□ MYbottle (filled with a drink)
□ MYstraw (and tumbler if you’re an avid coffee drinker)
□ MYlunch-set (including lunch-box, spork and/or chopsticks)
□ HankyBook
□ Feel free to add anything else you might need.
Looks overwhelming? You might think so, but I promise it doesn't take more than 5 minutes! (Unless you haven't washed the dishes yet, in which case it will take 10 :P) It's always best to have more than one spare of each of the above, in case you forget and don't have time to wash. I have my own routine and it's working perfectly for me.
Any questions so far? Feel free to ask in the comments below. I won't bite! I promise! Unless you want me to, of course ;)