also seeing differently

sometimes changing attitudes is as simple as changing the way you look at something, seeing differently.


sometimes you have to go through several explanations before you hit on one that the person you are trying to enlighten can really understand completely.

one can say- "use less paper products, we need to save the trees"
but... look around you. trees are everywhere. their seed will grow long after you & i are gone.

so you might try- "use less paper products, it saves so much space in the landfills"
but.... how many people ever actually GO to a landfill & KNOW exactly what that means?
(a landfill is usually a pit or canyon in which layers of compacted garbage are spread & covered with dirt until the pit fills)

so you may try- "use less paper products, it saves so much money"
with these economic times this is the explanation i've found that usually people "get".
using real dishes, cloth towels & napkins really does save on money. & it takes little more time to wash a few dishes along with those pots & pans.  a few napkins & dish towels take up very little space in your load of laundry.

now.
all that said... there is one paper product (besides toilet paper!) that i DO buy.
that i see just a bit differently:

coffee filters!

they are super cheap & are so versatile it seems their usefulness is unlimited!

~ cover bowls or dishes when cooking in the  microwave. coffee filters make excellent covers to stop splatters (& can often be used several times)

~  clean windows, mirrors, and chrome...  coffee filters are lint-free so they'll leave windows sparkling

~  protect china by separating your good dishes with a coffee filter between each dish

~  filter broken cork from wine!  if you break the cork when opening a wine  bottle, filter the wine through a coffee filter.

~  protect a cast-iron skillet.  put a coffee filter in the  skillet to absorb moisture and prevent rust

~   apply shoe polish.  use a balled up a lint-free coffee filter

~  recycle frying oil.   after frying, strain oil into a jar through a sieve  lined with a coffee filter

~  weigh chopped foods.  place chopped ingredients in a coffee filter on a  kitchen scale

~  hold tacos.  coffee filters make convenient wrappers for messy foods

~  Stop the soil from leaking out of a plant pot.  Line a plant  pot with a coffee filter to prevent the soil from going through  the drainage holes.

~  prevent a (homemade frozen juice) popsicle from dripping.  poke one or two holes as  needed in a coffee filter.

~  do you use expensive strips to wax eyebrows?  try strips of coffee filters (ok, i don't do this one!)

~  put a couple on a plate over a sheet or two of folded newspaper and put your fried bacon, french fries, chicken  fingers, etc on them..  it soaks out all the grease.

~  keep some in the bathroom..  they make great "razor nick  fixers."

~  as a sewing backing..  use a filter as an easy-to-tear backing for embroidering or appliquéing soft fabrics.

~  put baking soda into a coffee filter, tie up with a rubber band and insert into shoes or on a hanger in the closet to absorb or prevent odors

~  use them to strain soup stock and to tie fresh herbs in to put in soups and stews

~  use a coffee filter to prevent spilling when you add fluids to your car. fold in half, then half again. cut off the tip & use as a funnel.

~  use them as a spoon rest while cooking and clean up small counter spills (i don't do this. i use a saucer & a wash cloth)

~  can use to hold dry ingredients when baking or when cutting a piece of fruit or veggies..  saves on having extra bowls to wash. (another i don't do. what's a few more bowls?)

~  use them to wrap christmas ornaments for storage

~  use them to remove fingernail polish when out of cotton balls

~  use them to sprout seeds.  simply dampen the coffee filter, place seeds inside, fold it and place it into a plastic baggie until they sprout. this really works well & saves on having many pots that seeds haven't sprouted in.

~ use coffee filters as blotting paper for pressed flowers.  place the flowers between two coffee filters (or one folded in half for a single flower) and put the coffee filters in  phone book or encyclopedia

~  use as a disposable "snack bowl" for popcorn, chips, etc.

~ & yeah, they work in coffeemakers too....!
(or you could get one of those cool metal mesh filters!)