The Paper Trail

Could you make your home paperless? Sure—you could switch from paper shopping bags to reusable canvas and replace throwaway napkins with linens, but what about paper products with more, ahem, intimate functions?

Mary Beth Karchella-MacCumbee is so serious about making her home paper free, that she's even come up with a way to wipe her family's noses and bums without any mention of two-ply. The Pittsburg mom makes personal wipes from hemp velour, cotton flannel, cotton velour or bamboo fleece.

"Bamboo is soft. There's nothing wrong with your bottom being treated to bamboo," she told the Pittsburg Post-Gazette. Karchella-MacCumbee started making cloth alternatives for her family when she learned that her youngest son was allergic to regular diapers. She got so good at it that she started her own company, E-a-poo's, where she creates cloth diapers, personal wipes and even sanitary pads. She said she's been able to reuse her cloth menstrual pads for three years (umm...)!

If cutting out plastic wasn't enough of a challenge for you, maybe becoming a member of what Karchella-MacCumbee calls "the cloth community" will be the next step for you to take towards green living. [Post-Gazette]