What’s this?
It’s a reusable, upcycled flannel hanky from Sustainable Homestead. Don’t worry, it’s a clean one. 😉 I bought two sets of six and they have cut down our use of tissues tremendously. Actually, except for guests, it has eliminated our use of tissues entirely. In a house of allergy sufferers, that’s a significant gain both in cutting down on waste and in saving money. These will eventually pay for themselves.
They’re also much more pleasant to use than even the softest tissues, and they’re also quite absorbent. They can be used many more times than you might think and they’re small, so they fold up into a pocket easily. If you’re snot-phobic – which, let’s face it, most of us are – you can use one side and fold it so that side faces in. Still, you may be surprised at how absorbent they are, so you’re not likely to encounter much yuck. Overall, I prefer them to bandanna-type handkerchiefs.
These have other potential uses. As they mention on their site, they can be used for family cloth, removing makeup, facial cleansing, baby wipes, etc. I think I will get some more for removing eye makeup. Currently I wipe on a mixture of castor oil and olive oil and then wipe it off with disposable cotton squares, but I think these will work at least as well. If folded up properly, each one could be used many times and then tossed in the wash, as long as there isn’t excessive oil left on them.
I also bought some napkins from Sustainable Homestead and I’m pleased with those as well. We simply don’t use nearly as many napkins in this house as we do tissues, so the difference hasn’t been as obvious.
I do wonder if they’re going to hold up to many, many machine washings, so I think we’ll start putting them in a lingerie bag and line drying them. I also hope Sustainable Homestead gets some other hanky patterns, perhaps in other colors such as blue. The hankies are all pink of one sort or another. While that doesn’t bother me at all, I think they’d have wider appeal with other colors.
If you’re not so great at sewing and don’t feel comfortable upcycling your own flannel for the same purpose, these hankies do make great replacements for tissues. 4.5 out of 5 stars.
Hm, I think that’s the most I’ve typed about snot… well, ever, really. Aren’t you glad I shared?
UPDATE: The maker of Sustainable Homestead hankies tells me she’s been washing hers in a washing machine weekly for a year and putting them in the dryer in the winter and they’re holding up fine. So my fears have been allayed.
