This is my collection of handkerchiefs.
I never used to love hankies or have a collection of them. Prior to
going plastic-free, my purse always contained the tissue pocket pack.
You know the ones I mean; the small collection of disposable tissues,
wrapped up in plastic, that too would be disposed of in a bin.
When I decided to swap my throw away
plastic packaged tissues in favour of hankies, I was a little lost as
to where I'd purchase them from. Did people still use hankies? The
last time I used a hanky, wold have been in primary school.
Yes, that's a hanky tucked into my
school uniform. Most of my classmates had the plastic packaged tissue
packets. I was jealous. Not many of the other kids had hankies. After a time, I wore my Mum down, swapping the hanky for disposable
tissues.
When I confessed to my Mum that I did
not know where to buy hankies, she disclosed to having held onto the
handkerchiefs her children rebelled against, and sent them my way.
Plastic-free of course.
Using hankies over tissues saves on not
only plastic packaging, but also landfill waste. The thought of
disposable tissues, full of illness laden bacteria hanging out in
landfill makes me nervous. At least with hankies, the bacteria is
killed when washed in hot water. It sometimes makes me wonder if
there are superbugs, growing in our landfill...after all, nothing
truly breaks down in landfill, especially when wrapped in plastic
rubbish bags.
Conspiracy theories aside, tissue boxes
and plastic packaged tissue packets comprise of waste beyond just the
tissue. The paper tissues are shipped to stores in boxes, with
plastic tape, unloaded from pallets that were wrapped in plastic. For
how many tissue boxes we go through, our stores would be disposing of
bundles of plastic that we don't even see.
Hankies are designed to be used over
and over. Any holes can be repaired. At the end of their life, a hanky can be disposed
of in a compost, breaking down between 3-6 months. A packet of hankies
is a one time purchase, unlike tissues.
As a new mum, I have found hankies to
be one of the handiest and most versatile items to have on hand. If
you are thinking of something useful for a parent to be, whether they
are plastic-free, zero waste or neither of the two, put hankies on the gift idea list.
5 ways I found hankies to be handy as a new mum
1. For tears
I have yet to meet a parent that has
not cried a tear, here and there. There are tears that come with a
change of hormones following the birth. The tears from exhaustion.
Happy tears. My baby is crying and it makes me cry, tears. My baby is
growing too quickly tears. Having a hanky close by to mop up those
tears is essential.
2. A temporary breast pad
Ah, leaking breasts. It could be a
light leak or a heavy surge, either way most breastfeeding mums will
need breast pads. On the odd occasion I've found myself out of my
reusable cloth breast pads. They might be damp on the clothes line. I
might find them unexpectedly soaked through, because Bub slept a
little longer and I forgot to express. Rather than wear damp breast
pads or risk going without, the humble hanky serves well as a
functional temporary breast pad.
3. Moping up dribbles and posits
We have cloths for
our baby's dribbles and posits. Sometimes they are not always within
reach. You can never predict when a baby is going to do a sneaky
posit. It could be directly after a feed or thirty minutes later.
With a hanky in my pocket, I can clean up the dribble and posits
quickly.
4. Wrapping up food
I ventured to a cafe on my own with
Tifl for the first time. We settled in. I ordered a cup of herbal tea
and my fave vegan donut. Just as I was half way through my sweet
donut, ole' mate decided that the cafe was not his vibe, showing it
loudly. I wrapped up my half eaten donut in a clean hanky and we
headed home. Who knew hankies would be handy for food transportation
and saving food from going to waste. Win!
5. Playing peek a boo with baby
Interacting with
my baby is important for his growth and development. Plus, it's fun
for me. I like to grab a hanky, especially one with shapes, and play
peak-a-boo or let him stare at the patterns. Who needs fancy black
and white books. My old mickey mouse hankies keep him amused.
I'm imagine there are many other ways
hankies are useful to new parents, beyond their intended use. If you know of any more, I'd love to hear about them in the comments below.
Very practical!
ReplyDeleteAfter carelessly staining a dozen of more hankies with tea and grease from bulk pastries, I dyed them dark brown. They look good! Printed hankies like yours would hide stains well too, but I'm more of a solid-colors type.
I will admit, the printed hankies do hide staines well.
DeleteHi Erin,
ReplyDeleteWe always went to school with a clean hankie but that was a (very) long time ago. I must get back into the habit, I notice there is always lots of brand new hankies at the op shops, I must pick some up next time I am there. Have a lovely day.
Fi
Now I know there are hankies at op shops, I see them all the time. I don't need to buy anymore for any kids we have. My stockpile is huge! Hope you have a nice day too Fiona :)
DeleteLike you Erin l have changed from tissues to hankies. So much better for the environment and my hip pocket and l can always find some at op shops:)
ReplyDeleteThat's great to hear Jay. I love that running out of hankies is not an problem, unlike tissues.
DeleteMy four cloth-nappied babes are all grown to sturdy children who still, despite my best efforts, get yukky, snotty noses come Winter. Those old nappies (flannelette) are now used as giant hankies, for those times when a regular hanky can't keep up with the job. When we have a full-on infection happening (trying to avoid creating too much imagery here....) I keep a bucket of salt water in the laundry sink to hold the full nappy-hankies until the next wash, keeping the infection contained. Regular sized hankies are a constant in my bag and are called on regularly for tears, spills, sniffles, etc., for my family as well as others.
ReplyDeleteThat is a great tip Meg. My husband I have been sick with colds this past week and your idea would be good way to deal with dirty hankies until i get around to washing them.
DeleteI changed (back) over to hankies when my kids were toddlers, and now they are tweens and teens they are still just as useful! I always have a stash in my bag. Like you, I got all of my hankies from my Mum, who had inherited a stash from my grandmother and great aunt, who always had a hankie stashed up their sleeve or in their bra, lol.
ReplyDeleteSounds like they have lasted a long time. It's nice to hear they are still being of use. A bra would be handy place to stash a hanky if sleeves or a purse were nit available.
DeleteLove this article (as always) - and love hankies!
ReplyDeletePlease beware there are some non-cotton hankies out there. This is particularly the case with the threads used to sew around then edges. Even if it's cotton fabric it could have a polyester thread.
If you can, as a caution for others, please note only 100% nature fibre hankies are compostable :)
It's a shame that most modern hankies are sewn with a non-cotton thread. The same goes with most clothing too. Thank you for the reminder.
DeleteI love hankies! I was converted a few years before motherhood. When my son was born, his grandmother made us a huge stack of hankies by cutting up worn-out pajamas and hemming them. Having so many made it easy to toss them in the pail with the cloth diapers and grab a fresh one. I've since decided that I prefer hankies with no hems, which are easily made by cutting up old cotton knit garments; the edges really do not fray much, so the hankies last for years, extending my enjoyment of favorite prints! Here are two articles I wrote about hankies:
ReplyDeletehttps://articles.earthlingshandbook.org/2007/11/30/handkerchief-season-is-here/
https://articles.earthlingshandbook.org/2013/05/29/cloth-wipes-for-bedroom-bathroom-and-more/
It's a joy to read other bloggers fondness for hankies :) Thanks for sharing.
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