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.
