Being more eco-friendly can be overwhelming, but I remember something Oprah* said a few years ago on an environment friendly show. . .  Just try to do ONE thing at a time.  So that’s me.  Not all the way but getting a little closer as time goes by.

This is what my family is doing in honor of Earth Day:  Moving (mostly) to cloth napkins. **  I love the look and feel of cloth ones and we already use them every now and then.  But here’s the big problem:  I don’t want to wash them after each use unless they get really messy (will still stick with paper for Italian and wings) and we get them mixed up – for my oldest son to by chance get his brother’s napkin for the next meal… well that would be the “worst thing in the world.”  (I guess I can’t blame him.)  So here’s our solution:

labels on our napkin rings.  I used my label maker (possibly the coolest thing I got in 2009) but you can use a sharpee / masking tape or if feeling really creative, hand-make your own with names (use anything from ribbon to cut-up paper towel roll) as part of the design.

*  I wonder how many times I could quote Oprah on my future blog posts… I could do a blog based totally on her – love her.  Speaking of Oprah, have you seen her 10th anniversary edition of O?  Mine just came in the mail – it’s already my all-time favorite issue – I’m a charter member I think! – and I’ve only gotten through the first few pages…

**  Discussions on paper v. cloth and which one is truly the friendliest vary.  If you want to know more so you can determine what’s best for you, I just found this good article on care2care.com’s website.