Open upon a time when a couple moved out of their parent’s house and into their own, they had to hope for heirlooms or gifts from others to have plates and silverware. Now, it’s as cheap and simple as going to Target and getting a 50-pack of disposable plates and spoons. But what seems cheap now is actually more expensive in the long run.
Disposable goods are great because they are cheap initially, and don’t require any cleaning or maintenance. You just chuck them when you’re finished using them. But this convenience has a price. Besides the cost on the environment (which we won’t cover here), using disposable items over time is more expensive. If we graph it out, it’s something like this:
As you can see, it starts out cheap, but in the long run you end up paying more. A set of plates for example will last you 10 years at least, where a pack of paper plates will need to be rebought once a month or so.
Things you should almost always use non-disposible versions of:
- Plates/Cups
- Silverware
- Napkins
- Batteries
- Tupperware
Some things to consider using non-disposable versions (or at least reuse) if you are not very particular and don’t mind some elbow grease:
- Coffee Filters
- Towels
- Sponges
- Shower Curtain Liners
- Kleenex (Handkerchief)
- Razors
The last one is one exception I’ve found. It seems like disposable razors cost less than permanent razors with disposable blades. In any case, and old fashioned straight razor, which only needs resharpened is the cheapest of all.
Let us know on Twitter or Facebook what other disposable goods you’ve eliminated.
