With the talk of the Coronavirus, people have been freaking out and hoarding toilet paper. It always helps to be prepared in case of emergency but if you run out and can’t find any sold, you don’t have to resort to stealing from businesses or using leaves.

If you have access to a washing machine, you can easily cut pieces of cloth, put a bucket beside your toilet and fill it with the pieces of cloth until you’re ready to wash and bleach them.

Wipes or TP

To do those- cut old towels or old cotton (works best) or terry cloth into 4-6 inch squares and put 2 pieces front to front (make sure the sides you want to have on the outside are together on the inside)

With your sewing machine, stitch  around each edge until you get to the side you started on. Leave a small opening and turn it inside out, then close the hole. Once you get the hole closed, stitch around the edges again and you’re done.

When you finish, wash in a gentle detergent and put in an old wipe container. Fill with a mix of baby shampoo or soap and water. Make sure it’s a gentle formula.

When you use one, toss it in a bucket beside your changing station and when you’re running low, wash in the washer.

Same with toilet paper- use the same wipes you made for adults- but use a different type of soap or use them dry and put them with the baby wipes.

If you have no access to a washing machine, you can use cut up old towels/fabric and hand sew with a needle and thread. You can also cut a roll of paper towels in half and soak them to make wipes.

Paper towels

With a sewing machine, you can make reusable paper towels following the same pattern as wipes or toilet paper- just make the squares bigger. You can measure the fabric using a regular paper towel or try measuring out 8-9 inch squares. Make a bunch and roll them around a cardboard tube or just flatten them out and store them with dish cloths or in the bathroom. They work well for spills, cleaning windows, dusting and nearly any other thing you use paper towels for. 

Sewing scraps that you’re unsure what to do with? Use cotton or terry cloth, sew together and stuff with a thicker material to make sponges. Unsponges are a great way to replace the normal sponges, make up sponges and use up excess fabric scraps you don’t want to throw away. I made this yesterday with some extra quilt batting and some fabric for my make up loving 4 year old

You can purchase on Etsy if you don’t have a sewing machine or can’t sew. There are other websites that sell, but Etsy seems to have the largest selection of “unpaper towels” and “unsponges” that I have found.