Wastefulness in using household items

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, you stated initially in your posting that this issue is not the worst thing about your Nanny.

Can you possibly tell us what else she does that is worse?

By the way, ten wipes are not outrageous for one or two poops.
Especially the really messy ones.....

And how would you even know that she used ten....??!

Please tell me you didn't actually dig into the dirty diaper pail and check.

Eww!! :O

OP: What are some of her other issues?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a different take on this. OP, being environmentally conscious seems to be important to you, and I'm guessing this bothers you because it is so counter to how you thought your household would consume paper products and other disposable goods.

However, many of us are not "wasting" products, in the sense of just grabbing handfuls of wipes or something, but we're also not being careful to use only the recommended four squares of toilet paper (that's just an example). I'm a MB, btw.

If it is important to you to have a nanny with the same values as you when it comes to things like disposable goods, or food (this was where I was very picky), or screen time, or naps, or outdoor activity, then you need to interview for those qualities. What she's doing is annoying you, but it's not out of the ordinary.

This is OP. Thanks for your take. I'm hardly a "green warrior", but I believe in making environmental choices when they're easy to make. For instance, I totally understand why hardly anyone cloth diapers, because it is a lot more work, but when I see people using huge wads of paper towels to clean a little mess, or in nanny's case, a huge wipe to wipe a drop of snot, it does bother me. Like do people not care about the environment?? But reading your post, it hit me (and it's something I already know, but don't think about) that most people are not environmentally-conscious in their day to day lives. Nanny is being like most people whereas I'm in the minority. It makes me sad that being environmentally-conscious is not more a way of life, but I can't judge nanny for being in that majority.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, you stated initially in your posting that this issue is not the worst thing about your Nanny.

Can you possibly tell us what else she does that is worse?

By the way, ten wipes are not outrageous for one or two poops.
Especially the really messy ones.....

And how would you even know that she used ten....??!

Please tell me you didn't actually dig into the dirty diaper pail and check.

Eww!! :O

OP: What are some of her other issues?

It's not relevant to my OP. What I'll say is that as mentioned before, our nanny is only part-time and the candidate pool is a fraction of what it is for full-time nannies. I put up with a lot, but I can't expect to find someone better unless I'm willing to pay for a full-time nanny.

[Anonymous]

I'm an MB. I probably use 5-7 wipes per poppy diaper and 1-2 for a wet one and I also use at least 2-5 per day to wipe their hands, toys that somehow end up having jam on them, etc. I have no idea how many wipes my kids nanny uses. I can't imagine counting. You're entitled to your way of life but perhaps the nanny worked for someone like me before and it doesn't occur to her that this could be a concern. If it's really important to you, talk to her, but listen to what she has to say and have an open mind.

[Anonymous]

This wouldn't be a big deal to me. I'd tell her what you expect her to use wipes for. But I know I use a lot of wipes in a day so that doesn't seem too bad to me. I use 1 for a pee diaper, 3 at the least for a poop diaper, and more to clean hands and face.

[Anonymous]

If I were a nanny my and worked for you, OP, I would save all the wipes everyday and ask you to count them so you could see if I was using too ma y to clean your Brat's poopy bottom. You are crazy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If I were a nanny my and worked for you, OP, I would save all the wipes everyday and ask you to count them so you could see if I was using too ma y to clean your Brat's poopy bottom. You are crazy.

You are rude.

[Anonymous]

What about giving her a set of cotton handkerchiefs to use for snot or bibs? I'm with you on the wwasyefulness. We don't even use wipes that much. We rinse the baby bottom after poop and dry with a towel. I have cloth napkins for wiping her face during mealtimes and for snot etc. If she is actually sick then we use some disposable tissues but that's very rare.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/125823044/organic-wipes-10-double-layer-reusable

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What about giving her a set of cotton handkerchiefs to use for snot or bibs? I'm with you on the wwasyefulness. We don't even use wipes that much. We rinse the baby bottom after poop and dry with a towel. I have cloth napkins for wiping her face during mealtimes and for snot etc. If she is actually sick then we use some disposable tissues but that's very rare.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/125823044/organic-wipes-10-double-layer-reusable

Thanks for the link! I meant to use cloth wipes when I cloth diapered, but I got so many packs of disposable ones as gifts, that I just forgot about it. I think I will start incorporating them into our daily use, although I doubt nanny will thank me for it.

[Anonymous]

My suggestion is to have boxes of kleenex available at the diaper changing station, and also around the house. I use kleenex to wipe poopy bottoms, in addition to using wipes. And if you have kleenex in convenient places, nanny can reach for those for runny noses instead of the wipes. In my opinion, kleenex is a little more environmentally friendly than wipes.

I am a nanny. At my house, we hardly ever use paper towels. I go through about 5 dish towels a day. Plus we use washcloths as our "cloth napkins." But when we have company over, they always reach for the paper towels instead of the dish towels or washcloths that are stacked on the kitchen counter. I get the sense they think they are "imposing" by drying their hands off with dish towels.

I wish my employer kept more dish towels around, but they use paper towels for everything.

[Anonymous]

I so wanted to be with you since I hate waste too, but I didn't see anything wasteful there. Suck it up. Cut from somewhere else to balance the wastefulness of your nanny. When are you done having nanny? The end is near.

[Anonymous]

ewww sponges. Get some cleaning washcloths use them for about 2 hours, hang up to dry and get a new one. When the pile is big enough to wash, wash in warm water with bleach. I have about 20 cleaning washcloths for the kitchen. Buy at Target or the like.

Then buy a brush or two and wash them in the dishwasher regularly.

[Anonymous]

I don't get these families... they go to Whole Foods and spend $200 in two bags of groceries then complain that the nanny is using too much wipes! Reallly?!? She is using the wipes to clean YOUR child!

[Anonymous]

Lol at the whole food reference and totally agree. OP one solution would be to put out a box that's almost finished. People naturally tend to be more resourceful when things are running out.