My husband and I have never been particularly wasteful people but with all the hype surrounding global warming and "going green" we decided to do as much as we could to change how we treat the earth (yes, it sounds corny and all tree-huggerish but just go with it, please). We made some major changes and that's when the supposedly "small" modifications became our focus. One of those changes involved changing toilet paper. I refused to go green on our paper towels because, even though I know they go through a sterilization process, I just can't like the idea of wiping my mouth or counters with recycled paper towels - I'm just being honest.

So, the next time we went shopping at The Real Canadian Superstore, I walked past "green" toilet paper and immediately threw it in my shopping cart. I was so proud of myself. I didn't have to worry about it being recycled considering what toilet paper is used for and it alleviated my guilt over the paper towels. I got it home and my kids were happy too. We're trying to make sure they grow up environmentally conscious as well.

The first time I used the green toilet paper, I was a bit uncomfortable. Rather than be a quitter, I reminded myself of the adjustment it took to get used to the energy-efficient lightbulbs (it's actually not even that big of a difference). After several days, however, it was clear that I (along with certain body parts) did not particularly enjoy this new toilet paper. It was scratchy and crumbled easily. I was disappointed.

I broached the subject while sharing a meal with my family and the kids told me that they thought it was "scratchy" (my exact description!). Then my daughter said, "mom, we end up using more toilet paper with the green stuff than we would with the regular. You gotta use more to get the job done." I agreed and we never bought it again.

What's the moral of this story? I truly don't know. There are different types of people in this world. Singer Sheryl Crow claims to only use one square of toilet paper per trip to the potty. I could not do that. What I can do, is be more conscious of the amount of toilet paper I use and make an effort to use less. When I thought about it, I realized how much toilet paper we really waste. Now, we've reduced the amount we use which has not only saved the environment but also my money!