Originally from Australia, Mary-Lou Mcdonald is a serial traveller and has lived all over the world working primarily as a nanny, in which profession her keen interest in the martial art of Muay Thai – she trains a lot in Thailand – can help if needed. She currently lives and works in Sydney.

2016MayJun_consumerspeak“The tissue products I use are toilet paper, paper towels and wet wipes. I use paper towels and wet wipes a lot because I look after children and they are very messy creatures. Every meal there is something spilt at the table so we always have a roll of paper towel on standby to clean up the mess. I also use it to wipe the stove with as it gets very greasy and paper towel is disposable. Although at home I use cloth to wipe the stove as it’s more economical and I always forget to buy paper towel.

“ Wet wipes are great to not only wipe the children’s behinds but for sticky hands and faces. I have also used the disinfectant wipes when the children have been potty training and they leave “accidents” lying around the house. It’s reassuring knowing I can clean up the mess in a hygienic way by throwing away the wipe.

For toilet paper my buying preferences depend on what is on sale at the local supermarket. I try to buy the big value packs but occasionally I’ll get the smaller packs from the local corner store if it’s an emergency.

Members of the family I nanny for do their shopping online and will order everything in bulk and of the best quality as there are five people in the household, so they go through a lot.

“ My family used to purchase wet wipes that were flushable to give you that extra fresh feeling after toilet paper. Although we decided to stop because we heard on a current affairs show that they were getting stuck in houses’ drainage pipes and causing big problems.

“ Instead of buying environmentally friendly products I just try to limit the amount I’m using. If I can avoid using paper towel and use a cloth instead I will but it is still always tempting as a quick disposable fix.

“ I lived and worked in Spain for a year and I noticed a lot of the toilet paper there wasn’t as luxurious as it is in the UK and Australia. I also spent a month living in Thailand where I was at a Muay Thai camp and I was amazed how cheap the toilet paper is there. “