I'm a paper towel addict. I could easily "smoke" through a roll a day. They are just so convenient. I use them to wipe hands, faces, counters, floors.....
But, they aren't cheap and it's very wasteful and it adds to the piles in the landfills. These are all things that I am concerned with. I'm not quitting cold turkey - I love paper towels and will continue to use them - I just need to use LESS of them - It's getting ridiculous.
So I needed to devise a plan to work on this problem. Here's the plan (it's working well):
I have a sponge and a scrub brush for washing dishes (these go through the dishwasher every night to sanitize them). I bought these neutral colored pop-up sponges for the countertops and keep them in a cute little dish on my windowsill. (I love this new 3M Scotch Brite line of greener products.) These also go through the dishwasher every night to sanitize. I spray down my countertops, table, chairs and highchair with my Basic H2 All-Purpose cleaner (see this post). I wipe with a damp sponge and let the surfaces air-dry. No paper towels necessary.
It isn't a perfect plan, but it is helping with my addiction.
How funny. I'm a cheapskate and hardly ever use paper towels because of they seem so expensive and like such a waste of money!! Instead, I have a stash of napkins from fast food places, birthday parties, etc. that I keep in a drawer.
ReplyDeleteI do, however, go through at least a dozen small kitchen wash cloths each day. I keep them in a pretty dish on the counter and toss them in a dirty clothes basket after use. I empty the dirty dish basket each night. I love this system.
Here's a link to my dish towels... http://thesublettfamily.blogspot.com/2009/09/some-things-i-love-about-my-new-kitchen.html
... see, you aren't the only OCD person out there! :)
Love your blog!!
I use an reusable papertowel that's called "Skoy". It has to be wet first before you use it, but it doesn't drip like a rag does, and it can go in the dishwasher. Works great!
ReplyDeleteHere's more info: http://www.reuseit.com/search?q=skoy
Thank you for this post! I am a paper towel addict as well. These are some great ideas. My friend is constantly on me to reduce my usage and my contribution to landfills (we are a family of six, I'm sorry, it's not pretty). I will do a little changing for my part, but paper towels is one that will be tough for me!
ReplyDelete