Megan at SortaCrunchy has a great project that I've committed to - Project: Spring Green. For the month of April, anyone that's interested, finds a green goal that they'd like to take try out. Megan is taking on composting, other readers are going shampoo-free, gardening, trying non-toxic cleaners.....
My goal? Eliminate paper towels. I documented this struggle here back in September 2009. I was using sponges for cleaning countertops and that was working okay, but now I've evolved. I QUIT buying paper towels. Genius! I kept saying that I wanted to stop using them, but I kept buying them. Now I have a cute jar on my counter with rolled up white dish rags and I grab those when I would have used a paper towel. It's been about two weeks and not a paper towel in site. Isn't there something about a new habit takes about 3 weeks to form? Well, by the end of SortaCrunchy's Project: Spring Green, I'll be well on my way to never buying paper towels again. My only hang-up? How do you sop up grease? Maybe I should stop cooking bacon.
My goal? Eliminate paper towels. I documented this struggle here back in September 2009. I was using sponges for cleaning countertops and that was working okay, but now I've evolved. I QUIT buying paper towels. Genius! I kept saying that I wanted to stop using them, but I kept buying them. Now I have a cute jar on my counter with rolled up white dish rags and I grab those when I would have used a paper towel. It's been about two weeks and not a paper towel in site. Isn't there something about a new habit takes about 3 weeks to form? Well, by the end of SortaCrunchy's Project: Spring Green, I'll be well on my way to never buying paper towels again. My only hang-up? How do you sop up grease? Maybe I should stop cooking bacon.
Here are some pictures/proof of how I've broken the habit:
This was where the paper towel holder used to be on my countertop.
This is where my dishrag hangs after I've used it - I'll reuse it a couple of times during the day, but in reality, I go through about 3 in one day.
This is my kids' drawer and cabinet (their silverware, their dishes, their towel).
This is the adult towel - it's up to high to for them to reach and half-way across the kitchen.
Anyone with me? Wanna quit using paper towels? The thing that keeps me going is that I'm saving about $20/month by not buying the jumbo pack of paper towels at Costco every month. That in and of itself is totally worth it for me.
Don't stop cooking bacon...that would be awful. Um, where did you get your cloths from? I would like to use them instead of paper towels myself, especially cleaning off counters and things like that.
ReplyDeleteThe cloths are form Target - REstyle brand. I think they were around $4.99 for 6 of them and I bought 3 packs. I LOVE them!
ReplyDeleteI buy that same jumbo pack at Costco every month. I find myself to be a little wasteful since I have soooo many rolls in the cabinet. I would love to break the paper-towel habit. Do you use cloth napkins with all of your meals?
ReplyDeleteJust curious, does your $20/month savings include the expense of washing the towels? Do you have to do any extra laundry because of the towels? I would love to do this too, but I am afraid I wouldn't keep up on the laundry, lol!
ReplyDeleteKaren - I'm working on cloth napkins next....I'll be buying them from from the Etsy shop - Love for Earth. Baby steps :)
ReplyDeleteSarah - I still only wash one load of kitchen towels/week. It's the same as I washed before, just a bit larger. I bought 18 washcloths, so that lasts me about a week. I wash on the super hot/sanitize mode and that works great!
I'm trying to cut down on our soda and bottled water consumption this month. I'm also going to be getting a stash of cloth towels to use instead of paper.
ReplyDeleteWe already use almost no paper towels in favor of dishrags and washcloths. I even use cloth diapers and wipes.
ReplyDeleteOur project for this month is composting. I'm just waiting for our bin to arrive.
Great idea! I have been doing this for awhile too, and planning to post about it in the next couple weeks.
ReplyDeleteI just last week ran out of my last roll of paper towels, and things are good so far. I have a big bag of towels/rags hanging in the kitchen. I use old burp cloths, baby washcloths, and old towels (not as pretty as yours, but still funtional). I use them for kitchen cleanup, wiping messy faces and noses, and even dusting.
The only thing I haven't quite figured out is dealing with the dirty ones. I usually have a pile of dirty rags on the floor by the end of the day - I need a better place to toss them! Any suggestions?
I have a little stick-on hook on the inside of my sink cupboard where I hang dirty cloths to dry (forgot to show in post) - I can stack up a few at a time and then when they're dry, they come upstairs with me and get tossed into the towel wash basket. You could do the hook thing or even a little bucket inside your sink cupboard.
ReplyDeleteI have really been considering going this route, but with a one year old paper towels are very easy at times. Of course, I am down to three rolls and a few left on my roll now. You are right, I could just not buy more.
ReplyDeleteThanks, great idea! I think I'll try the stick on hooks...
ReplyDeleteI hate paper kitchen products! Not because it's bad for the earth or they are too expensive(which they are for something you throw away) but because my hubby uses them crazy if we have them. So I stopped buying them and guess what? We don't miss them at all. One day I told him I wasn't buying them anymore and he is okay with that. For bacon grease I cook it in the oven on a cookie sheet with a cooling rack in it then dump the grease in a repurposed tin can we keep under the sink. I throw it away when it gets full. My mom did this so I never really thought of doing anything else. Love your idea, I never knew where to keep ours so they are way on the other end of the house(about twenty steps away) in the linen closet.
ReplyDeleteah- bacon in the oven - that's a good trick. My grandma does the tin can thing too - I think that's my solution. Thanks, Sarah!
ReplyDeleteLove your blog, I found you at somewhat simple!
ReplyDeleteWe haven't used paper towels or napkins for years. I toss rags, kitchen towels and cloth napkins in a laundry basket in the laundry room until wash day. I already wash rags for cleaning so it hasn't upped my water/energy consumption. For people who are icked out by kitchen sponges, I throw mine in the dish washer every load and that will sanitize it. :o) lastly, like the poster above - I always bake my bacon, because I hate the grease mess. :)
Yes! Switching from paper to cloth is so easy if you just let it run out! I love the cloth you found, too. I will have to keep an eye out for it!
ReplyDeleteAnd I am loving the other commenter's idea on how to cook bacon. Kyle LOVES bacon, but I rarely fix it because it is so stinkin' messy. I am totally going to try it in the oven!
An idea for sopping up grease, use a piece of bread. I usually take the heal, and lay it in the pan, it soaks up all the grease and you can then throw it away.....or feed it to the dog.
ReplyDeleteWe have been a mostly "paper towel free" home for years now. I say mostly because husband does use them for DIY projects like painting. My solution for draining grease off bacon is a section of newspaper covered by a coffee filter. It works great and is almost free! A big package of coffee filters from the dollar store last a long time and are a great substitute for paper towels when cloth won't work. The dog gets the grease from the pan on his food as a treat!
ReplyDeleteKim
kstewart1127 at gmail dot com
I read your post last month and even though I'm getting resistance from my husband I have to do it! I feel guilt everytime I use a paper towel. One question though. I was at Target yesterday and was looking around for some kind of white cloth like yours and was having a tough time finding something. Did you buy wash cloths? I want to place them in a glass container on the counter too so I want them to look a little bit nice. Thanks for your help!
ReplyDeleteHeather
Hi Heather-
ReplyDeleteThey are at Target in the kitchen "linen" section - I think that they might call them Bar Towels. They are the size of a wash cloth, but with a better kitchen texture. They are the REstyle brand (aqua tag). I bought the jar to hold them at Target too :) Hope this helps - I still haven't bought paper towels and DO NOT miss them - my hubby has come around too :)
Yay!!! Task accomplished!! Thanks for your posts!
ReplyDeleteI've been looking for a way to give up paper towels too. I keep seeing the fancy cloth ones on a roll on Etsy but they are PRICEY and I don't sew to make my own. Your idea seems much more feasible.
ReplyDeleteAnd don't give up cooking bacon! Just put it on a foil lined cookie sheet, pulling up the edges a little to make sides, put bacon on the foil and put it all in a cold oven. Yes, cold. Don't ask me why. Then set your oven to 400 degrees. Once your bacon is done cooking just let the grease coagulate and roll it up into a ball and put it in the trash.
We bought a box of white towels--I think they are shop towels--from Costco a few years back. The box of a gazillion cloth towels cost the same as the big thing of paper towels. I go through 3-5 a day, but I like it better. I *do* still have paper towels, but now they are stashed under the sink and the basket of cloth sits in their space on the counter. It makes you take an extra moment to decide if the spill, and some do, really needs paper, or if cloth will do.
ReplyDelete