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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):
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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.)Â These also go through the dishwasher every night to sanitize. IÂ 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.
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It isn’t a perfect plan, but it is helping with my addiction.
Lindsay Says...
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.
I 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!!
Shelby Says...
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!
Here’s more info: http://www.reuseit.com/search?q=skoy
Kelly Says...
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!