help me break my paper towel habit

[Anonymous]

We use Swedish dishcloths and pop them in the dishwasher to get them clean (our dishwasher has a third rack, which is the perfect place to lay them flat). One lasts many months, we have two going at a time usually.

[Anonymous]

We use them to wipe dribs and drabs and real spills on the kitchen counters and floor -- Swedish dishcloth
to dry hands after we wash at the kitchen sink - um, do you not use dish towels?
to wipe up bits of food off the counters after food prepping -- Swedish dishcloth
to mop up around the dog’s dish after he slobbers -I don't have a dog but you can get washable, absorbent microfiber pads to go under the dog's bowls

I have lots of little microfiber cleaning cloths, but my family (including me) doesn’t like them in place of paper towels - to me the biggest issue is they can only be used to clean one mess, so I have a pile of cloths to launder at the end of each day. It also feels gross to put cloths dirty with food particles into the wash instead of throwing out a paper towel dirtied by food.
Swedish dishcloths solve this problem, wash them in the dishwasher with your dishes. Everything else gets washed weekly in a load of rags and hand towels. You know you can wash a very small load of items, right?

[Anonymous]

Btw OP, we keep a hamper in our kitchen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do you all use those reusable cloths for drying washed produce? At breakfast, lunch and dinner I am washing and drying fruits and vegetables, and using paper towels each time.

Why do you need to dry off your produce?

[Anonymous]

We use Swedish dishcloths. For our family, the essential key to reducing paper towel usage was to make them inconvenient, so the roll is under the sink and not on the counter. We do use them to clean the counters after handling raw meat. You can get a dry bag, like one used for diapers, and hang it inside of your cabinet, to stash your wet dishcloths or towels until laundry day.

[Anonymous]

Oooh, you guys!!!! I don't think OP understands that you can rinse off the cloth that you are using to clean up spills and re-use it.

[Anonymous]

We use a lot of paper towels, but order them from "who gives a crap". Slightly smaller size, but durable. No plastic wrap!!! Love it.

Also use them for toilet paper. Not as good, but again, no plastic wrap.

[Anonymous]

Let the paper towel dry and reuse it

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:J@sus, the world is going to hell, people are dying and you greenies are worked up over your Costco paper towel usage. Unbelievable! Stop the virtual signaling and devoye your spare time to a serious vause!

Why are you even here on an environment and green living thread?

[Anonymous]

I know this is an old thread.
We rarely use paper towels. We use cloth napkins during meals. We hang a dish towel for hand drying, and we use dish rags or small dish towels to wipe up spills and clean the counter. If there’s actual food on the rag, I rinse it at the kitchen sink before putting it in the laundry. Not hard to wash small towels along with the big ones.

[Anonymous]

I am a former paper towel addict. Totally reformed. I barely use them now. It takes us weeks to go through one roll.

What you need is a whole bin of hand towels. Microfiber, tight weave cotton, some more open weave cotton, etc. You want a mix of older towels that are soft and kind of worn and newer towels that will be more absorbent. You learn what works best for each job.

We always have two towels hanging in the kitchen. A "clean" one that is used for drying clean hands or may be used to dry a clean dish if needed (we generally leave dishes to air dry but like if you need to wash a spoon). The other is for messier things. Not huge spills which get their own towel but all the little messes -- small spills on the floor or cabinets or stove top. That one gets changed out regularly -- once a day generally.

I used older, soft cotton towels to clean bathrooms or deep clean the kitchen. I use a microfiber for cleaning mirrors or wiping down doors or walls. We have a couple super absorbent towels for big spills.

One thing we have learned is when a towel gets quite damp, hang it somewhere to dry before throwing it in the laundry. That way if it doesn't get washed immediately, it won't make your laundry damp and won't cause smells. Also if you use a towel to mop up something like milk or tomato sauce, rinse it thoroughly with water and then hang to dry before putting it in the laundry, so you don't get weird food smells in your laundry.

Now I can't imagine using paper towels all the time. I almost never use them.

[Anonymous]

OP, this is what I do:
I have these clothes pin like items that stick onto the wall in the kitchen. I have three of them lined up. The rule is that if you wash your hands with soap and water, you take that paper towel and pin it to dry. They should be reused until they fall apart.
I use the spent towels to wipe things down.
Also, I have a regular cloth kitchen towel hanging in two parts of the kitchen. The rule is that you cannot use them for anything other than drying washed hands.
These things have helped, but I just saw my husband rip off three new paper towels to wipe up some juice on the floor!

[Anonymous]

You guys will think I’m crazy. I use the same sponge for washing things and cleaning spills on counters. Just rinse and squeeze out. Use the same one every day. Throw out and replace every 2 weeks or more when too manky. A couple of tea towels for drying things like a washed dish, rinsed apples, etc. Then just hang to dry. I get out a new one if I think one is a bit dirty. Wash every couple of weeks. Nobody in my family has ever had food poisoning.

[Anonymous]

I'm all for reducing waste and have significantly decreased our use of paper towels primarily by using microfiber rags to clean (ie windows, mirrors etc) But I am wondering: if the microfiber cloths are putting microplastics into our waterways, and paper towels are biodegradable, wouldn't it be better to use the paper towels?

[Anonymous]

Just use regular towels. This is sooo not rocket science. The fsct that you have to post on a message board is just...concerning about your IQ level.