Going Paper Towel-Free
My friend, Kimberly, and I discussed eliminating the use of paper towels in our home one time. I thought it was so interesting because I had never thought about doing away with this extra expense in our lives. Needless to say, after that conversation, I was on a mission to stop using paper towels and napkins. And, we have! What does this look like and what do I do instead?
#1: Stop buying paper towels. I just had a whole bunch left over, so I just stashed mine away deep in the storage closet. I will be using them to make home-made baby wipes once our store-bought ones run out, if you’re wondering what I’ll use them for now.
#2: Start using cloth napkins during mealtimes. Instead of going out to the store and buying them, I re-purposed an old bedsheet. All I did was cut the sheet up into 12×12 squares, sewed them with mitered edges and I had a pile of cloth napkins for use.
#3: Recycle old T-shirts. These work well as rags for wiping windows, cleaning up spills and a variety of other things.
#4: Make sure your family knows where to find the cloth napkins and rags; and have a good supply handy. This will prevent the “comeback” of the paper towel and napkin in your home. My 4-year-old knows exactly where to find the cloth napkins when he sets the table for lunch and dinner.
#5: Be encouraged that you are saving trees and making your dollars stretch even more. Sometimes I miss my paper towels, but then I remember why I am not using them and I don’t miss them anymore.
Here’s a great blog article on the same topic: http://simplemom.net/how-to-create-a-paperless-kitchen/#more-4317
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January 14th, 2010 at 11:32 am
okay…you’ve inspired me. I’m going to do this! And yes, Veronique you were right. Once you have kids, the way you spend money completely changes. : ) I’m thankful that I have you to give me all the good ideas.
January 14th, 2010 at 9:05 pm
yeah, things just change, right? but, it’s good. hope going paper towel-free goes well!
January 14th, 2010 at 12:35 pm
Oh man! I want to go paper towel free! But I don’t know how to make those weird napkin things either. HOW do you sew the edges??
January 14th, 2010 at 9:05 pm
they’re really easy! just google cloth napkin tutorials and you will come up with a bunch of resources.
January 14th, 2010 at 3:06 pm
we grew up pretty much paper free, but when i got married my dh wasnt used to it. I’ve wanted to go back to it. This article was just what I needed to try again. Thanks for sharing. I love your blog. You are an amazing woman of God!
January 14th, 2010 at 9:04 pm
let me know how it goes with incorporating paper-free in your home again! thanks for you comments, bobby jo. it’s so fun to have some waiting for me!
January 16th, 2010 at 7:29 am
Yeah paper free!! Our family has loved the switch too, and I’ve loved not having to spend money on paper towels either. Hmmm….we must rack our brains on something else we can cut out!