Ditching Paper Towels for Dummies

[Erica in PA]

I've seen several posters recommend getting rid of paper towels, and using cloths intead, and I love that idea! I've noticed that the cost of paper towels seems out of whack compared with how frugal I've become when it comes to groceries. So I would like to try to get rid of the paper towels, but it will be a big change for me. Can anyone walk me through how you made this transition? I know it's not rocket science, but I feel more confident trying something new when I know *exactly* how other people have done it. :001_smile:

[LauraGB]

Do you just use your paper towel mainly for cleaning purposes? If not, do you use cloth napkins? That's a good place to start.

For the cleaning part, just keep a really large stash of rags at the ready for everything. Don't throw away outgrown or holey clothes; cut them up into rag sizes and add them to the pile. As my dishrags/towels get worn out or stained, I cut a corner off it (so I know it's no longer for the kitchen) and add it to the pile. Eventually you will have enough to keep you through a week before you need to add them to the wash.

[Ravin]

We have a bunch of bar-mop style rags. Smaller than a kitchen towel, bigger than a regular wash cloth. It's what restaurants often use. You can find them in cheap bulk packages.

 

For dirtier jobs (dusting, the toilet), cut-up old towels or t shirts can work well.

[aggieamy]

For dirtier jobs (dusting, the toilet), cut-up old towels or t shirts can work well.

 

I use cloth napkins at the dinner table and then in the kitchen I have my washcloths and a stack of rags that are DH's old cut up t-shirts. I use the washcloths for general cleaning of the kitchen and rags for grosser jobs like a broken egg on the floor. Like Ravin I also use them cleaning the bathroom and elsewhere in the house. For dusting I use micro-fiber washcloths.

 

We still have paper towels though. One roll will last for months because I only use them for draining bacon. What do you ladies in paper towel free households do about bacon?

[Firefly]

I've been using old rags/cut up tee's for cleaning for years, so there was no change over for that.

 

For us most of the paper towel use was drying off hands at the kitchen sink or wiping up spills, that kind of thing. To help us transition, I bought a bunch (about 20) really cheap but pretty colored facecloth-type towels and kept a stack of them RIGHT under the paper towel holder. It didn't take long for everyone to get in the habit of reaching for one of the cloths instead of the paper towels. It has drastically reduced our paper towel consumption. I only keep them around now for cleaning up the occassional cat yak or other pet-accident. I just can't bring myself to use a cloth for those!

[Dobela]

I have several cheap dishcloths (like the 12 for $3 kind) and wash them regularly with my towels. I started with just 7 like FlyLady recommended but I found that with my messy kids I needed more sometimes. My favorites though are the ones that someone knitted and gave to me. Those thin, cheap washcloths work well also.

 

I do keep cheap paper napkins in our house for things like draining meats and for those messes I don't want to use my dishcloth for (like cat hairballs). We also use the paper napkins for meals. We use less than 10 a day though so a package of 400 can last a very long time.

[MomOfOneFunOne]

We're a paper towel free home AND vegetarian but from time to time I do have to do the equivalent. I just use a cloth. We haven't used papertowels in probably 15 years so I have a ton of different kinds. I use everything for everything, usually, meaning that I'll use them interchangeably not worrying what kind I'm using for which job. However, for draining oily things I don't like to use terrycloth. I have some that are cotton and like a very thick knit and I have some cotton kitchen towels that are terry on one side and smoother on the other. I use the "other" side.

 

In terms of advice to the OP, I'll say this: it's good to have kitchen towels/cloths and other misc. towels/cloths. After I have scrubbed the toilet (outsides. I use a brush on the inside) or cleaned up some vomit or something, somehow I just don't want to use it to drain the bacon, so to speak. I'm sure it's okay . . . laundered and everything. Still, I just can't do it. Through time, it has just kind of evolved this way: old towels and other formerly useful and particularly absorbent materials get reinvented as misc. household rags for the icky things. We cut them down to large rag size. I usually buy kitchen towels/cloths and just use them in the kitchen. The ones that got stained or something get bumped to draining duty and when they're icky with oil stains they are further relegated to the grosser kitchen projects.

 

Old diapers, t-shirts, et c. get made into rags, too.

Edited November 5, 2009 by MomOfOneFunOne

[Guest janainaz]

I am a paper towel addict (recovering addict). I used paper towels for everything and in wasteful quantities. We went to Sam's Club about a month ago and bought this gigantic pack of about 100 white hand-towels ($9.00??? I think). I bought regular napkins for dinner and I do have paper towels, but they are only for stuff that we can't use cloth towels for (i.e. - we have a litter of puppies and I get to clean up after them........). I also use them for doing windows and mirrors. It has been great (and cloth towels work so much better).

[Amber in AUS]

We still have paper towels though. One roll will last for months because I only use them for draining bacon. What do you ladies in paper towel free households do about bacon?

 

That is my big one too. We don't use a lot of paper towels. I clean up most spills etc with tea towels or face washers, BUT i always drain my meats and fried foods on paper towel. I would love to be completely paper towel free, it does cost a ton. Maybe i could drain on a rack over newspaper??

 

Would someone care to share their laundering process. Do you soak first and wash as 1 batch or do you throw in with the regular laundry?

[E_Edgerton]

We use only cloth napkins for meals. I use a lot of kitchen towels. That is my only advice...there is very little that a clean cloth kitchen towel can't do. I still keep paper towels in the house...draining bacon, some cleaning, etc. I use newspaper for windows, mirrors...they do a better job, making the temptation less. Good luck with the transition. :)

[Starr]

We keep paper towels around but don't really notice when we run out of them, except for the bacon. :) Microfiber for dusting, cut up old shirts and wash or kitchen dish type cloths for everything else. I keep some paper napkins but we mostly use cloth. We bought some nice wooden animal napkin holders from the Sisters in Malawi and we keep our cloth napkins for a few days or until they need to be changed.

[gardening momma]

BUT i always drain my meats and fried foods on paper towel. I would love to be completely paper towel free, it does cost a ton. Maybe i could drain on a rack over newspaper??

I would think you would want something that would wick the fat away from the meat--otherwise some of the fat that could have been wicked away could just cool on the bacon and you'd still be eating it. (so you want something to come in direct contact with the meat)

[Amber in AUS]

I would think you would want something that would wick the fat away from the meat--otherwise some of the fat that could have been wicked away could just cool on the bacon and you'd still be eating it. (so you want something to come in direct contact with the meat)

 

True, so i need another idea. Perhaps i could use flat cotton tea towels? I only have terry ones. I guess they would need additional soaking to remove all the oil/fat too.

[Guest Virginia Dawn]

I would like to hear about the laundering process too. Do you just throw the used one's in your laundry basket with the rest of the laundry and wash everything together, or do you separate them?

[Tammyla]

Either, but I find it easier to have a small basket in the laundry for dish cloths, towels and my cloth napkins. (This eliminates the smelly dish cloths from yucking up my pretty towels.) I picked one up at the dollar store; when it's full I do a small load of them alone because I detest sorting and it save me oodles of time. My kitchen has big drawers and I don't even fold em...gasp. I'd use a basket if the drawer wasn't an option.

 

 

For the kitchen towels I love to use hand towels because they absorb more and a big stack of wash cloths are great for cleaning and soaking up big messes. They also wash well. My kitchen towels are easy to spot by color so they don't get mixed up with the face cloths.

 

 

Disclaimer...I still use paper towels, but way less of them and I did ditch them for a few years.

 

I would like to hear about the laundering process too. Do you just throw the used one's in your laundry basket with the rest of the laundry and wash everything together, or do you separate them?

Edited November 6, 2009 by Tammyla

[Erica in PA]

Thanks so much everyone!! I am really excited about this. We are paper towel addicts, and I think this could save us a lot of money!!

 

Okay, so I need to have a supply of kitchen towels, and then other misc. towels, and I also need some cloth napkins. Where would you recommend getting these things for very, very cheap? I can't sew, so I can't make my own. I could cut up old t-shirts and towels for the misc. towels, but what about the cloth napkins? Where is the cheapest place to buy those?

[Tammyla]

I buy what ever is on clearance at any store. BB&B, Walmart, Target, Kohl's, Sam's etc. A friend of mine uses bulk wash cloths for dinner napkins and I have to admit they look cute and work very well.

 

Think of this as a trial and error test. You'll find what works for you. I'm not a lover of rags because they get tangled up if they aren't sewn, but I do use them as clean and toss rags...(Think toilet:tongue_smilie:)

 

Thanks so much everyone!! I am really excited about this. We are paper towel addicts, and I think this could save us a lot of money!!

 

Okay, so I need to have a supply of kitchen towels, and then other misc. towels, and I also need some cloth napkins. Where would you recommend getting these things for very, very cheap? I can't sew, so I can't make my own. I could cut up old t-shirts and towels for the misc. towels, but what about the cloth napkins? Where is the cheapest place to buy those?

[eternalknot]

I can find "everyday" cloth napkins at thrift stores very easily in my area.

 

I buy "better" we-have-guests-or-a-nice-family-dinner ones very cheaply at TJ Maxx type of stores for very reasonable prices, and there are always some on clearance.

 

We use cloth exclusively, but we have only reptilian and amphibious pets (no puke on the carpet!) and we don't eat meat (no bacon). I keep a separate pile/washload for all cloth that isn't bathroom (toilet) cloth, which is washed separately or with regular towels (not with anything used in the kitchen).

[Happy]

About the bacon draining...we've started using one of our cooling racks (for cooling freshly baked cookies on) for draining bacon. Put a layer or two of newspapers underneath and lay your bacon on the rack. All that icky grease drips right off. The rack goes into the dishwasher afterward.

 

I'm still a newspaper addict so we always have newspapers.

[Frontier Mom]

I use cloth napkins at the dinner table and then in the kitchen I have my washcloths and a stack of rags that are DH's old cut up t-shirts. I use the washcloths for general cleaning of the kitchen and rags for grosser jobs like a broken egg on the floor. Like Ravin I also use them cleaning the bathroom and elsewhere in the house. For dusting I use micro-fiber washcloths.

 

We still have paper towels though. One roll will last for months because I only use them for draining bacon. What do you ladies in paper towel free households do about bacon?

 

Funny, I use paper towels but not for my bacon. I have this plastic thing meant for cooking bacon in the microwave. I don't cook my bacon in the microwave but use it to drain my bacon. It has ridges so I put the piece on it and the grease drains.

[TXMary2]

I dumped paper towels about a year ago because they are too expensive for how many we were going through. No matter how blue in the face I got repeating myself my kids could not control themselves with the paper towels. They would wash their hands at the kitchen sink and then give the roller a whip and off came 3 or more paper towels which they proceeded to wad up and mildly wipe their hands dry. Then they dropped the mostly dry wad into the garbage bag. I was daily yelling at somebody for this. They would do the same thing, three or more to wipe up a teeny tiny spill or wet spot. So, I went to Sam's club and bought about 40 "bar mops" which are essentially kithen towels. I have a drawer full of them and since I do laundry everyday it is easy to toss them in with a daily load of towels. No more money spent on paper towels and no more wasteful tossing of them. I feel much better. We still use napkins at dinner time, but I keep them on a top shelf in a kitchen cabinet so no one can grab for them to wipe something up.

[MOM24WONDERS]

We still buy paper towels (3 rolls for $1.25) and use them on a platter to catch grease if we fry something. That's about the only thing we use them for. Oh, and cleaning windows/mirrors. I've never heard of using a paper towel for dusting or toilet cleaning, though!

 

I use a washcloth to clean the bathroom - just one from the stack - it's going to get washed in extremely hot water anyway :)

 

I use my dishtowel to wipe counters, fronts of cabinets, table, chairs - and to clean the stove after each meal.

 

I have a couple of those bar towels to use for dusting. We also keep hand towels in the bathrooms for drying hands.

 

Growing up we always used cloth napkins, so it's not a big deal to me. Even though paper towels are cheap, it's still wasted money in my book. Of course, I am extremely frugal - we feed a family of 6 on less than $300/month. And this includes stocking up on meat that's on sale. We generally go once per month and spend about $250 and the other $30-$40 comes from needing to replace bread/milk, etc. I am very blessed to have grown up with frugal parents - we always had huge meals with plenty to eat - and always meat - but my mom never spent much money doing so. It's all about having a deep freeze, a pantry, and stocking up :)

 

Ok, that was totally off-topic. Sorry!

[FlockOfSillies]

More power to ya, but MORE laundry would be the absolute death of me.

Edited November 6, 2009 by FlockOfSillies

[Spy Car]

What are these new-fangled synthetic wipe-up sheets called? Do you know what I mean? The twisty mop heads are made of something similar.

 

They aren't sponges exactly, they aren't towels exactly, they aren't chamois exactly.

 

I don't know what they are called.

 

I do know having these reusable what-ever-they-are-called around for use on spills and wipe-ups and clean ups has really cut our paper towel use.

 

My wife got them at Trader Joes.

 

Give a brother a break and tell him what to call them :D

 

Bill

[MomOfOneFunOne]

Gosh, you guys, if you've given up paper towels, paper napkins would be even easier! We have several different ones so in the morning we pick three matching ones and put them out w/ breakfast. Everyone uses the same napkin all day unless it gets icky. They usually don't, though. In fact, if eveyone's napkin stayed nice, we use it the next day, too. We have nicer ones for nicer meals.

 

I just happened to catch the end of a comment and it seems someone may use the newspaper to drain bacon?? The pediatrician told me once that newspapers and magazines use a lead-based ink (or was it the paper?). I think I would caution anyone to look into that b/f using newspaper for food. Since he told me that, I've just shuddered to thin of all those fish and chips being sold all over England. Maybe their ink is different. Still, I'd check it out.

[rafiki]

.

[Erica in PA]

More power to ya, but MORE laundry would be the absolute death of me.

 

For some reason, laundry doesn't bother me much. I mean, I wouldn't want to do TONS more than I do, but it sounds like most of the cloths could just be thrown in with other things, making *maybe* one more load per week? I dislike almost every other household job, but laundry isn't that bad for me.

[justamouse]

For the most part I use dish rags instead of paper towels, but cleaning up dog poo with a rag is where my line is drawn.

[eternalknot]

For some reason, laundry doesn't bother me much. I mean, I wouldn't want to do TONS more than I do, but it sounds like most of the cloths could just be thrown in with other things, making *maybe* one more load per week? I dislike almost every other household job, but laundry isn't that bad for me.

 

 

Ditto that.

 

I handwash a fair amount of our clothes, and we air-dry pretty much everything - so laundry takes a significant amount of time as is. BUT! an extra load of cloth isn't a big deal, and it's one of only two loads we put into the dryer so it's not any real additional work.

 

Plus, it's easy enough a task to delegate to the kids. They load the washer, transfer to the dryer, and fold. They don't mind the folding because it's one of two chores that is assumed will be done in front of the television LOL. Along with ironing, which my eldest often offers to do :D

[LauraGB]

I would like to hear about the laundering process too. Do you just throw the used one's in your laundry basket with the rest of the laundry and wash everything together, or do you separate them?

Most of mine are white. So are my bathroom towels, kitchen towels and napkins. I think I did that back in the day when I still used bleach for all the whites. But anyway, all my rags have the corner cut off if they are not obvious rags (like old t-shirts and such) so I know what it is and don't get confused, so the go into the same load as all the rest of the towels. I usually wash the whites with laundry soap, borax and hot water, so I feel pretty good about how clean they end up.

[Erica in PA]

For the most part I use dish rags instead of paper towels, but cleaning up dog poo with a rag is where my line is drawn.

 

:lol: I think that is very reasonable. I don't plan on dealing with any cat messes with anything other than paper towels, either.

[Spy Car]

What are these new-fangled synthetic wipe-up sheets called? Do you know what I mean? The twisty mop heads are made of something similar.

 

They aren't sponges exactly, they aren't towels exactly, they aren't chamois exactly.

 

I don't know what they are called.

 

I do know having these reusable what-ever-they-are-called around for use on spills and wipe-ups and clean ups has really cut our paper towel use.

 

My wife got them at Trader Joes.

 

Give a brother a break and tell him what to call them :D

 

Bill

 

Shamwow? :lol:

 

:lol:

 

I can't believe no one knows what these are called. But they are great!

 

Bill

[The Governess]

I use microfiber cleaning cloths. I bought a set of 36 from amazon, they are multi-use cloths. They are great! I cut some in half to use as dish cloths because they are quite large and thick. I use two per day in the kitchen, one wet and one dry. I have a little basket under my sink that they get thrown in at the end of the day. They clean better than paper towels IMO. I've also read that microfiber is good at picking bacteria up off of surfaces, even without using a cleaner. I have had good success getting counters and tables sparkling clean using just water and these cloths (no smears or residue).

 

I do still use paper towels occasionally, esp. for things like cleaning up spilled chicken juice or something yucky like that. But I probably go through one roll a month, if that, which is much, much better than what we were using before we made the switch.

 

Here is a link to the set I bought. You can also use them to dust, wash your car, scrub your floors, line your refrigerator drawers, etc.

[swellmomma]

I started using my old flat cloth diapers from my first ds (the ones that are big squares). I went to work as a maid for a while and this is what they used, cloth diapers and bar rags. So I switched at home because I already had the diapers. I use these for any all cleaning of windows, mirrors, bathrooms, polishing etc. For normal kitchen cleaning (dishes and counters etc) I use dish cloths. For bacon and meats I use my broiling pan. The fat drips through the top and the pan underneath catches it and I can drain it away. I have not bought paper towels in years. Paper napkins I still sometimes buy but usually we don't use napkins at all.

[Jayne J]

We've given up papertowels around here as well, and I'd like to mention what a great thing cloth diapers are. Not necessarily just for babies. (Ok, I'll fess up. Not for babies at all in this house. Disposable diapers all the way. I make no claims to consistancy and do not apologise for my weirdnesses:D)

They are wonderful for cleaning with--thick, soft, absorbent and sturdy. I use one pinned around the head of my Wet Jet Swiffer thingee, I wipe up big spills with them and.....drum roll please...use them to drain bacon and other meats. (special ones just for that--not the ones I use to clean with.) They clean up well, last forever and are fairly cheap to buy in bulk.

 

Along with rags, bar mops and cloth napkins, there is very little we need paper towels for around here.

 

ETA:Ha! Swellmomma beat me to it. I knew I couldn't be the only one who used them!!

[Miss Peregrine]

Cloth only here. I buy them every few years at Big Lots. The colors match my kitchen so I have them folded up and stacked right next to the sink.

 

As for bacon, I drain it on paper grocery bags. I am sure there are bad things in the bag that are toxic, LOL, but I'm eating bacon so...