Just Kate Posted July 15 Posted July 15 Anyone try reusable paper towels? Something like this - Reusable Paper Towels from Amazon A similar brand popped up for me on Facebook and since I clicked on it out of curiosity, I am getting ads all the time. But I’m curious. My family spends way too much on paper towels. Might this help? Quote
Arcadia Posted July 15 Posted July 15 Reddit had a long thread on them. If you go to Costco or Trader Joe’s, maybe buy from there since their return policies are generous. It is basically cellulose, and are called swedish dishclothes https://www.reddit.com/r/Costco/comments/1djqahp/swedish_dishcloths_wtf_did_i_buy_after_opening_to/ TJ link https://www.traderjoes.com/home/products/pdp/reusable-sponge-cloths-075091 Costco link https://www.costco.com/swedish-dishcloth-12-piece-set-.product.4000234447.html Quote
ktgrok Posted July 15 Posted July 15 I made some flannel ones - just serged or zig zagged the edges of some retangles of flannel. They stitck to themselves so you can roll them on a paper towel roll if you want,but I just stack them. 1 Quote
barnwife Posted July 15 Posted July 15 I have never understood reusable paper towels. Wouldn't it just be a fancy rag? I could probably count on one hand the number of times I have bought a roll of paper towels. But I wash a lot of rags! If someone ruins a t-shirt, it gets cut up and added to the box. If a towel gets old, we cut it up for more rags. Eventually they wear out and get trashed, but we definitely get our money's worth first! 9 2 Quote
Pawz4me Posted July 15 Posted July 15 I don’t like Swedish dish cloths. I don’t think they work all that great. I keep a stack of microfiber towels by the kitchen sink and use those as much as possible. But we still use plenty of paper towels. 3 Quote
Lady Florida. Posted July 15 Posted July 15 (edited) I bought these baby washcloths and keep them in a utensil holder on my counter. They're small but I bought two packs and just wash them when I get low on clean ones. https://a.co/d/2Qag6uf Edited July 15 by Lady Florida. 3 Quote
Ausmumof3 Posted July 15 Posted July 15 As with others I mostly use rags. I do buy a roll of chux cloth here and there but I buy the good brand ones and wash and reuse them… when they get past the reusing stage I’ll use them for one last super grotty job like oven cleaning then ditch. The things I use paper towel for is stuff my DH doesn’t want in the plumbing like bacon grease and even then I’ll mostly set and scrape and only use paper towel to drip the bacon on. We have started keeping a roll on the table for napkins but don’t use too much. I could get reusable napkins but I figure by the time I factor in washing detergent and electricity it’s probably just as green to use the odd paper towel. Quote
HazelAnne Posted July 15 Posted July 15 I use Swedish dishcloths (if you have Costco, I got them there for 1/2 the Amazon price of what is linked). They are honestly my favorite cleaning thing. I also have microfiber cloths and cut up clothes as rags, but what I don’t like about those is that they get smelly as they wait to be washed. I love the Swedish dish cloth, because after I use it I just wash it by hand in the sink, and it quickly dries and is ready to go for the next task- no odor. (They can go in the washing machine, but I haven’t tried that yet. I’m curious to see how long one will last with daily use so I'm just hand washing- which is super quick). I rarely use paper towels now. Quote
HomeAgain Posted July 15 Posted July 15 9 hours ago, barnwife said: I have never understood reusable paper towels. Wouldn't it just be a fancy rag? I could probably count on one hand the number of times I have bought a roll of paper towels. But I wash a lot of rags! If someone ruins a t-shirt, it gets cut up and added to the box. If a towel gets old, we cut it up for more rags. Eventually they wear out and get trashed, but we definitely get our money's worth first! Same. Paper towels are a disposable version of..........towels. They're literally paper. towels. There's already a version that was made before the invention of paper towels, so why buy into the gimmick of "reusable paper towels"? Because they connect? Have clips that will break before the cloths are done? Soak up too much and stink? Ew, no thank you. We use rags, which are usually old kitchen cloths that have outlived their stain-free life. I buy a new color when we change over, so right now we have grey in the kitchen and white, blue, and black in the rag bin. For windows and glass and such, I have old baby washcloths made of a flannel/bamboo velour combo. They're 14 years old and still kicking. We do still buy paper towels because they have a place (grease, sickness), but we buy about once a year. 2 Quote
Laura Corin Posted July 15 Posted July 15 (edited) I use washable microfibre cloths except for really vile clean up. Paper towels are for things like elderly dog accidents here. Edited July 15 by Laura Corin Quote
Carrie12345 Posted July 15 Posted July 15 10 minutes ago, Laura Corin said: I use washable microfibre cloths except for really vile clean up. Paper towels are for things like elderly dog accidents here. Yup! Paper mostly for dogs. I also use paper for things like meat juice or wiping out sinks or the washing machine of damp icky stuff (hair, food bits, etc.) Otherwise, mostly microfiber. We keep a wet bag for basic dishcloth stuff and one for all around cleaning stuff so, just like cloth diapers, there’s no stink. Inside out and into the wash! 3 Quote
Pawz4me Posted July 15 Posted July 15 I don’t think I’ve ever had a stinky microfiber rag. I let mine air dry (which they do very quickly, even in our humidity) and then throw them in the hamper. Quote
regentrude Posted July 15 Posted July 15 (edited) Why not use rags? The only thing I use paper towels for is pet accidents. Edited July 15 by regentrude Quote
busymama7 Posted July 15 Posted July 15 1 hour ago, SKL said: (Am I the only person who reuses actual paper towels?) My grandma used to. Bounty always and wash them out. I never have and think we use too many currently Quote
prairiewindmomma Posted July 15 Posted July 15 We keep a large basket of thin kitchen towels (like 30 or so) on our countertop by the sink. We use those for drying and so on. We also have a couple of swedish dish cloths for cleaning/dealing with messes. We will put them through the dishwasher so they are cleaned, but after a few months they are stained and gross so we compost them. We try not to do plastic at all (ie—not microfiber). Quote
ktgrok Posted July 15 Posted July 15 17 hours ago, barnwife said: I have never understood reusable paper towels. Wouldn't it just be a fancy rag? I could probably count on one hand the number of times I have bought a roll of paper towels. But I wash a lot of rags! If someone ruins a t-shirt, it gets cut up and added to the box. If a towel gets old, we cut it up for more rags. Eventually they wear out and get trashed, but we definitely get our money's worth first! Mine are definitely the equivalent of rags. But it makes me happy for them to be pretty, so I make them out of patterned flannel. Either flannel scraps from sewing or stuff i bought cheaply with a coupon at Joann Fabric. I have a set for spring/summer and a set for fall. Don’t have a winter set yet 🙂 2 Quote
GailV Posted July 15 Posted July 15 8 hours ago, HomeAgain said: I buy a new color when we change over, so right now we have grey in the kitchen and white, blue, and black in the rag bin. This is brilliant, and I want to run out and buy a complete change over RIGHT NOW. Except, I like everything to be blue all the time ... I need to think about this. Quote
kbutton Posted July 15 Posted July 15 We use rags as well. I do buy paper towels for gross stuff, but my multi-pack should last me many years. I am so stingy with them that my mom sometimes gifts a roll to my DH. 😂 I don’t like the Swedish dish cloths that I tried. I do use microfiber for some tasks, but after discovering how very difficult it is to actually get the dirt out of them again, I probably won’t buy more, except for my Bona mop heads for my LVP. Quote
***** Posted July 16 Posted July 16 On 7/14/2024 at 5:56 PM, Just Kate said: Anyone try reusable paper towels? The problem I see is calling them reusable 'paper towels'. The first time I heard them referred to that was on the hive. I was like, what? They're dish cloths, Swedish Dish Cloths! Ours lasts for months and yes, I throw them in the washing machine and let them air dry. But I don't wash them often, I just rinse, squeeze and hang to dry in between use. I especially like them for wiping granite countertops. They don't leave streaks or puddles. One draw back I see is coffee stains, which make them look dirty when they aren't. I wish they would make them in darker colors for this reason. The other is the price, but prices like on Amazon and Trader Joes makes it more reasonable. I don't often splurge on things, but since I reuse each so long, I justify my cost. But yeah, we still use paper towels also. For wiping grease and oil, meat juices, etc. Quote
popmom Posted July 16 Posted July 16 Am I the only one who LOVES paper towels? This is a worthwhile expenditure imo. I will go without other stuff before I go without paper towels. I use them liberally! I am otherwise very conscious of waste: I compost food, avoid single use plastics, all the things. But—Paper towels and plastic straws are my non negotiables. My guilty pleasures. lol I actually compost some of the paper towels I use. I do have a large stash of “bar towels” that I use a lot. My little laundry room is right off the kitchen, so I just toss them in the washer when I dirty one up. 1 Quote
Clarita Posted July 16 Posted July 16 My Swedish Dishcloth replaces sponges not paper towels. The better replacement for paper towels are rags, and towels. Some messes I just want it to go straight into the trash so I use paper towels instead of a towel. 1 Quote
Pawz4me Posted July 16 Posted July 16 4 hours ago, popmom said: Am I the only one who LOVES paper towels? This is a worthwhile expenditure imo. I will go without other stuff before I go without paper towels. I use them liberally! I am otherwise very conscious of waste: I compost food, avoid single use plastics, all the things. But—Paper towels and plastic straws are my non negotiables. My guilty pleasures. lol I actually compost some of the paper towels I use. I do have a large stash of “bar towels” that I use a lot. My little laundry room is right off the kitchen, so I just toss them in the washer when I dirty one up. I'm not sure I LOVE them. I could live w/o them if I had to. But I have no issues at all spending money for them, and we use them as needed w/o thinking about how many we're using or what they cost, and they're an item we never run out of. We use Bounty paper towels (very brand loyal about that) and I've found they don't compost very well, alas. Even when everything else is very well done we'll find chunks of undecomposed paper towels in it. 1 Quote
popmom Posted July 16 Posted July 16 3 minutes ago, Pawz4me said: I'm not sure I LOVE them. I could live w/o them if I had to. But I have no issues at all spending money for them, and we use them as needed w/o thinking about how many we're using or what they cost, and they're an item we never run out of. We use Bounty paper towels (very brand loyal about that) and I've found they don't compost very well, alas. Even when everything else is very well done we'll find chunks of undecomposed paper towels in it. Interesting. I’ve not had any issues composting paper towels. I guess my redworms have an affinity for them. 🙂 2 Quote
Mona Posted July 16 Posted July 16 We’ve cut down on paper towel use by using terry towel rags. I keep them folded in a basket under my sink and on my cleaning cart. I also have a stack of microfiber towels for cleaning windows, mirrors, and polishing faucets. They are not as pretty as the reusable paper towels, but are less expensive. They come in many colors. Quote
kbutton Posted July 16 Posted July 16 9 hours ago, popmom said: Am I the only one who LOVES paper towels? They probably aren’t going to have experience with reusable paper towels to chime in, and then got scared when we all jumped in with our green and/or frugal habits. I am glad you can compost many of yours! I rarely wipe up something compostable when I do use a paper towel! Our worms seem undeterred by our coffee filters, so we probably could if they weren’t contaminated. I am equal parts frugal and green on this issue, but I feel the immediate effects of $$$. 🤓 1 Quote
Annie G Posted July 16 Posted July 16 On 7/14/2024 at 9:20 PM, ktgrok said: I made some flannel ones - just serged or zig zagged the edges of some retangles of flannel. They stitck to themselves so you can roll them on a paper towel roll if you want,but I just stack them. Yes! My sister uses these-her DIL a made them for her, and she keeps them on a paper towel holder so they are clearly intended to be used as such. Hers are so pretty, and don’t add much on laundry day. Lots of Etsy sellers have them, but they’re easy to make. I’d love to convince dh to switch, but paper towels are sacred to him. Quote
SKL Posted July 16 Posted July 16 I was thinking yesterday while cleaning the kitchen - I can't remember the last time I pulled a new paper towel off the roll in the kitchen. At least a month. (I confess I have used a few to clean gunk out of the front of the washer - poor design ....) However, I live with 4 other women, and they use paper towels. Which is why there is usually a used one on the counter, which I can then re-use, wash, and lay aside to dry for next time. 😛 I have nothing against rags, but they can get mildewy, and I don't do laundry very often; and also, my housemates don't think rags are sanitary enough, so they won't use them. I have one old dishrag that I will use if I have a lot of wiping to do at once. But for small jobs, I just look for an old used paper towel or napkin. 1 Quote
KungFuPanda Posted July 16 Posted July 16 On 7/14/2024 at 9:25 PM, barnwife said: I have never understood reusable paper towels. Wouldn't it just be a fancy rag? I could probably count on one hand the number of times I have bought a roll of paper towels. But I wash a lot of rags! If someone ruins a t-shirt, it gets cut up and added to the box. If a towel gets old, we cut it up for more rags. Eventually they wear out and get trashed, but we definitely get our money's worth first! I always thought the name was goofy. We HAVE a word for “reusable paper towels.” It’s just “towels.” I always kept a drawer of cheap white terry cloth wash clothes to use for anything that requires a towel and I just bleach them. I only use actual paper towels for draining fried foods, so a roll can last me for months. We mostly use cloth napkins because I prefer how they feel and don’t mind washing them. I can go without a plastic straw. I have rubber ones and metal ones, and even washable plastic straws. What I can’t hack is a paper straw. I need to keep a collapsible straw in my purse for when paper is the only option. 🤢 16 hours ago, popmom said: Am I the only one who LOVES paper towels? This is a worthwhile expenditure imo. I will go without other stuff before I go without paper towels. I use them liberally! I am otherwise very conscious of waste: I compost food, avoid single use plastics, all the things. But—Paper towels and plastic straws are my non negotiables. My guilty pleasures. lol I actually compost some of the paper towels I use. I do have a large stash of “bar towels” that I use a lot. My little laundry room is right off the kitchen, so I just toss them in the washer when I dirty one up. 1 Quote
popmom Posted July 17 Posted July 17 2 hours ago, KungFuPanda said: I can go without a plastic straw. I have rubber ones and metal ones, and even washable plastic straws. What I can’t hack is a paper straw. I need to keep a collapsible straw in my purse for when paper is the only option. 🤢 Yep. I cannot deal with paper straws. We use silicone straws at home, and I’m fine with those. I think they’re silicone, anyway. I need to look into the collapsible straw. That’s a good idea. Quote
KungFuPanda Posted July 17 Posted July 17 25 minutes ago, popmom said: Yep. I cannot deal with paper straws. We use silicone straws at home, and I’m fine with those. I think they’re silicone, anyway. I need to look into the collapsible straw. That’s a good idea. I don’t have one, or know where to get one, but I’m convinced they exist. 🤣 1 Quote
Clarita Posted July 17 Posted July 17 9 minutes ago, KungFuPanda said: 36 minutes ago, popmom said: Yep. I cannot deal with paper straws. We use silicone straws at home, and I’m fine with those. I think they’re silicone, anyway. I need to look into the collapsible straw. That’s a good idea. I don’t have one, or know where to get one, but I’m convinced they exist. 🤣 I have one that was marketed as "collapsible;" it's just a silicone straw with a case. 1 Quote
Clarita Posted July 17 Posted July 17 9 hours ago, SKL said: I have nothing against rags, but they can get mildewy, and I don't do laundry very often When I first tried to go a little bit green (cloth napkins etc.) I worried about that, but with a husband and 2 little kids I do enough laundry that the cloth napkins, reusable produce bags, and towels don't make the slightest difference in the amount of laundry. 1 Quote
KungFuPanda Posted July 17 Posted July 17 17 hours ago, Clarita said: I have one that was marketed as "collapsible;" it's just a silicone straw with a case. So, I HAVE silicone straws and it never occurred to me until your post to just FOLD the darned thing and stick it in my purse. 🤣 1 Quote
popmom Posted July 17 Posted July 17 1 hour ago, KungFuPanda said: So, I HAVE silicone straws and it never occurred to me until your post to just FOLD the darned thing and stick it in my purse. 🤣 But that case is needed. Stuff sticks to that silicone--crumbs, paper, hair... Maybe your purse is cleaner than mine. lol 1 Quote
KungFuPanda Posted July 17 Posted July 17 (edited) 4 minutes ago, popmom said: But that case is needed. Stuff sticks to that silicone--crumbs, paper, hair... Maybe your purse is cleaner than mine. lol Oh no. I’d need a snack baggie. My purse is NOT clean enough to eat off it. Then there’s getting that messy straw back home 🤣 Edited July 17 by KungFuPanda 1 Quote
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