In an earlier blog, I talked about the paper towel trap and how those paper towel commercials made you feel like a bad parent if you don’t buy their product. They try to make you believe that the paper towel is a necessity in the American household. After all, how would you clean up spills and wash your windows, right?
Well, think about it, how did people do these things before paper towels? Really, I’m not as much of a conspiracy theorist, as I must sound. It is just that I don’t like waste, and paper towels are a big waste.
Think about what uses you have for paper towels and see if there is another more frugal alternative.
To clean up spills, we use the regular old cloth towel. Our grandmothers used them (and maybe our mothers did, too), and they did just fine before the paper towel became widely used.
To take the place of paper towels, this is what I do. I picked up a large lot of large white dishtowels that I keep under my sink. I use these to clean up spills, wipe faces, etc. After use, the towels can get washed in hot water with bleach. The towels can also be used to dry dishes. If the towels get too worn, they can always be recycled into dusting clothes or a rag rug.
For cleaning windows, you can use newspaper. I know this sounds weird, but trust me, the newspaper makes your windows sparkle. Newspaper doesn’t leave any newsprint, suprising but true. And, unlike paper towels, there is no lint left behind by the newspaper. If you really want the feel of a paper towel, try getting those reusable hand-wipes. They can be found in the paper towel section, but are more of a cloth-like towel. These wipes can be rinsed and reused quite a few times. They come in colors, such as bright blue, pink, yellow and green.
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