Another item you can drastically reduce the use of in your home are paper towels. Like with the cloth napkin post, this not only is good for the planet, but for your wallet, too.
I like to use bar cloths & microfiber towels (these REALLY soak any spill up!!!!). Bar cloths usually come in large packs of 5-10 (I think I got mine at Target several years ago in the kitchen textile section). You can also find them at Bed Bath & Beyond-a package of 6 for $4.99 http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?SKU=128863. Get a few sets of these and just keep reusing them over and over when you would reach for a paper towel. If you use a BBB coupon for each set, then you have spent about $12 on something that will last years. How much do you spend on paper towels a year? Also, I find these handy to just wipe off my hands while cooking, when they don’t necessarily need to be washed until I am done cooking but they are a I wouldn’t want to wipe them on a clean hand towel kinda “dirty”.
I do have paper towels in our house for nasty things (can you say hairballs???) or needing to keep things sanitary like wiping up raw meat juice. But we have drastically reduced our use so that I maybe buy one 8-pack a year, if that…pretty darn good.
As a side note, if you have babies or small children, what are you using to wipe their face & hands after eating? Have your tried baby washcloths? I use ones I already had that were looking a little tattered from when Reed was a baby and have designated them for just this purpose. I wipe his face at least 3 times a day-can you imagine how many paper towels that would add up to in a few years time? In just a year, it’s 1095. That’s crazy!
Since all the kitchen laundry is washed together, I always put in a half scoop of the Nature Bright in each load to remove any stains to keep all the linens looking good.
So, how are you doing with these Green tips? Any thoughts on making these changes so far? I would love to hear what you think!
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