Wednesday, January 15, 2025

Give up those paper towels

Recently a reader had a question about our paper towel usage, or lack thereof. Specifically she wrote: "You’ve commented before that a roll of paper towels lasts you quite some time because you rarely use them. I’m curious. When do you use paper towels?"

For us, paper towels were one of the casualties of our transition to a non-disposable lifestyle, during which we phased out anything we could (except toilet paper) that wasn't reusable. At the time, the list included the following:

• Paper napkins
• Paper plates
• Plastic cutlery
• Plastic wrap (Saran Wrap, etc.)
• Plastic/paper cups
• Shopping bags
• Vacuum cleaner bags
• Coffee filters
• Canning lids
• Baby wipes
• Disposable razors
• Feminine hygiene
• Paper towels
• Disposable diapers
• Facial tissue
• Batteries

Obviously baby wipes and disposable diapers are a legacy from when the girls were babies; but at that juncture we were having financial struggles, so cloth diapers and homemade baby wipes were de rigueur for our frugal lifestyle.

Fast forward to about ten years ago, when we phased out the rest of the disposable options listed above and replaced them with washable and/or reusable versions.

I cannot emphasize enough how wonderfully life-altering this transition to renewables was. It brought awareness to how many disposable "necessities" are recent inventions entirely unheard of a hundred years ago. Some items had a higher upfront cost (washable feminine hygiene, rechargeable batteries, etc.), but those costs have long since amortized.

Anyway, on to paper towels. At the time we were phasing out disposables, paper towels drew the biggest gasp from everyone aware of our project. People, it seems, are insanely devoted to paper towels. How could we live without them? Short answer: A drawer full of terrycloth dishtowels that are changed out sometimes several times a day (especially during active kitchen projects) and a basket full of rags for really dirty jobs.

I buy white terrycloth "shop rags" in a 60-count bale from Costco. A bale will last me for 10 years or more of hard use before the towels become ratty or worn enough to recycle into rags. These are our "paper towels."

So, with dish towels so inexpensive and versatile, why are people so devoted to paper towels?

I think I got my answer many years ago while visiting a friend. I needed to wash my hands at her kitchen sink, where she kept a dish towel hanging from a hook. Naturally I reached for the dish towel to dry my hands… and was so revolted I had to re-wash my hands and use a paper towel for drying. That's because the dish towel was greasy, rank, and damp. It was one of those pretty decorative towels that evidently never got washed.

I've since learned that having decorative towels in the kitchen is fairly common for a lot of people. Decorative towels are expensive, so folks don't have 50 or 60 tumbled in a drawer. They don't change them or wash them on a regular basis. As a result, the towels are either (a) never used, because they're so pretty; or (b) used so heavily that they get greasy, rank, and damp (and, most importantly, never washed). No wonder paper towels are so popular.

That said, we do use paper towels. A couple years ago, I noted in "The conclusion of a small experiment" that it took us 14 months (and two moves) to go through a single roll.

The reader's original question is, what do we use paper towels for? Short answer: For when we don't want to throw away the cloth. We use paper towels for absorbing bacon grease, for wiping up things that won't wash out (such as spilled paint or varnish), and occasionally for things we just don't want to deal with (notably dog vomit or other Really Messy Stuff). Literally that's all the uses I can think of.

So what's the easiest way to reduce the usage of paper towels? Simple: Remove them from the kitchen. Don't put a roll conveniently within reach. We keep our roll in the pantry, so it's a conscious decision to use it.

I suspect a lot of paper towel usage is reflexive – people just reach for them without thinking. It's simply a habit to break. Try removing the paper towels from easy reach (and make sure there are cloth substitutes at hand) and see what happens.

Hope this helps!

14 comments:

  1. What a great idea! Been buying Costco sized !! Thank you!

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  2. I too use the Costco towels for most kitchen and cleaning tasks. I use cotton flats with snap covers for diapers and flannel wipes. We also use the flannel wipes as toilet paper, no biggie for us as I have to wash diapers every other day, so they just get washed with that. My oldest and I use reusable cloth pads. We use cotton handkerchiefs to blow our noses, buy them in large packs on amazon. I do still use plastic wrap, but only because when my mom passed away she had numerous boxes of it, but I only use it when covering my rising bread dough, everything else I use glass/stainless steel containers and plastic lids. In my household we do still go through a standard size roll of paper towels every 1-3 months, although 99% of that is to clean up cat vomit from my elderly long-haired cat, but when he passes away, a roll would probably last for a year, as my other cats rarely vomit. The other 1% of useage is for when we rarely deep fry something to soak up the excess oil on the plate. For cleaning cast iron pans and oiling them, I use old cut up flat diapers or other cut up cotton clothing, when I finish with them, I either toss them in the wood cook stove, in our outside fire pit or toss it in my compost pile.

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  3. I cut up worn out old clothes into squares and use these rags for bacon grease and other messy jobs. The rags are thrown out if they are unsuitable for washing. In the winter I burn any used rags that are made out of natural fibres.
    I used cloth nappies (diapers) for all three of our children. My grandmother had five children in five years and had to do all the family washing by hand. I figured that since I had a washing machine I had nothing to complain about. I used the same three dozen nappies (diapers) for all three children, plus a few new ones for the third baby. What a contrast to the number of used disposables that three children would have gone through.
    NZ Nana

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  4. I bought dish towels and dishcloths after Christmas and for various holidays, paying anywhere from fifty cents to 33 cents for each. We don't mind fall or Christmas towels.
    We found a paper towel, Sparkle, on sale and bought one. It has perforations to tear a whole sheet in quarters. It has been in the kitchen for six months and is not half gone.
    I used wash cloths instead of toilet paper as I rarely have residue when I wipe. Since I sewed lots, I used the useless scraps for heavy duty wiping.
    This was all very easy. I no longer have sewing scraps, so I went back to tp.
    As for diapers, I had five dozen diapers for three children. These became all sorts of rags. I still have some of these somewhere.
    I did use a few disposables because by this time, we were into swim team, ball, dance, tennis. Being away from the house so much made disposable reasonable. Disposables were stored in the car, so no temptation to grab one at home.

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  5. I bought dish towels and dishcloths after Christmas and for various holidays, paying anywhere from fifty cents to 33 cents for each. We don't mind fall or Christmas towels.
    We found a paper towel, Sparkle, on sale and bought one. It has perforations to tear a whole sheet in quarters. It has been in the kitchen for six months and is not half gone.
    I used wash cloths instead of toilet paper as I rarely have residue when I wipe. Since I sewed lots, I used the useless scraps for heavy duty wiping.
    This was all very easy. I no longer have sewing scraps, so I went back to tp.
    As for diapers, I had five dozen diapers for three children. These became all sorts of rags. I still have some of these somewhere.
    I did use a few disposables because by this time, we were into swim team, ball, dance, tennis. Being away from the house so much made disposable reasonable. Disposables were stored in the car, so no temptation to grab one at home.

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    Replies
    1. The disposable diapers were only used for third baby as she was along for all their activities.

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  6. Thanks for the Costco shop rag tip - I just added them to my list for next time there (a 3-4 times/year event). I’ll take down the papertowel dispenser over the kitchen counter and sub a basket of these. That should do it!

    A side question: does your dear husband keep a supply of these in the barn/shop as well? And if so, how do you keep them separate for washing? (Or do you not even try to keep them separate? Insert squeamish look here…)

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    1. Don has some shop rags, but they're usually old (and/or cut up) bath towels, so they're different than what I use for dish towels. They're rarely washed; but when I do wash them, they're just tossed in with our regular laundry since usually they’re soiled with nothing worse than sawdust or dirt. If the towels have grease on them, we'll toss them in the burn barrel when they're too disgusting.

      - Patrice

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  7. I think non-reusable items have there place. When you're sick, there is nothing greater than paper plates & plastic utensils. Not having to wash dishes but just throw it away or even burn it in my woodstove gives me great peace of mind. I use the recycled type that I can compost. No dishes to wash when you are sick is a must.

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  8. I think this is a good idea. I'm curious what you use in place of vacuum bags and disposable razors and how well they work.

    In my experience, bagless vacuums don't contain dust well and don't pick up as much.
    Razors? Well, I have a beard but for other uses...
    Jonathan

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    1. We have a Shark bagless upright vacuum. If ever I could be accused of falling in love with a vacuum cleaner, it's my Shark. I've tried other uprights and other bagless vacuums, and nothing works better than my Shark. I'll never get another brand.

      For razors, we use the old-fashioned metal butterfly-style razors that use double-edged blades. We actually got them at an antique store for $5 each, and they'll last forever. But then, I'm not shaving a beard, and neither is Don.

      - Patrice

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  9. When I was thinking about your paper towel usage and decided to ask you this question, I was cooking bacon and drained it on paper towels. I thought that you surely used them then. Thank you for replying. I have greatly cut down on using disposables, but still use them sometimes.
    As far as decorative kitchen towels, I have a few. Most have been gifted to me, but I definitely wash them. I can’t imagine not doing that.
    When my three year old granddaughter spills something, she yells that she needs a rag. No paper towels for that girl.

    Thank you for inspiring us.

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  10. Sometimes disposables make great tools. I used to use those foldable sandwich baggies to load syringes with blended cat food for a sick old cat. Just snip the end off like for frosting and squirt into the syringe. They used to be 250 for $1, generic.
    Now I use those same baggies to make sausage or hamburger patties. Keeps your hands clean and the little baggie goes in the trash. I also use those baggies to freezw single servings of stuff in, then load a larger ziplock with whatever, then freeze the big bag of whatever it is, like chicken tenders.
    It is also good to have things like paper towels and plates on hand in case of power outages or to conserve water. So although I try not to waste disposables, I'm not against reasonable, practical uses and do keep them on hand.

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  11. Phew, an unwashed towel IS gross! We use dish towels here for drying hands, and ours are cute, but they are also washed. Every week. I would never use a paper towel to dry my hands, but I do use them for hairy and yucky situations. I use rags a lot, too.

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