It’s no secret that green cleaning products have gone mainstream—even my local Target store sells Seventh Generation-brand sprays and detergents. Although I’ve gradually phased out Dawn dish soap, 409 kitchen spray and other old standbys in favor of greener alternatives, I’ve found that there’s one cleaning product I can’t seem to pass up: paper towels. They make wiping down bathroom and kitchen surfaces so simple—and sanitary.
But recently, I thought about how many paper towels I throw away (my husband and I easily go through a roll a week), and decided to investigate more eco-conscious and budget-friendly products.
Machine-washable microfiber cloths might do the trick. Method makes cloths ($5 each) specifically for glass, wood, granite and stainless steel surfaces, so I could use one for each task. Or I could simply use old dish towels or rags, as Co-op
I’m willing to give some of these paper alternatives a try—at least for certain tasks. But I can’t say that I’ll quit buying paper towels cold turkey. Using a cloth towel to wipe down a kitchen counter after cooking poultry seems unsanitary (what do you do with the towel before washing it?). For that, I’ll probably stick with paper.
3 comments:
I know the goal is to become paper towel free...But I am not there yet.
An interim step that I have used to reduce our use of paper towels by nearly 80% is this: stow the roll out of sight, underneath the sink. Since tucking the paper towels away I am usually able to grab a cloth towel for kitchen and counter jobs before tearing yet another paper towel off of the roll...Just a thought.
I use one large paper towel roll every 2 months. I still use paper towels for cleaning mirrors and the toilet. But I use rags - I buy cheap face towels at Target or Kmart - as much as I can. The face towels come in many colors and I use each color for one purpose. Yellow is for the kitchen counters, green is for the bathroom, blue is for the kitchen floor, etc... It seems a bit more sanitary or so I tell myself.
Great idea, Mary Hope! Thanks for sharing. I think I'll try doing something similar.
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