I've thought about getting rid of paper towels for a while. We use so many of them, I would like to spend less money on them, and I would like to be a little greener. A few weeks ago I decided to actually take the plunge.
One thing that has held me back has been the upfront cost of investing in napkins and rags. I don't have a sewing machine and wasn't going to make my own. I looked around for napkins at Target and Pier One, but I was not spending $5 a napkin.
One day at Costco, in the stuff to wash your car aisle, was a 50 pack of white rough terrycloth rags for $19. Aha! I bought these, put them in a basket in the kitchen, and informed the family that we are no longer using paper towels. This was actually a really easy switch, to be honest. Everyone started using the rags for napkins for eating at the table, cleaning up messes, drying their hands, etc.
After a few weeks, the rags were looking a bit dingy and stained. They were washed and clean, but not the prettiest items, especially for eating at the table with company. One day I remembered that I had a gift certificate to Pier One that I had been saving for something fun. I hopped on the website to see if there were any clearance napkins, and behold, the clearance napkins were $1.98. Ok, that's better than $5 a napkin. I hied myself off to my local Pier One, where the clearance napkins were actually 98 CENTS per napkin. So I bought fifty of them. Probably a bit too many, but Princess and I enjoyed picking them out, and we now have a full week worth of napkins plus we put a few aside for when company comes.
I keep them in a lower cabinet in the kitchen, where the kids can easily reach them. I haven't found it yet, but there will be a a nice basket next to the sink, so it is obvious to people who don't live here that "here, these are the cloths you may use to dry your hands." The laundry room is on the other end of the kitchen/family room, so when we are finished with the napkins or rags we just walk over to the garage door and throw them into a basket right inside the door. We use them quite a bit, so I run a load of rags in the wash about every three days or so.
This was a very easy switch. I should have done this a while ago. Next up, I need to break my dependence on wet wipes (so easy! so useful! perfect cleaning tool! can be used in any situation!).
One thing that has held me back has been the upfront cost of investing in napkins and rags. I don't have a sewing machine and wasn't going to make my own. I looked around for napkins at Target and Pier One, but I was not spending $5 a napkin.
One day at Costco, in the stuff to wash your car aisle, was a 50 pack of white rough terrycloth rags for $19. Aha! I bought these, put them in a basket in the kitchen, and informed the family that we are no longer using paper towels. This was actually a really easy switch, to be honest. Everyone started using the rags for napkins for eating at the table, cleaning up messes, drying their hands, etc.
After a few weeks, the rags were looking a bit dingy and stained. They were washed and clean, but not the prettiest items, especially for eating at the table with company. One day I remembered that I had a gift certificate to Pier One that I had been saving for something fun. I hopped on the website to see if there were any clearance napkins, and behold, the clearance napkins were $1.98. Ok, that's better than $5 a napkin. I hied myself off to my local Pier One, where the clearance napkins were actually 98 CENTS per napkin. So I bought fifty of them. Probably a bit too many, but Princess and I enjoyed picking them out, and we now have a full week worth of napkins plus we put a few aside for when company comes.
I keep them in a lower cabinet in the kitchen, where the kids can easily reach them. I haven't found it yet, but there will be a a nice basket next to the sink, so it is obvious to people who don't live here that "here, these are the cloths you may use to dry your hands." The laundry room is on the other end of the kitchen/family room, so when we are finished with the napkins or rags we just walk over to the garage door and throw them into a basket right inside the door. We use them quite a bit, so I run a load of rags in the wash about every three days or so.
This was a very easy switch. I should have done this a while ago. Next up, I need to break my dependence on wet wipes (so easy! so useful! perfect cleaning tool! can be used in any situation!).
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