| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Bear5 |
Posted - Jan 02 2012 : 2:51:24 PM
I save a lot of money by using kitchen towels. However, I sure wash a lot because my hubby uses the kitchen towels to wipe his hands with once, then throws them into the laundry basket.
I do still use paper towels but not as much as I used to.
Marly
"It's only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth- and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up- that we will begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had." Elisabeth Kurler-Ross |
| 25 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| debtea2 |
Posted - Jan 25 2012 : 4:20:10 PM
i like using rags old flannel sheets towels tshirts ..i even cut up my hubbys old cotton undies.lol
much better..i stash them everywhere..i wash the floors with them i cut the old towels up to fit my swifter (so i don't have to buy those replacements either and the old flannel does a great job of waxing the floor with swifter too.
i too have a roll PTs but only for a mess that i don't want going in to the wash
like grease from the garage..i also keep a bucket like a diaper pail in the laudry room
put the dirty ones in and wash all together separately..with my sneakers or bath rugs..
just incase ..
blessings deborah
inch by inch we find our way
jersey farmgirl
#1330
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| Hoosiermom |
Posted - Jan 23 2012 : 11:56:21 PM
I have to agree with Jessie Mae, I must use TP! No way will I use rags...YIKES!
Beth |
| JessieMae |
Posted - Jan 23 2012 : 11:03:09 PM
Anna, I draw the line at the toilet paper thing! I'm all for being environmentally friendly and am willing to do my part, but I'm NOT willing to go back to the Dark Ages. I'll use old catalogs (like my grandparents did) before I reuse rags for that job.
Jessie Mae
Farmgirl Sisterhood #134 |
| Annab |
Posted - Jan 22 2012 : 09:03:05 AM
Not to get off the subject, but I heard on the radio where there's a tv show that's a spin off on extreme couponing. Something to the effect on extreme cheapness- or something like that..
Last episode they showed (I heard) about a home where a lady was cutting up strips of old washcloth to be used as reusable toilet paper.
Not "too different" from using cloth diapers I guess????? But in the end, 1. you have to bleach the heck out of these to get the grossness out of your washer and 2. over a year's time exactally how much water has been used in the tradeoff.
Interesting. |
| Annab |
Posted - Jan 22 2012 : 08:57:23 AM
In the summer we'll use paper plates, 'cause the kitchen is the last place I want to be when it's hot and sunny outside.
We still heat our domestic water with a water stove, so we need all the firestarter we can get to0.
In fact, all burnable paper products are burned and not thrown away.
We are out in the boonies with no neighbors and a ton of trees/woods all around. Best kind of "environmental filter" there is.
UNLIKE our closest neighbor I have posted about before who burns EVERYTHING in just an open barrel including his plastic trash bags. I hate those days.
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| Annab |
Posted - Jan 22 2012 : 08:50:23 AM
I agree for the same reasons listed as Jonni.
We have a dog in the house and sometimes come home to messes that I really don't want to see or deal with again. There have been times when a cloth rag has been tossed for the same reason -it was so bad.
We use paper towels to daub grease out of the frying pan too.
Otherwise it's cloth towels and napkins.
So we use both |
| Bear5 |
Posted - Jan 10 2012 : 4:27:58 PM
Thanks for that idea Mara. I'll give that a try. My dish rags are falling apart because I wash them so much! LOL. I'm in the process of cleaning out our attic. I've found a lot of new wash rags; old clothes I just cut up.
Marly
"It's only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth- and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up- that we will begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had." Elisabeth Kurler-Ross |
| Rosemary |
Posted - Jan 04 2012 : 4:50:52 PM
I never use paper towels if I can help it. My husband insists on them, and rarely, I'll use a few. But I have my cheapie white terry wash cloths (they come in packs of 12 for a few bucks at the Dollar Store) and big lint-free cotton bar towels (30" x 30", real thin fabric) that I much prefer. Bear5, I wonder if your husband could be trained to be less wasteful of your laundry-doing time ;-) Maybe you could have a keychain-type loop through a grommet on the towels meant for his use (like golf towels). Attach it to a handle somewhere that makes it too much of a bother to undo. Might work! |
| Bear5 |
Posted - Jan 04 2012 : 1:28:42 PM
Hey Beth: I did that today. Some of the towels have tiny trees on them, but they still do the job.
Marly
"It's only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth- and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up- that we will begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had." Elisabeth Kurler-Ross |
| Hoosiermom |
Posted - Jan 04 2012 : 1:21:09 PM
this time of year you can buy cloth napkins on Christmas clearance, last year I bought several at KMart for a little bit of nothing because they were in the Christmas section, but they aren't even Christmasy...I bought red ones & green ones. A good way to stock up for not much $$
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| Annie S |
Posted - Jan 04 2012 : 10:11:04 AM
Add my name to the list of "non-paper" users. Like so many of you I still keep a roll handy for the doggy and hubby messes that come into the house; but otherwise I'm using those terry towels you can get at Target or Pamida or the Dollar Store and using them for everyday. I also gave up using paper plates, etc. a long time ago. Such a waste of money. Got a big package of paper towels at Sam's Club last fall and still have a ton of rolls left. They'll last me through the year I bet. |
| YakLady |
Posted - Jan 03 2012 : 7:52:02 PM
We use paper plates and we turn them into fire starters for the wood stove... dual purpose *and* less dishes :)
~Natalie~ Just a farmgirl in Western Montana. http://mtnme.blogspot.com
Starting a family and raising Tibetan Yaks, Nigerian Dwarf Goats, Laying hens, Muscovy ducks, and a few dogs. |
| Catherine L |
Posted - Jan 03 2012 : 7:21:14 PM
Funny thing if I do ever by plastic Solo cups I end up washing them instead of throwing them in the trash, so what's the point.
~Cathy~
Farmgirl 2428 http://www.my-fairhaven.blogspot.com/
http://adaywithnonnaandboompa.blogspot.com/ |
| oldbittyhen |
Posted - Jan 03 2012 : 6:57:04 PM
In my house, paper towels are for cleaning up a mess that you would throw that towel away if you used a towel, other wise I use cloth towels for everything. I wash a load of them 2x a week at least, I buy white so they can be bleached if need be, and i use them till they are thread bare, and I buy towels at the thrift and cut and hem them to size, its alot cheaper, and you are saving trees...
"Knowlege is knowing that a tomato is a fruit, Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad" |
| JThomp |
Posted - Jan 03 2012 : 5:44:10 PM
I am trying to do away with paper towels too. We haven't used them since November. I do keep a roll for certain doggy mishaps though. I haven't really missed them. Thanks for sharing the unpaper-towel link Natalie! What a great idea!
FarmGirl Sister#2904
"Stories have to be told or they die, and when they die, we can't remember who we are or why we're here." The Secret Life of Bees - Sue Monk Kidd |
| FebruaryViolet |
Posted - Jan 03 2012 : 1:08:27 PM
I guess I should add that we don't use paper plates nor paper cups or styrofoam of any sort in our house, just papertowels. I just can't pick up some of the crap that comes out of our Lab's stomach with a rag, dump it in the garbage and wash it...I'd just throw the whole darn thing out and be without rags OR papertowels!
"Hey, I've got nothing to do today but smile..."
The Only Living Boy in New York, Paul Simon |
| MrsRooster |
Posted - Jan 03 2012 : 12:44:26 PM
I am trying to get rid of paper products. Rooster is giving me trouble about his travel coffee cups. He likes then. We reuse them until they aren't usable. I am not thrilled about cloth napkins, but the cost of paper is getting crazy. So I guess I will hit the outlet stores and dollar stores. LOL
www.mrsrooster.blogspot.com
www.flossesandcrosses.blogspot.com
www.morganicinstitute.blogspot.com
Farmgirl #1259
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| Hoosiermom |
Posted - Jan 03 2012 : 11:48:36 AM
I don't use paper products near like I used too. I buy paper towel much less than I used too, we use kitchen towels instead. Also, I have cut way back on paper plates, I would rather just wash the others. My husband is the one who always wants to use paper plates & he doesn't even do the dishes. lol I finally got them to break the habit of dixie cups in the bathroom; they now just use a cup from the kitchen. Paper products are getting so expensive! |
| emsmommy5 |
Posted - Jan 03 2012 : 10:32:57 AM
We switched to cloth napkins about a year ago. I still have some paper towels for things that are paper towel to garbage can appropriate. I don't know how much we've saved $$ wise, but it seems like quite a bit.
I also quit having paper plates, cups and other disposables out to grab. The few disposables I do have are in a tub on the top shelf of the pantry so I really have decide if it's "worth" it to get them down. Most of the time... it is not.
The other night, during our "Iron Chef" competition, a whole package of thin paper plates accidently got dumped into a pan of cooking oil. All I could do was shake my head and think.... yup if that had been glass... not a problem. As it was the $2.50 package went to the garbage.
Do what you love, love what you do. |
| FebruaryViolet |
Posted - Jan 03 2012 : 10:14:33 AM
I'm still a paper towel girl--I know, I know, but with 4 dogs and a cat, there are some disgusting messes that I really don't want in my washer.
"Hey, I've got nothing to do today but smile..."
The Only Living Boy in New York, Paul Simon |
| YakLady |
Posted - Jan 03 2012 : 10:08:40 AM
I'm going to make some of these to match my kitchen theme/colors :)
http://cottontailbabies.org/2011/01/unpaper-towel-tutorial/
That way, I'll know that they live in the kitchen and not lose them around the house like I tend to do with my randomly colored kitchen towels. I have help losing them, too- which in the end, doesn't help!
~Natalie~ Just a farmgirl in Western Montana. http://mtnme.blogspot.com
Starting a family and raising Tibetan Yaks, Nigerian Dwarf Goats, Laying hens, Muscovy ducks, and a few dogs. |
| Catherine L |
Posted - Jan 02 2012 : 6:08:50 PM
I use old rags for greasy messes and another type cloth for glass. No paper towels.
~Cathy~
Farmgirl 2428 http://www.my-fairhaven.blogspot.com/
http://adaywithnonnaandboompa.blogspot.com/ |
| jessabelluh |
Posted - Jan 02 2012 : 3:52:19 PM
I use towels or rags when I can, but some messes I still rely on paper towels for. My paper towel use is way less than it used to be!
~jess |
| BusyBeeMary |
Posted - Jan 02 2012 : 3:25:45 PM
Kitchen towels. save a tree. hand wash and hand dry. lots of extra work, but better for the environment.
To Live a Full life one must LOVE MANY THINGS- Vincent Van Gogh
Mary Fitzpatrick
#3232
http//www.Thepurplecrazylady.blogspot.com
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| ddmashayekhi |
Posted - Jan 02 2012 : 3:20:22 PM
I use lint free cleaning rags for the bathrooms, windows and mirrors. They last about 3+ years before they become too holey to use. I keep a roll of paper towels in the kitchen for any mess that is too icky to wipe up with a rag or kitchen towel.
I have saved quite a bit of $ over the past 5 years since I switched to the rags. I buy a bag of 10 lint free rags for around $4.
Dawn in IL |
