Using Less Paper Towels

With the pandemic going on and wondering... Do I have enough paper towels and toilet paper? Well, I'm not ready for reusable toilet paper (Ewww), but I am open to using more reusable options for paper towels. I researched my options and found there were a lot of recommendations for reusable paper towels, mostly made of bamboo. These reusable paper towels would degrade after so many washes, and then you could compost them. While that may work for some I don't think that solution fits my family. I realized I needed a more custom solution and here is what I came up with...... (In order by frequency
of use)

FOR CLEANING:

I found these GREAT! Microfiber Cleaning Cloths from Amazon, which is the perfect replacement for a paper towel. Honestly, I love these little towels! They are small (6.1"x10.4") and absorbent, great for wiping counters or small messes. They are also amazing as kitchen dishcloths. The package came with 24 so you can use a new one every day for dishes, and as you need them for cleaning.

If you are going to start somewhere, I would start here. other than eating, paper towels are used mostly for cleaning, drying, and wiping in the kitchen.

FOR EATING:

For meals, I have switched to cloth napkins. Like at a restaurant they work great for keeping hands and faces clean. My concern was staining from sauces, and greasy foods. To help avoid this, I would go with dark colors or vibrant patterns that hide stains. 

I purchased these brightly colored Kitchen Cloth Napkins 100% Cotton napkins. They are large 20"X20" which is a good size in my opinion. The colors help hide stains and they are lightweight so they don't feel over fancy. Something you feel comfortable wiping chili off your hands with without worrying about them.

I also wanted a fancier napkin with a heavier feel. These DII Denim Napkins, 20x20, are a nice dark denim fabric like a great pair of jeans, with grommets on them like jeans also. These are great to pull out when you have guests or want to dress up the table for just your family. Both napkins wash and dry well for me. * Cleaning Tips Added at the End. But whether I get them out of the dryer right away or take them out the next day, both napkins folded up well with minimal wrinkles. I certainly don't iron them. Cleaned and folded is sufficient for me, however, if your meals are more formal they would look
lovely ironed. 

Try to have a lot of napkins on hand to reduce the need to do extra laundry. I have 12 of the striped napkins and 12 denim napkins for a family of 3. That would give us plus 1 guest 6 napkins per week. I wash at least 2 times a week so we always have clean napkins. If you wash less often you should probably have more napkins onhand. If you are handy at sewing, you could get your own fabric and hem the edges for a neat appearance. If you have small children, you could actually make their napkins from old t-shirts or cotton clothing using pinking shears to keep the edges from fraying (no sewing needed). Remember old napkins could become garage rags if they become too stained to use.

WHILE COOKING:

I don't know about yall, but I wash my hands CONSTANTLY while cooking and run through a lot of paper towels in the process. For this task, I have switched to these great Daily Chef Flour Sack Cloth from Sams Club. They are oversized measuring 30"x 38" and are a great quick-drying thin cotton. They come in a 12 pack which gives me plenty to use in the kitchen I throw these over the doorknob to the pantry or my shoulder and Whala! I have easily saved a whole tree's worth of paper towels. I also find them useful for drying dishes as well.

BIGGER CLEANING JOBS:

For bigger messes that I don't want to stain my white Flour Sack Cloth towels. I just have some large kitchen towels I use for bigger messes or cleaning. I don't even remember where I got them, but any kitchen towel will do.

STORING CLEAN TOWELS AND NAPKINS

Really, how you store your towels should match what works best for your family. Perhaps napkins placed in a basket on the table works or maybe storing them all in one place on the counter. Find out what works for you. Experiment until you find something you and your family can maintain. Having one central place for all towels including traditional paper towels works best for us. After searching Amazon for literally two days. I found this solution. The Hanging Fruit Vegetable Basket is intended to store fruit and vegetables and can be wall-mounted, but it works Amazing for sorting and storing towels on my kitchen counter.

STORING DIRTY TOWELS AND NAPKINS:

Firstly and most importantly... Don't just leave used or wet towels and napkins wherever. They may mold or start to smell if handled improperly. Have a designated place where dirty towels and napkins go.  I  got a small wire trash can from Dollar Tree. It is small and has lots of ventilation. If the towel/napkin is simply dirty not wet just drop it in the basket. If however, the item is wet, I hang it on the rim to dry, and in the morning throw it in with the rest. Whenever you are ready to do a regular load of laundry grab the container of towels to add to the wash. I don't do a separate wash just for these napkins and towels. I just throw them in with any color or white clothes I am washing. That way I'm not adding more laundry to my to-do list. 

CLEANING CLEANING CLEANING:

Ok, This was the part I was most concerned about cleaning. Nobody wants to eat on a dirty looking napkin. I collect the towels from the napkin/towel basket in the kitchen. If I notice a napkin or towel is really dirty, I put it to the side to treat it. Other than that I just throw them in with a colored load of laundry. I add OxyClean or Washing Soda to the load,  and most stains are taken care of. 

After washing and drying as I fold the napkins/towels if I notice one still has stains, I put it to the side to treat it and rewash. For towels/napkins that are put aside because of staining, before or after the laundering. These steps have worked to remove stains.  

1. I use a Zote Laundry Bar Soap bar for stain removal. You can use any bar laundry soap or a stain treater. I know Fels-Naptha Laundry Bar is also popular but I have never tried it.

2. I simply wet the area where the stain is, and just rub the soap bar back and forth over the stained areas.

3. I then throw them over the side of the tub, and the next day or days later when I do laundry again I just grab them and throw them back in the wash. 

For me, these steps have worked and even spaghetti sauce stains, mustard, and oily foods have come clean using these steps. On one particularly tough stain, I had to treat it twice to get it clean, but it eventually came out.

MY THOUGHTS:

I'm loving my new initiative, and using fewer paper towels! I went from using maybe 2 rolls a week to 1 roll every two-three weeks. That's a BIG change. I have not felt like I have way more laundry or extra work to do. I made the paper towels inconvenient to get to and labeled what each towel should be used for, which gave me more buy-in from family members. 

Now we are a well-oiled machine. Everyone knows where clean towels are, where dirty towels go, and I have a cleaning routine set. We still use paper towels for heating a sausage or oily foods in the microwave, other really icky messes, or taking food on the go, so they are not eliminated, but extremely reduced.  Well on to the next Green Living Option to try and tell yall about...

If yall have tips on further replacing paper towels please let me know in the comments.

*(I purchased all items and have no affiliation with Amazon, Walmart, Family Dollar, Sams Club, or any product manufacturer)