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!

Source: http://www.rural-revolution.com/2025/01/give-up-those-paper-towels.html