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Reduce your Paper Towel Footprint

Reducing your paper towel waste is unbelievably easy.  So easy that it’s a little hard for me to understand why so many people still use paper towels in excess.

 

  1. Either shell out a few extra pennies for the rolls with sheets that are perforated in smaller sizes, or rip the sheets in half before using.  A normal sheet of paper towel is way too big for most uses.
  2. Hang a cloth towel next to the kitchen sink for hand drying.  There’s no reason for people to be drying their hands with paper towels.  If you get queasy about the thought of sharing your hand towel with another kitchen towel, designate one hook that is only for hand drying and make sure everyone in your household knows this.
  3. And the easiest and most fruitful step?  Hide your paper towels.  That’s right.  Get rid of that fancy dispenser and stick your roll in the cupboard.  If it’s out of sight, you’re much more likely to reach for a cloth towel than a paper towel.  Eventually, you’ll only pull out the paper towels for really disgusting messes like animal accidents or bacon grease.

 

Here’s an interesting article about a cook who not only doesn’t own his own washer, but also hates the thought of throwing a wet cloth in a bin for it to mold until laundry day.  He’s got some great solutions, including a recommendation for micro-fiber cloths

If you’ve got the space and also don’t like the idea of throwing a wet cloth in a hamper, check out this lovely invention.

Still unconvinced?  Try it for a month.  Just a month and you'll see how much less trash you take out.  But make sure you give yourself a whole month.  If you only try it for a week, you may find yourself more discouraged than encouraged.  Adjusting to lifestyle changes takes time.   

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