Individual Sustainability
I’ve been interested in turning the corner and becoming a more sustainable person. I mean, it’s the right thing to do. I don’t plan to go crazy with it, but I know there are several things I could do to live a lot more sustainably, and these are little things that would make a huge impact. I’d feel a lot better. So, I’m compiling lists. I’m walking into different rooms of our house, looking at the items that are there and asking myself if I really need them. Or, if I run out of one particular thing, do I really have to replace or restock it? I know the answer to a lot of these questions is a simple “no.”
One thing that I noticed about myself is the habit I have to use paper towels for almost everything in the kitchen. I don’t mean to say that I grab a new one for every little thing. I get one in the morning to have under my coffee cup and spoon and a lot of times that one gets used to clean up different little spills or to wipe something off. Still, for a household of two, it seems like we go through a lot of paper towels. I think this is a great place to start carving away at developing better habits.
The funny thing is that my daughter found a good solution before I even got the chance to start looking !. She moved into a new house recently and when she started unpacking, she asked herself a lot of the same questions I add above. I think this was also spurred by her realization at how much it actually costs to stock a household on her own. Whatever the case, she logged started Googling and came up with a neat solution.
Reusable paper towels.
I was a little put off by the thought of reusing a paper towel, to be honest. I didn’t understand how one could possibly do this without the towel falling apart, the towel being full of residual gunk, or just being made of some different kind of material.
And that last one is the answer. Reusable paper towels are not made of paper.
They are made of a variety of textiles, ranging from bamboo to flannel. I have found quite a few brands available. They range in price, too. These little fabric squares can be quite expensive. But I feel it’s worth it.
Of course, I was worried about getting them clean after a use, and then more worried about keeping that way in order to truly reuse them. I found three recommendations for cleaning them. First is to simply toss them in the washing machine. Second, they can be put in the dishwasher with the dishes. The third recommendation was to hand wash them in the sink and hang them to dry.
My plan is to purchase the three top rated brands. At the same time, I will make sure to try out different materials. Once I start using them, I’ll clean them in the three ways I listed above and find which works best, and why.
Full report pending! In the meantime, here are a few of the brands I’m interested in.
Marley’s Monsters Unpaper Towels https://www.marleysmonsters.com/products/24-unpaper-towels-you-choose-prints
REusable Paper Towels Gift Ser
https://www.amazon.com/REusable-Homeostasis-Friendly-Washable-Paperless/dp/B09B3P7RZ2
Bamboo Reusable Paper Towels from ECOLifeStyle
https://www.amazon.com/Reusable-Unpaper-Friendly-Products-Sustainable/dp/B07TF9RWM5
I’ll let you know how it goes!