Cut out using paper towels in your household?

I use them all the time, but I am considering cutting them right out. I use kitchen towels a lot too, so I am beginning to think, I could just transition into towels all the time. Some may argue washing the towels would be as much as paper towels, or that they get paper towels for so cheap that it's not an issue.

In our household, we use tons and tons, so it's a definite maybe.

Sara

Nope, not at this point anyway. I joked with my younger dd today and told her that we're going to call her "Spilly". I am constantly wiping up after her!

Not only do I use paper towels, but I insist on using Bounty the others don't absorb as much IMO.

I usually end up switching between the paper towels and the napkins.

It's a toss up here, but IF I can get them CHEAP enough and all, I'll use them. Otherwise, I can just use the napkins and get the same effect.

As for the cost factor, it would take a LOT of towels and soap to equal the cost of the paper towels since you do towels anyway.

Others, like Chelle w/kids, can't really do without the paper towels for right now.

Thanks for an interesting thought, though. I'm going to pose that question to the other half as I need to buy more paper towels for use here. LOL

Hi guys!! I'm new here, but I would like to give my point of view on the paper towels issue. I usually only use one roll of paper towels a month, and I buy them on sale and I never buy the name brands. I use towels and dish cloths for spills on counters and a mop for floor spills. I mostly use paper towels to cover food in the microwave, under a package of thawing meat in the fridge, and to drain anything that I fry (which is once in a blue moon) Also, using less paper towels benefits our enviroment, we use up less natural recources (trees and water), and less landfill space. So, thats my argument on paper towels.

We have cut back in our use of paper towels. I simply refused to buy them.

Hi Ann Austin, We replaced our paper towels with brown paper bags. I put the fried chicken, sausage or fries in the bag and it does an excellent job of absorbing the grease.

I used to NEVER use paper towels. I would buy a 12 pack on sale with coupons for next to nothing and they would last forever. However, we are in the process of selling our house and I am constantly Windexing the counters and appliances and the windows (to get the doggie nose marks off of them). So, at this juncture, NO! However, once we are in the new house, I'm back to my old paper towel ways.

Someone had posted that if you had kids, you had to use them. Well dont tell my kids that LOL We have 3 kids and we dont hardly ever use paper towels. I took some old towels that had a few unsightly holes in them and cut them up for spills, wiping hands etc with. As for cleaning, I use newspaper to clean with windex.I buy paper towels on sale with a coupon only. And most of the time its to make my homemade baby wipes with them.
~Michele~

I don't know if I could elimanate them completely, but I have defintely cut my usage down a lot. Used to I would use a roll in a half of a week's time or at the most a week's time. The last time I bought paper towels was about 4 weeks ago and the first roll ran out yesterday! And, get this, I haven't replaced it with a new one yet.

I have not used paper towels in years. I use rags to wipe up spills off the floor or counter tops and I use napkins to wipe little faces. I also made a lot of dish clothes with flannel that were too small to make anything else, that I had left over from making pj's for the kids.

I find it more environmental friendly.

I very rarely buy paper towels. I have always used old rags, that I cut up and save under the sink in a box, for spills, and this for the same reason as CJ. :)

I rarely use paper towels. We use dish towels for all spills. I have lots to spare so I never run out.

I have also really cut way back on the paper towels. I am trying hard to stop buying them!!!!!!

Well, for me paper towels were gettin so expensive. I had coupons for scotties tissue boxes 3 for 1.00. I keep a box in the kitchen and use them to wipe up little spills like coffee and stuff like that. A box of tissue lasts so long!!! And I bought lots for this. I still use paper towels for cleaning windows and some stuff.

We are trying hard here to be more earth friendly so we cut out the paper towels about 6 months ago. I also sewed up cloth wipies and I am working the diapers now.

my dh would be lost without paper towels, so no I can't cut them out.

he uses them to cook his bacon, reheat his pizza,put his pizza on it,uses it to put his greasy food on it, for his guitar work, etc.

Me, I can usually get by using washcloths, I can't think off hand what I 'have' to use papertowels with. But I do know I would at least need paper napkins still :D

We have to pay 1.75 per load of wash, so I try to not make much laundry.

Don't use a lot here. I'm still working on some I got 2-3 years ago at an after Chrismas sale. Reindeer in July.:D

Before I had Toby, a roll of paper towels would last me a year or 2! Then I started buying them by the case at Sam's. I still have about 4 rolls left so it doesn't look like I will be buying them for a very looooong time.

I use rags etc.. to clean up spills too. I also have some lint free dishtowels that are old and holey, they work great on cleaning windows.

Well, we use the heck out of paper towels. I have 5 kids that are 7 and under and there is constantly something to clean. I can't even keep my dish rags clean long enough to get thru the whole day. I could probably buy some more rags or make some to help that problem but I do so much laundry now that I guess I will keep my paper towels as a little luxury. I buy the walmart brand and they clean just as good as bounty. Maybe when they are older I will cut them out. They aren't a huge expense for us because I make us go thru all the rags first before we do the paper towels everyday. Amy

We don't use many paper towels here, only when we fry something that needs to be drained. We use mostly cloth kitchen towels. BUT I am working on the transition from paper napkins (the cheap kind is all we ever use here) to cloth napkins. Just can't completely give those up.

I have one roll of paper towels that we have been "using" for 6 months now. :) We use them very rarely. Most of the time we'll use old rags or washcloths for just about everything. We also use cloth napkins. I'll buy about 1 large package of napkins a year and most of those go into the picnic box in the van.:)

kitchen towels for spills. I have a ton of towels so I consider it a savings to use them instead of buying paper towels. A friend of mine sent me a Kitchen Towel club letter a while ago and I just got another one in the mail the other day. If anyone is interested, what you do is buy 1 kitchen towel and send it to the first person on the list, then you move the 2nd person to the first spot and put your name in the second position. Each person sends the letter to 6 people and in the end, you receive 36 kitchen towels for the price of one. Actually, I've done this 3 times, this next time will by my 4th, so I have lots of towels!! If anyone is interested in this, let me know and I can send you the letter if you want.

Enjoy the day!!

Gina

DH uses more of them than I do! I use one or two a week; he has to have one every morning to make his lunch on (?). Go figure...what did people make lunches on BEFORE they invented these, bright boy? We use rags for cleaning and cloth napkins. I HATE paper napkins. You need so darned many of them and they stick to your fingers or disintegrate at just the wrong moment!

Okay, let me first say that I can't believe how old my first response was! With dd, we use paper towels all the time, but I have been looking over the past few months at ways to cut them out. Just seems like a waste of money, but one that I, so far, can't live without!

We don't use that many paper towels with just the 2 of us anyway. I have to admit I almost always try and find the Bounty with the cat's on them...lol.

A roll of paper towels can last me a few weeks & I mainly use them to cover foods in the microwave or when I fry foods {rare occasions} so I have cut back on using them & I do't use name brands unless on sale.

Yes Paper Towels are not used in our home .
On Rare Occasion we will buy Paper Napkins.
Other than that we use cloth Napkins, Cloth Kitchen Towels, and Cloth Kitchen Dish Rags.

We have puppies. I buy Bounty. Nuff said.

I have cut down on paper towels and try to use rags instead but I have a long way to go!!!!!

For some reason, no i don't think i could do without paper towels, I always buy them on sale or with a coupon, lots of times at FRED'S double coupon Saturdays --I proably use too many paper towels, but it is a habit that would be hard to break.. :lol: