alternatives to paper towels?

soexcited317

I am very very slowly trying to be more eco and budget friendly. I've started making my own cleaning and laundry products, and now I'm interested in reducing paper product use. What do you use in place of paper towels? (sorry for such a beginner question, I'm trying )

soexcited317

And I don't know how I made my emoticon laugh... that was accidental...

LeeLee86

Saw some great reusable paper towels on Etsy

https://www.etsy.com/listing/171141347/eco-friendly-reusable-paper-towels?utm_source=google&utm_medium=product_listing_promoted&utm_campaign=housewares_low&gclid=CP_Lnv2S0rsCFahj7AodqmIA-g

The Trail Home

Mommypotamus has a DIY about it too.
https://www.mommypotamus.com/diy-unpaper-towels-without-a-sewing-machine/

soexcited317

Love the unpaper towel idea! Thanks:)

ArmyQM

I just use regular old towels, rags or microfiber towels in place of paper towels. I do still use paper towels on occasion for gross things like doggy messes but other than that there's nothing a regular towel can't do that a paper one can. Now, if only I can get the hubs to kick his paper towel habit too....

tcu_2003

I have a wet bag similar to this hanging off the oven door handle:

 

https://www.etsy.com/shop/GoSewEco?section_id=7235258

 

And then I have some unpaper towels (the kind without the snaps) that I use to clean up messes.  I drop them in the wet bag when they're dirty, and then just wash them when I'm doing laundry.

tcu_2003

Random question, but I thought I'd ask here.  I use unpaper towels for most things, but there are a couple of things that I can't figure out a paper towel replacement for.  One is making Chex mix - after it's all done baking, I always spread out the mix on paper towels for a bit before putting it in Tupperware.  Does anyone have a suggestion for this that doesn't involve paper towels?

pixieprincss

Cut up old t-shirts are our go-to. Here's how and what we do. If they seem to repel rather than absorb, you can boil the fabric to strip it.

As for the Chex Mix question, a large cotton tea towel should work for this. Just wash it when you're done.

tjkdlhb

tcu_2003 said:

Random question, but I thought I'd ask here.  I use unpaper towels for most things, but there are a couple of things that I can't figure out a paper towel replacement for.  One is making Chex mix - after it's all done baking, I always spread out the mix on paper towels for a bit before putting it in Tupperware.  Does anyone have a suggestion for this that doesn't involve paper towels?

I just use a clean tea towel for anything like that and wash it after.  When I am ambitious enough to make bread, I wrap it in a tea towel and store it in a large tupperware container.

Cricket81

I use the inexpensive wash cloths from target. They go on sale for a pack of 8 for $3. I use them for everything!

J&NL

I love the paper towel replacements in etsy, however I went to the cleaning section at Target and bought a few packs of the microfiber cloths. They work really well.

Worcbride

40 microfiber cloths thru QVC….I think with shipping I paid $25

Robi1

I just use cleaning cloths/rags. We bought a big box of them in all different sizes and use them for cleaning kitchen/bathroom messes, dusting, wiping down just about any surface. We've had the same box for years and they're still going strong. 

louisewc

We had a ton of receiving blankets that people gave us secondhand, and I tore up a couple dozen of them, and made them into the same size little squares.  I use some for diaper wipes, and others for kitchen and household clean-up cloths.

cmrand4

I bought a 50 cloth stack of white restaurant cloths from Costco.  They do everything at my house except clean the bacon pan and clean up vomit/poo.  I keep a stack in every closet.  Seriously, we have saved a bundle since we stopped buying so many paper towels.  I have a secret unhandy roll of paper towels that I rarely use.

kursem

we use bar mop towels for house cleaning   They are super absorbent and don't leave lint.  Afterwards i throw them in the wash and add some oxygen bleach, and stains come right out!  This has saved us a lot of money on paper towels and also makes me feel less wasteful

heatherwhite1984

i just cut up some of DH tshirts today. i wiped down/polished all wooden furniture. cleaned all picture frames and started on windows. works a lot better than paper towels since you don't get the paper residue.

squirmyandsqueaky

I've tried so hard to eliminate paper towels in my home and we keep going back to them. I get the 100% recycled unbleached c-fold towels from Costco and put the used ones in the compost so I feel a *little* bit better about it, but I'm only fooling myself. I will definitely try the unpaper towels!

TiffanyBerry

I use either regular kitchen towels or washcloths I bought for the purpose of paper towels to be used by people at the dinner table.