I just realized something recently. Yup, you guessed right. We use a lot of paper towels. We buy them in bulk at Costco, so maybe we feel like we have them in abundance. I thought we opened one roll just the other day, butI was opening another one today... And we only have one more roll left...
You know the big rolls from Costco. It is big and thick. It seems like it'll last for quite a while. But we were going through them like crazy. So, I thought about how we can cut down on our usage.
- Cut the sheets in half, if you don't need to use the whole big sheet, like wiping a small spill, wiping food off of your baby/toddler, and cleaning a small spot.
- This one was the big one for me: I was using paper towels to wipe my daughter's hands, mouth, clothes, tables, chairs, ... well, everything! The other day, I was just going through her closet, and I realized that we have many many burp cloths that we no longer use.
- So...
- If you have burp cloths and small, thin, but soft wash cloths you used when your toddlers were babies, all tucked into a corner of the closets or dressers, you can use them to wipe most of your toddlers/preschoolers' food and drink messes.
- Good thing is, since you have those cloths in abundance, you can just throw them in the hamper (or washer, if it's wet) after each meal. Of course, I rinse the cloths before putting them in the hamper or washer, or at least shake them over the trash can to remove the loose food waste.
- Prepare separate towels for counter tops, shelves, and floors. For cleaning shelves and floors, you can use old hand towels. My parents still do this, and I used to do this as well. I just stopped doing this as my life got busier, because it's easier to just throw away paper towels after each use, than rinsing and cleaning the towels...
I'm sure some of you are already doing something like this, but I hope this gave some of you some ideas.
