Here's the just of how our house works. We take great strides to eat local, fresh, and in season. Where we live, if we do not grow it ourself, there is always a farmers market that does some where near. We use non-toxic (and usually homemade) cleaners to take care of spills and bring our own bags to carry things home in. I grow, can, pickle and try to only eat out when I just can't be home to cook. Believe me, my husband and I do not do without great healthy food and we try to make the least impact on the environment.
So my conflicting thought about paper towel vs cloth towel. It’s all the rage to say, “I’m paper towel-less!” almost like I'm trying to keeping up with the Jones today. Or maybe I'm feeling the reverse effects of green goers around me. Which ever side you’re on, it seems crazy shouldn't I be more worried about something that would have a bigger impact of the world.
While think about this, I did alot of reading and searching. I wanted to make sure I had our facts straight, not just go out on a limb. I read others blogs and media sources about why one should try to eliminate their roll of paper towels from the countertops. In short, no one can really tell me why. In fact, 95% of the articles I read started out saying paper towels were bad and ended with some completely different environmental things. Okay so due to the lack of data available, my option is they could not get a direct handle on why paper towels are so bad.
Don’t misunderstand me, there are tons of reports on paper in general, but most focus specifically on white paper used in offices and the recycling costs to businesses, not our homes. Although many try to argue that paper is paper in any form and the numbers should still apply, it feels like arguing that because tigers have been known to kill people we must eliminate household cats because they are both felines. That's not happening in my house.
Here’s the issues I could understand in my research: Using paper towels means that factories causes pollution from their production and trucks to transport them. It has also been claimed to kill “virgin” trees and is depleting the worlds resources one roll at a time. Paper towels bring unwanted chemicals into our homes from the processes in which they are made. Paper towels don’t recycle well. (The pulp is so broken down after use they cling to other recyclables, making them impossible to sort out later.) There’s no real reason for them when you have cloth towels. (This one is my favorite ) Americans are lazy today. My ancestors lived without them for years, who need convenience, they sure didn’t!
All of those reasons sound solid, except for the last one, my parents walked 10 miles to school, doesn't mean I didn't want to hitch a ride on the school bus when I was a kid.
My husband and I used on average a roll of paper towels before the pandemic. At a cost of $2.00 a roll which would give us a yearly cost of a little over $100 a year. Instead of using paper towels I went online and ordered 100 White towels https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01JMQXHNO/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=101akb-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B01JMQXHNO&linkId=8b03e2a47ff394373ec97c6edcbf064a Washed them folded them and put them in baskets. I place one basket next to the sink in the kitchen another basket I place next to the bathroom sink. Somewhere really close I place a small wastebasket down on the floor. During the day as we wash our hands, many times during this pandemic, we dry our hands with one of those clean white towels and then we dispose of it into the small wastebasket on the floor. I wipe down surface with the towels also. When the waste baskets is full I will put them in the washing machine with soap and hot water, then Wallah reusable hand towels. I use theses towels as disinfectant wipes also. I get a ziplock bag and the white towels . I make some homemade disinfectant up, pour some on there, not too much because they don't need to be really wet, and I take theses when I go the the grocery store to the church and anywhere else life leads me during this pandemic. I have also replaced my paper napkins with cloth napkins.
There is still a roll of paper towels in my kitchen. Shocking, I know, but there are certain instances when I really do not what to use my cloth towels. Usually those reasons involve grease, fat or slimy When I cooking bacon I like to set a paper towel on the plate to get the excess fat off. Likewise, also a great help with fried foods. After frying I drain the oil into a small jar but the pan needs to be wipe out, instead of sending that grease down my drains and into the pipes. Paper towels are perfect for removing all the little bits of “stuff” left in the bottom of your pan after cooking something tasty! The last reason I have a roll on hand is because we have 3 dogs and 5 cats. I could use a cloth to pick up slimy yucke messes, but it just doesn’t stick and I end up involuntary gagging!
I do feel like I have made a positive change in my house converting us to cloth, saving money, saving chemical exposure, saving trees and saving the environment. Though we do have a roll still standing on the countertop, we are most likely to use my cloth towels over the paper. What is your take on Paper Vs Cloth? Would love to hear your view on this mater.
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