Frugal Kitchen Towelsby Mary Ann Romans | More from this Blogger 16 Dec 2007 10:04 AM If you have had a chance to follow my blogs, then you know that I am a big advocate of reducing paper towel waste. Not only is it frugal to do so, but it is also good for the environment. To take the place of those paper towels, we use terry cloth towels and thing terry washcloths for the kitchen. We can go through several of these towels and cloths in a day. They do everything from wipe sticky hands and faces to clean up spills and dry dishes. I like to keep a good number of the towels available. When soiled, then go into the washing machine. Having many of the towels available allows me to run a full wash load of them. I never buy kitchen towels from a housewares store or housewares department. Not only would this be extremely expensive, but the kitchen towels tend to be very flimsy. I need towels that can hold up to bleach and multiple washings. I even use some of them to mop the kitchen floor, so they have to be tough. Instead, I go to the automotive department of a store (warehouse stores are great for finds like this) and purchase white terry cloth towels. You can get a package of a dozen towels for less than $5. They really do last forever. In the seven years I have had our current set of towels, I have only had to throw away one, and that was because it was left too close to the burner and got singed. (We won't be making that mistake again for obvious reasons). I mentioned the warehouse stores. I found striped terry cloth towels there in a package of 30 towels for $9.99. it is hard to beat that sort of bargain, especially when kitchen towels and run a couple of dollars each! Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, technology in the Computing Blog, and creating a home in the Home Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here. Related Articles: Don't Fall into The Paper Towel Trap: Alternatives Don't Fall into The Paper Towel Trap: Sanitizing a Sponge Learn more about Mary Ann Romans  Mary Ann Romans is a freelance writer, wife and mother of three children. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, the kids and a 16-pound cat. Relevantfrugal tags User Comments  Debbie Vasen (1072) 19 Dec 2007 10:12 PMMary Ann -- great blog! I am just like you and rarely buy paper towels. Many of my friends comment on... without paper towels how do you clean up messes on the floor? Well, I certainly wouldn't use my hand towel on the floor -- so instead I reserve a special sponge to use just on the floor. I even keep it in a special spot under the sink. That way I never worry that the extra dirty floor germs will get on my counter, sink or dishes. Using a sponge that can be rinsed clean and even put in the dishwasher is nice for spills and saves paper towels. Sherry Holetzky (11404) 20 Dec 2007 11:08 AMGreat tip. I found this out by accident. We were going on a camping trip and stopped at an auto center for some things for the camper. I grabbed a pack of terry towels at 3 for $1.00 so I'd have some extras (knowing they'd get rough treatment "out in the wild" LOL). They were great and I went back and bought more for the house. They work well for everyday hand towels in the bathroom too...  Mary Ann Romans |
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