Paper Towels and Pet Mess

The remaining task for this month in The Weekend Homesteader (TWH) is practicing media mindfulness. I think that's a delightful idea, but I don't know that that's a discussion for a blog... seems like it would be missing the point. So, be mindful with your media... but also keep reading. Ha.

Instead, I thought I'd share a project / life-style change / experiment that we're trying out. Apparently it's a big deal right now to go paperless in the kitchen! There are lots of very excitable people with varying opinions out there, both for and against. 

Those who are for it cite research like:

• If every household in the U.S. used just one less 70-sheet roll of virgin fiber paper towels, that would save 544,000 trees each year. Change that to using three less rolls per U.S. household per year, and that would save 120,000 tons of waste and $4.1 million in landfill dumping fees. (read more here)

Those against it say that there are some jobs that you just can't replace with cloth, like microwaving bacon or cleaning up pet messes... hopefully not using the same paper towel... 

Granted, I don't think that going paperless in our kitchen is going to halt global warming in it's tracks, but it's a small step that we can take to be good stewards of what we have. Plus, we're whittling every spare cent out of our budget right now, so not buying paper towels is an attractive concept from a monetary perspective.

There are some super fancy options out there, like the snapping rolls on Etsy, or those who have an entire system color-coded by use or function (like this impressive woman). Having somewhat of a system makes sense, especially if you're cleaning bathrooms and pet mess with them. However, I also want to keep it as simple as possible.

I'm much more likely to stick with it if it's simple.

So, I had some store credit at a terrible store in town that I hate, and with nothing else there that I wanted to purchase, I decided to grab a (hugely massive) stack of microfiber cloths.

I chose microfiber because I wanted something with a little texture (since my kitchen needs regular scrubbing... like with elbow grease... lots of elbow grease...), and they can hold something crazy like seven pounds of water per square foot. I should put that to the test...

You can also clean mirrors and windows without using any cleanser, by simply moistening them, which takes another item off my shopping list. 

Apparently, however, you shouldn't put them through the dryer, since this messes with their absorbency / miracle-working tendencies. Guess we'll add them to the list of things I schlep out to the drying rack on the porch!

So, I wound up with three colors, and I'm going to use them for kitchen cloths (like for drying dishes and wiping counters), deep cleaning (re: scary bathrooms and pet messes... gross), and napkins / Ryan's crazy face. Granted, I usually have lots of other cloth (burp cloths, bibs, blankies) around for his face, but just in case... I don't want to be wiping that sweet mug with a cloth that just tooled around my bathroom.

Anyway, it seems like something that fits with the whole granola / green and crunchy / Little House / sustainability theme, so we're trying it out! 

There're still a couple rolls of paper towels tucked away in the pantry, though. You just never know.

Also, teaser: Husband is trying to craft his own beer. There's a gallon jug percolating / fermenting on the floor in the closet AS WE SPEAK. More on that later!