Friday, January 22, 2010

The BIG MOPPER Debate

When Irv and I went grocery shopping last Sunday, we got into a discussion about....of all things....paper towels!

Irv is a BIG fan of paper towels. He uses them like we own stock in the darn things. I understand that they are nice for certain things, but we DO NOT need to use TWO rolls of paper towels each and every week. That's EIGHT rolls a month. Not only is that a waste of resources, it clutters the landfill and it's a waste of MONEY....and you all know I am all about saving money right now!

Well, on Sunday, Irv won and we ended up with TWO BIG FAT ROLLS OF BIG MOPPER PAPER TOWELS IN OUR CART!

When we were putting the groceries away, I decided to be kind of "cute" (as in funny) and make a point at the same time....so I hid one of the rolls of paper towels. I was determined to get through the week using ONE roll of paper towels and my goal is to eventually use NO rolls and replace them with inexpensive bar towels that can be washed and reused.

Today is Saturday and we are still on the first roll! He doesn't even know the second roll isn't in the cabinet! I guess we won't have to buy any this week! Chee Hoo!

Do you use paper towels? How many rolls do you go through a week....and be honest now.

15 comments:

Matty said...

It's funny that you mention this. I like to use paper towels to dry my hands after washing them. I guess it's the "idea" that using a hand towel that has been re-used so many times by many family members to dry my hands is just plain dirty and germy. My thinking is that why use a dirty hand towel to dry my clean hands. I buy them in bulk so they don't cost as much, and in case you didn't know, the inner cardboard roll is recyclable. That's right, you can put it in your recyclable bin.

Sherry said...

I don't like the idea of paper towels either, but we are down to 2 rolls a month. I figure if we wash our hands really well, the towel by the sink is pretty germ free. And, I wash them a lt!

Good job in cutting down.

xoSherry

Cathryn said...

Did we marry the same man??? My husband uses paper towels like crazy. I like the bar towels because they wash easily. I don't need them lily-white---just clean.

No hiding the 8-packs he buys either.

I'm trying to move us over to cloth napkins but he thinks they are "expensive."

Ms Sparrow said...

I've had the same roll of paper towels for months. I use bar towels all the time. If that's not appropriate, I use white paper napkins in the microwave--they're smaller and less wasteful. I now make a point of seeking out paper proucts made from recycled paper.
I read they use old-growth trees to make soft paper products and that really sticks in my craw!

Mary Richmond said...

we use sponges, rags and mops with only an occasional paper towel so our paper towel roll lasts for months. i probably buy half a dozen a year, if that...

DUTA said...

I use paper towels, also the washable kind. I find them more efficient and more hyginique than the fabric ones.

However, I buy them in a special shop which imports good quality(from Italy) and sells it for a lower price than it is sold in supermarkets or at regular grocery shop.

Amy@TheLemonCottage said...

So funny!
My hubs uses paper towels for everything. Makes me crazy.
~Amy

Lanyardlady said...

We use about a roll a month. We use cheap cleaning towels from Wally World for cleaning furniture, windshields, countertops, etc. We watch for them on BOGO sales too!

Nancy/BLissed-Out Grandma said...

Ha! I like cloth for my hands and for easy cleanups, paper for nasty messes. My hubby does the opposite. I've been feeling guilty about all the paper towels I use on the cat's bowl since we had to change to canned food and feed small amounts several times a day, so I've been tearing each paper towel in half. No idea how many we actually use, though.

TERI REES WANG said...

I think we are at one roll for every two weeks?

I only use cloth napkins and dish towels but, I am the only one.

In Cali we are always in a water shortage crisis, so there in lies the dilemma. Waste water washing or waste paper drying?

I keep a tall stack of white bar/car mop towels at the kitchen sink. One to dry dishes, take another to dry hands, take the other back to wipe down the counter.
Take a fresh one throughout the day.

It all comes down to habit.

All my in-laws refuse to use anything other than a paper towel for anything, even for their nose!

Then I realized my sweet hippie uncle used the dish towel to wipe off in avocado covered hands...with out washing them first!...crazy, I was the first to follow, and then I understood why everyone else chose paper over cloth.

Our recycle bin is bigger than our trash bin. Folks ask which is which, even though it's labeled, and I still spy them dropping their plastic bottles and newspapers in with the regular trash. I end up dumpster diving in my very own kitchen. Wild Country Safari with the windows rolled down.

And..I cut the paper towels in half and quarter at the breakfast table.

Kittie Howard said...

I refuse to buy paper towels or paper plates or plastic utensils. To me, it's just throwing money away...and bad for the environment.

Angela said...

No, we do not use paper towels. I am a dish towel girl. We do use paper napkins...but one pack lasts us a very long time...we use one each when we eat dinner.

I am proud of you for sticking with the money saving!

Baroness Bijoutery said...

My husband is BIG on Paper towels too...I can't get him to understand that he can use the hand towel in the kitchen to dry his hands...I only buy the 10 for 10 ones at the store..they are not big rolls...And I only buy one a week, I'm cheap...I have two towels hanging in the kitchen, one for hands and one for dishes..the only thing I use paper towels for is to drain bacon....

Anonymous said...

We go through maybe 2 rolls a year--I took the roll off the wall and hung a towel in it's place. I keep the roll of paper towels under the sink for when we make bacon and for the occasional mess. THey're inconvenient to grab when the towel on the hook is easy to grab so we've adapted!

Oklahoma Granny said...

We do use paper towels but we only go through a roll about every 2 weeks or so. I must admit though that I think we pay a little more for the rolls because we use the Bounty ones that are perforated so that you can tear off half-size pieces. If you need a whole piece tear off 2, otherwise use 1. I do think it saves $ in the long run - at least for us.

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