Life Without Paper Towels

In my quest to green our household, one of the first things I wanted to do was dramatically reduce how many paper towels we use. I love recycled paper towels for certain jobs but what I really wanted to do was stretch one roll of paper towels over many, many weeks. Now that we're in the habit, we ran out of paper towels three weeks ago and haven't missed them.

One of the things that made the transition really easy can be bought for cheap in any restaurant supply store. Lint-free bar towels are workhorses for the whole house. There's a reason you see them in every restaurant across the country -- they do everything! They're absorbent, dry quickly, don't leave lint behind and wash up really well. They're great for cleaning the house, and I also like to leave a fresh one out by the sink to dry our hands after washing.

I love them so much that I also bought another pack to use as napkins at casual dinners and gatherings. They're perfectly lap-sized and guests don't have to worry about mussing them up. The herringbone stripe in the middle comes in a few different colors (blue, green, gold, red) and I think they lend a simple, rustic look to dinner whites.

A Google search will get you an online supplier in a matter of seconds, but if you can support a local restaurant supply business, you'll save on shipping and get them even cheaper. I bet you'll pick up a ton of fun, durable kitchen goodies you didn't know you needed while you're there. I can't be controlled in a restaurant supply store!