A Beginner's Guide to Breaking up With Paper Towels
Your wallet and the world will thank you.
Here's a not-so-fun fact about the United States; It’s the unrivaled paper towel capital of the world. Americans spend about as much on paper towels annually as every other country combined, even when adjusted for population.
This is a wasteful habit with substantial implications for the climate. It’s easy to forget that the production of these single-use wipes involves tons of water and lots of trees, massively contributing to deforestation and, consequently, climate change. That’s not even considering all the occupied landfill space!
Personally, this isn’t the sort of American culture I want to be exporting.
Given that the average household uses paper towels for so many different tasks, eliminating the habit can feel pretty daunting. It took me a lot of time to fully break up with paper towels, but you don’t have to quit cold turkey to have a substantial impact.
Unfortunately, there is no single magic swap or quick fix that is going to work for everyone in every situation. So I’m just going to walk through a few standard paper towel use cases and explain what’s worked for me in the hopes that it helps you puzzle out your own best system.
Level 1: Spills & Splatters
An unavoidable, daily menace and a frequent culprit of routine towel consumption. My first tip on this topic might seem obvious, but I’m going to say it anyway just in case you forgot; sponges can do what a paper towel can many times over.
Sponges aren’t without their own sustainability complications. Most, but not all, are made from what is essentially plastic that’ll never break down and release microplastics that aren’t stellar for the environment. That said, something plastic you can use repeatedly is generally still preferable to a paper something that’s designed to be used just once.
Another option that has recently grown in popularity is Swedish dishcloths (sometimes called sponge cloths). Usually made from a blend of cotton and cellulose, this alternative arrives as a stiff sheet that softens when wet and is massively absorbent. Just one can-handedly stick around for months at a time, replacing rolls on rolls of traditional paper towels.
When I first introduced a Swedish dishcloth to my routine, I was massively impressed with its durability. Beyond scrubbing prowess, they are sturdy enough to be sanitized in a washing machine or top rack of the dishwasher between major messes! What I liked less was never knowing how to store it between uses. When wet, the cloth easily drapes over the edge of the sink. When dry, it stiffens back up making a tidy storage solution difficult.
Fortunately, the power of targeted advertising eventually put Papaya Reusables in my feed. This brand makes a version of the Swedish dishcloth with one notable addition – it’s designed to hang on an included wall hook.
I took that bit of inspiration and mounted a leftover Command hook behind my sink, made a hanging hole with a punch on my existing dishcloth, and patted myself on the back for a job well done. Now I have ZERO complaints about the Swedish dishcloth experience and highly recommend it as a handy tool in your arsenal against daily spills.
Level 2: Deep Cleaning
Now, let’s talk about the extra gross messes, like when I wipe my dog’s paws after walking around the notoriously grimy streets of NYC
The solution here is almost too simple — it’s rags.
In my case, I was gifted several rolls of bamboo towels that I have been washing and reusing for years. Even more eco-friendly than that would be to cut up the old bedsheet or towel you’re about to throw away and give it a second life cleaning up your dirty human grime.
This part isn’t groundbreaking, so let me just get to the part that sorta kinda is.
Pretty quickly into my rag journey, I was faced with a dilemma not dissimilar to my Swedish dishcloth debacle. What to do with a bunch of nasty wet rags when you’re done cleaning, but not ready to do a load of laundry?
At first, I tried an unused waste bin tucked under the kitchen sink. This solution worked good but not great, since it wasn’t long until a smelly, damp biome would start forming inside.
Fortunately, a Pinterest rabbit hole delivered me this gem of an idea — use a wet bag!
For the uninitiated, a wet bag is just a bag with a waterproof lining that keeps moisture contained. Its original use is as a diaper bag staple (perfect for soiled cloth diapers and onesies), but there’s no need to gatekeep here.
In this case, I did just as iHeart Organizing recommended and mounted my wet bag to the back of the cabinet door using a pair of Command spring hooks. This makes it easy for me to fully remove the bag when it’s time to run a load of laundry. Better yet, I can toss the wet bag in with the rest of the load if need be!
Level 3: Mealtimes
The messiest moments, and the ones when grabbing a paper towel can feel most natural. Honestly, I wish I had more solid advice here, but this is where I’m currently working to improve.
If you currently use paper towels as napkins, the best thing to do is invest in a set of fabric napkins or opt for one of these cutesy UNpaper towel rolls. You will probably not loooovvveeeee the extra laundry, but trying to avoid it might just help you realize that grabbing several paper towels every time you sit down for a snack is just not necessary most of the time. It did for me, anyway
My greatest challenge remains food prep. It’s not a frequent issue, but every once in a while I need to absorb some bacon fat or pat a chicken breast dry and I find myself itching for something disposable.
For bacon and other fried foods, there is a shockingly specific invention out there — the Bacon Sponge! Basically, it’s a super absorbent cloth that soaks up grease like a champ and can be regularly laundered after a soak in some hot water with a degreaser soap. Works shockingly well, just don’t put it in the microwave!
For patting down raw meat, I stash away any paper napkins that come through with takeout orders and use those, or I just skip that step and accept an imperfect sear.
It’s not a perfect system, but we’re working on it.
Extra Credit
All of these are changes I started to implement while keeping an emergency roll of paper towels in the house. I stand by that as a sanity safety net, but would encourage you to make one teeny change before you start…
Hide the roll from sight!!!!
Don’t underestimate just how habitual your paper towel use has become. We’re all subject to an auto-pilot setting that can be tough to override in mundane and stressful situations, alike. If the solution you’ve been using for years continues to sit out on the counter where it always has, there’s a high likelihood you’ll reach for that option over your brand-new reusable without hardly realizing it, making the habit even harder to stick with.
We SOOOO needed a solution to the Swedish dishcloth problem. 🙏🏻 Papaya reusables, here I come…
Thanks for the practical tips on how to minimize the use of paper towels.