This is why we stopped buying paper towels
By 965koit on September 30, 2019
On average, we were going through 5 rolls a week of paper towels. Not the cheap flimsy ones either, the THICK ones that clean everything! We had the habit of just pulling 3 or 4 towels for a job that only need one. It wasn’t until a couple weeks ago that we noticed how often we were buying the big 10 packs of double rolls. How were we using all these paper towels in a week? We realized that we are part of the problem.
Ever since moving to the Bay area we have been learning how wasteful we are. We never recycled, we would take 2 or 3 straws everytime we got fast food (which was a lot), we bought new bags every time we shopped and we were constantly using paper towels. After 3 years here we have officially lowered our carbon footprint. To be honest, we still buy new bags every time we shop. That’s something we are going to fix though, as soon as we can remember to put the bags in the car.
Everything else we have made significant progress! I bring my own plastic straw to work every day, we recycle everything we can and we have reusable water bottles. Recently we purchased a pack of 50 microfiber hand towels that we keep in a drawer in the kitchen. After 2 weeks of using them, we have only used 1 roll of paper towels. That’s 9 less rolls of paper towels that we have had to purchase and waste.
I really thought the transition would be more difficult than it was. These little towels are amazing! They work so much better than paper towels. Something that took 3 or 4 paper towels only takes one of these microfiber ones. We put them in a pile and wash them at the end of the week. Surprisingly, we only used about 15 hand towels for the whole week. There are still 35 brand new ones waiting to be used.
I know a lot of us are resistant to change, including me. Yes, there are still things I don’t see myself converting too, even though I should. However, I think we are all making progress towards eliminating waste. The Bay Area more than any other has been making changes in our daily lives. At first we are frustrated, mainly because paper straws SUCK. Also, who else hates putting their own lids on their frappachino? So annoying! But, I’m getting better.
If you have been thinking about making the switch to microfiber towels, let me just say it’s easier than you think. What other small things are you doing to conserve? Give us some tips in the comments!
