[Valorie]

Paper towels are getting to hurt my budget but I truly depend on them in the kitchen. I have a husband with Dementia and a 20 year old grandson who lives with me (due to the recent death of my Daughter In Love) and her little Maltese dog Rosie. Everyone uses the kitchen and I’m doing something wrong with regard to paper towels. Cost of everything has gone up but I need to regulate or get rid of them altogether.

Do you have any suggestions on how to save on paper towels or do you use something else?

Thank you

[Maundi]

I can’t imagine where I’d need to use so many paper towels that it affects my budget. I’ve got a total of about 14 kitchen towels so I use a different one daily for cooking, one for drying hands etc. As long as they’re clean, I’m not worried about cross contamination. I look at it more from an environmental thing instead of a budget issue.

I don’t like a lot of waste so I always use reusable so it doesn’t end up in the landfill.

[Nick]

I use these for everything but the really gross stuff like gobs of grease or cleaning up after pets. They work better than a paper towel and if they get stained I plan to just bleach them and throw them back in the laundry.

I just add them to loads I’m already doing so no real extra expense.

[Karen]

I use cut up old tshirts and just put them in with the laundry- haven’t bought paper towel for years now and can’t say I miss it.

[Mugsy]

I try getting out a tea towel. I have a whole bag full. I am constantly washing my hands. And within 10 minutes of using the tea towel I have 5 or 6 paper towels lined up beside it. I can’t stand wet towels. They just drive me to distraction. I have tried other paper towels but nothing I like as well as Bounty. But to be the odd man out I hate the select a size.

I need a whole sheet every time. I deserve a whole sheet. My husband likes the half sheets and he can have all of them he wants.

Like everything else something has to give with the prices of things.

[Patty]

I only use paper towels for nasty jobs like when the cat has coughed up a hairball. Let’s say I broke an egg on the floor, I’m using a rag. Rinse it out and into the wash. I use very very few paper towels.

[Cathy]

Buy good old fashioned kitchen towels like everyone used to use before paper towels were a thing. Keep a basket on the counter. For gross messes, keep a bag of rags under the sink.

[Michelle]

I cut up all of my old flannel sheets and towels that were getting thin and had holes in them. We rarely use paper towels anymore

[Jenny]

I buy Bounty select a size (6 triple rolls) at Walmart for $17. They last me about a month and a half. I mainly use them for cleaning up after kitchen messes, my dog, or something I’d rather not use a towel for, such as cleaning my bathroom.

I do use kitchen towels (one for drying dishes, and one for drying my hands). This works well for me.

Proposed: How to calculate the best price for toilet paper and paper towels?

[Christine]

It depends on why you are using so many. I have kitchen towels that I use to dry my hands or dishes with. I clean my countertops and stovetop with a sponge (separate from my dish one) when my dish sponge is old I use it to clean the countertop and stovetop. I use the cleaning disinfectant wipes on occasion also.

My paper towels are also the ones that tear in half, so it is like only using 1/2 a sheet of paper towel.

I buy them at BJ’S and only when they have the $2 off coupon.

They are store brand not name brand.

[Jennifer]

I use bamboo reusable paper towels (off Amazon) as well as Swedish dishcloths. All can be put in the washing machine or dishwasher to sanitize after using for awhile.

[Bea]

I use shop towels. They are large, thin and very absorbent. You get 25 in a pack for $12 (at harbor freight) Plus they’re red so they match my kitchen.

[Arlene]

Aldi paper towels are good and a little cheaper than bounty. I like the select a size . Don’t need a whole wheat every time . I think it is worth the money . I also use those blue wiping cloths from the dollar tree.

[Susan]

We have a stack of cheap kitchen towels and we use them and wash them. We don’t use them to clean up grease or yuck. Just regular stuff, drying hands etc.

So, we throw them in the regular wash. It cut our usage when we couldn’t get paper towels during covid. And now we have them.

[Tammy]

I use wash rags- get the variety pack at Walmart. I go thru at least 2 a day then just throw them directly in the washing machine or if they are wet-I hag them on the machine door to dry. I still use paper towels but not as many as 5 yrs ago!

[Jennifer]

I try to use dish towels as much as possible but if I want a pristine surface or need to clean up something that is greasy or will stain it’s paper towels. I have a problem with stained dish towels for some reason.

[Karen]

I use the paper towels in the 15 pack from Sam’s Club. I just re-ordered. The last time I ordered was June 15 of last year and I still have three rolls left, so such a pack lasts me more than a year.

I use dish towels for almost everything cleaning in the kitchen and use paper towels for greasy and extra dirty icky messes. I can’t imagine feeling that paper towel is ruining my budget, unless I was using it for everything that I use dish towels for.

[Teresa]

I go through 3 rolls a year for stuff like dropped raw egg for everything else I use knitted cotton cloths, wash up like old rags.

[Deborah]

I cut up old towels and zig zagged the edges so they don’t fray. I fold them and keep them in a basket by the sink. I use them to mop up spills, etc. I keep a terry hand towel in the kitchen for drying hands…as opposed to a regular tea towel to dry dishes.

Everything including dish clothes and kitchen towels, goes in one load of laundry each week with bleach. Works great.

I use paper towels only for draining bacon or something greasy.

[Megan]

We bought a bunch of shop towels from the hardware store. We maybe spent $14 and have 100+ of them.
I save napkins from restaurants for when we need napkins for something and have some paper bags that I use for things like bacon grease.

I will say though, that if using paper towels is a part of your husband’s routine, I would keep them for him. Changes in routine can be really difficult for those with dementia.

[Jackie]

I would put a cloth towel somewhere handy for hand drying and keep the paper towels under the sink. They would then have to make an effort to get them.

[Elizabeth]

I got through all my life without using paper towels.

Just like my mother and grandmother did. We use various cleaning cloths that were regularly laundered for continued use. We use cloth tea towels to dry our hand washed dishes. Newspaper or a reusable chamois was used for mirrors and windows and polishing chrome.

These days paper towels have a place in cleanup of pet mishaps and for draining oily foods. One roll should last you a year or longer.

[Author]

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