Unpaper Towels

I love cloth baby wipes for everything. So much that I had to buy a certain look of them to keep the use sorted. I still have a roll of emergency paper towels that is used for things really gross, under the sink. The baby wipes I use are amazing at cleaning up little messes, the ones with hemp are great at getting up the wetness. I just don't like counter top things in cooking space, so much I went to french press and did away with coffee pot and use the oven for a toaster. A stack of baby wipes would be like throwing a bunch of super tough napkins on to the pile of wetness really quickly, so I think the snapping thing would actually work pretty great. But then does that mean I have to snap them? I have bad luck with snaps going bad in the dryer.

I use unpaper towels almost exclusively for kitchen use now, only using paper towels very very occasionally. I'm not a fan of snaps on mine, but just keep a stack of towels handy and have a kitchen wetbag (with zipper so it can be closed up) hanging on the stove for easy stashing of the dirties till laundry-time.

I have an assortment of former wipes (used to be used along with cloth diapering but kids are older now) for small jobs, some heavier-duty hemp-blend (hemp terry and hemp fleece I think) cloths for spill-cleanup and wipe-downs, and some showier bamboo velour, flannel, and woven cloths with various backing materials for when I want things to show off some cute kitchen cloth options. Most are wahm-sewn and have serged edges.

I use a stack of cheap washcloths (literally like $2 or $3 per dozen from Walmart, Dollar store, etc.). I think I have about 2 dozen in regular rotation. We started this when the baby arrived for wiping her up during meal time and now use them for everything. There is no sanitary factor. She gets a clean one for each meal -basically like a cloth napkin - her meal one gets used to clean up a mess and then gets put aside for cleaning as well. They are folded up in my kitchen cabinet with the kid dishes. They take up about 1/3 of one shelf of a 24" cabinet. Everyone knows where they are (sitters, grandparents, etc.) They get hung to dry in a spot where the dirty kitchen towels go to dry before being thrown down the laundry shoot. They get washed with the kids' clothes or the towels, so there is never an extra load of laundry. When they get really stained, they get downgraded to cleaning rags. I still have a roll of paper towels on hand for huge messes or pet accidents, etc., but I'm sure I've cut down the paper towels by at least 3/4. I got bitter when I realized that paper towels can be $.50 to nearly $1 per roll for something you are throwing away on purpose and never went back.

We haven't used paper towels for a years. I buy one roll every three or four months...to have for company or the rare occasion we need it. I have a towel rack on my kitchen island we hang them on. We go through towels rather quickly, since we wash them in between almost each use. I stocked up at Costco, got a huge pack of hand towels for $12. There is a spot we store the dirty towels in our laundry room until they are ready for wash. We store extra clean towels in a kitchen drawer. I think the snaps would just get in the way, be something for my kids to fuss with and possibly scratch things...the counter top dishes. And they'd be something to fail or break later. Sounds like something just to add to the cost.

I don't know what the snaps are - I agree they might scratch. I just buy a few cloths designed for this purpose, and keep one inside the cabinet door under the sink. It opens up the counter not to have a big roll there! They are very absorbent, much more so than regular rags, and dry quickly. After a few days, I just toss the used one in the wash with everything else and use a clean one while that other one is being washed. I only have 2 or 3, and they work great. Some people use the "Sham-wow" cloth - they can be expensive but sometimes you see deals or a cheaper knock-off. In any case, they are worth the investment because you save so much on paper towels and they are so much better for the environment.

J.,
I have never seen the snap and roll style, but as others have pointed out, I can see the snaps being a problem. I made my own towels with a dispenser. I love the way they look (I put some fancy stitching on the edges), that they are very durable, and that they can be easily washed and re-used. My husband made a little wooden box with a pull space at the bottom. If you google "unpaper towels" I am sure that you will come up with a bunch of different inspirations.
Good luck,
C.

I have never used the snap variety, though I have considered it. My concern is that the snaps would scratch things (specifically the table when used to clean up spills). Obviously, if you are alert, it can be avoided, but we aren't always that aware. If you have room for a small basket, I'd suggest using UNpaper towels without the snaps, and keep them folded and stacked in your small basket.

That would defeat the purpose of PT for me. I use them all the time b/c they are much more sanitary than using a sponge or a cloth/rag.

I keep a bunch of towels in a cabinet basket. As my towels wear out, they become my rags so I am not actually "buying" rags. I am able to cut the towels to different sizes to fit different jobs around the house. We do have paper towels but I tell everyone that they need to use the rags when they spill (and that happens a LOT at my house). It is much easier to just have the rags to throw in the washer than have to run out for paper towels.

I wouldn't use them.

#1 I like the sanitary aspect of using the PT and disposing of it when done vs a wet towel or sponge harboring some sort of bacteria.

#2 If it has some sort of snap on it, I would not use it because I wouldn't want the snaps to scratch any of my furniture.

Sounds more bothersome than it's worth, especially to me. My time-$$

what are unpaper towels?