How to Save Money Otherwise Spent on Paper Towels
When asked by my room mate today how she could use fewer paper towels, I jumped at the chance to enlighten her. I suppose this was owing to all the pent up emotion I have from the times I have found her drying the dishes with paper towels and other like sins. I have seen her wash her hands and tear off a paper towel to dry them without a thought for the calculated cost divided by three of us room mates paying for them. I have seen her likewise rip off a piece of paper towel to clean a smudge of residue from the countertop when the dish rag was right in front of her, waiting to be used. In short, I have suffered greatly.
Everyone in this economy seems to be trying to save money in their day to day lives; I recently read an article from Real Simple magazine on how to save money in buying common items. Although the article was virtually useless in terms of practicality to me, it has given me the inspiration for this informative essay to my clueless room mate who is begging to know how to save money otherwise spent on paper towels. When in doubt, simply remember these four rules:
1. Do not use a paper towel as though it were a towel. It is not, and therefore should not be used thus. If you need to dry your hands, use one of the many colorful towels strewn about the kitchen. The fabric quality of the towel will remove all excess moisture, and the atmosphere will evaporate the liquid from the towel thereby leaving a perfectly good towel when you're finished where a crumpled paper towel might be.
2. Do not use a paper towel as if it were a mop or broom or other floor implement. They make those items already which are not only more suited to the purpose, but that don't cost us any money and don't destroy the environment.
3. Do not use a paper towel when a free or discarded item would suite the purpose better. These are called rags and this is what they were created to be.
4. Do not wet and use a paper towel in place of a dishcloth when you could, in fact, wet and use a dishcloth. Dishcloths work great for cleaning up spills such as the coffee grounds on the tabletop in the kitchen or other messy surfaces. Once the clean up has been effected, simply hold the dishcloth under the running tap and rinse the grimmies off into the sink. And, while you're at it, could you occasionally fling the crumbs into the trash can?
I hope, dear Susannah, that this has been useful and informative.
Neighborhood
Explore friends, family, friends & family, or entire neighborhood.
