How do you economise on kitchen paper towel use?

lobbyludd

yep - I just don't buy it - never have.

The kids grow out of clothes quickly, and old school polo shirts etc make amazingly absorbant cloths. I have some "kitchen wipes" for real emergency situations - but I barely use them.

We eat late, so generally the kids are straight to bath and PJs after tea and I'm really quite proficient at eating without spilling now! (the kids are a disaster but kitchen towel/napkins wouldn't cut it - it's a mop job!).

other than that, too much cleaning/bleaching of cloths/surfaces etc can get rid of the normal flora and fauna of our environment that our bodies have adjusted to and in many cases are protective, and leave open niche environments for the nasties to breed without competition. Not advocating leaving spills to fester, but a cloth that is rinsed out and left to dry thoroughly before next use is fine for most things*, they don't need washing or bleaching after each use.

*not after swabbing raw chicken juices etc!

cornishchick

thriftwizard wrote: »

Newspapers just don't do the job properly any more!

i use the newspaper to contain, or sweep up the mess, to transfer it to the bin, then use the clothes to wipe down, stops the clothes getting to minging, if i dont have newspaper i use a carrier bag in the same way dog owners do, ie turned inside out over my hand then scoop.....

D&DD

I confess to being a hoarder of Plenty kitchen rolls I've tried others but always end up going back to that as I see it as false economy for us anyway to use the cheaper stuff as my lot are so messy I never pay full price for it tho ever..

A very kind oldstyler *I miss you Chocclare* sent me a wonderful knitted dishcloth which I love as well as the pattern so maybe if you knit or crochet that may be an option???
There are literally hundreds of free patterns online

thriftwizard

The mse use of newspaper is instead of buying curtains.

i use the newspaper to contain, or sweep up the mess, to transfer it to the bin

It's also good for lining bird cages, or the chicken's droppings board. I also shred it manually to use in the cats' litter tray. And I'm still attempting to work out a way to origami it to make OS plastic-free bin liners. Just glad to have found some practical uses for the Daily Telelaugh, OH's maddening "little indulgence!"

(Apologies for OT thread hijack...)

snowleopard61

I never buy it. I use:
Cheap loo roll for anything unhygienic which requires something disposable - e.g. cat-related, without being too graphic!
Cheapest J-cloths for worktops etc., and wash them on a high setting frequently (e.g. in a towel wash, not on their own, natch!).
Microfibre cloths (from Poundland) for dusting and polishing
Oldest cheap J-cloths for the bathroom and loo, and then dispose of them
For drying salads etc., a tea-towel out of the drawer.
Never deep-fry anything.

System

I rarely use kitchen roll. One roll can last me weeks if not months. I tend to use antibacterial washing up liquid and my dishcloth is changed at least once a day. Anything any messier i tend to just grab a tea towel (I can get through a few tea towels in a day).

I tend to use kitchen roll if the dogs have been sick or have an upset stomach. I wouldnt dream of using dishcloths or tea towels for that no matter how much i could boil them.

suzeesu2000

Have had a roll of kitchen towels in use for about three months now, only ever used for moping grease off fried foods like chips. For all other kitchen jobs it's so much easier to use a material cloth that you wash and reuse, I use a hot/boil wash for all tea towels and dishcloths anyway.

thriftwizard

There are literally hundreds of free patterns online

Indeed there are & some of them are huge fun! But off the top of my head, these are the simplest - will edit later when I've checked them for idiotic errors - & quickest to make. Can be done with parcel string, too, which may work out cheaper than buying dishcloth cotton.

Simple Dishcloths, about 8"/20cm sq:

Crochet - using dishcloth cotton or cotton string or similar, and 4mm hook:

Ch 33. Turn; Tr into 3rd ch from hook. Ch1, skipping ch below, Tr into next ch below. Repeat Ch1, Tr across work. Turn, ch 3 (counts as 1st Tr), *Tr into top of 2nd Tr below. Ch1* & continue Tr, Ch1 across cloth, using 2nd ch of ch3 as last Tr. Repeat rows until happy with size; 14 rows is about square. At corner, ch2 then DC right round the edge, 2DC to each stitch, using DC, ch2, DC at corners; when you get back to the first corner, you can make a hanging loop if required by ch 10, SS into original corner, 10 DC back along the ch10, SS then fasten off. Otherwise just SS into original corner ch2 & fasten off. Weave loose end back in.

Pic of example here

Knitting - using dishcloth cotton or cotton string or similar, and 4 mm needles:

Cast on 30 stitches. K30 & repeat until happy with length (Optional - SS the first stitch of each row to avoid those loose bits at the ends!) Cast off & weave end back in. These make great facecloths too; the crochet version is better as a dishcloth because it has more texture & drains & dries more quickly.

HTH!

lobbyludd

that sounds great - I've never heard of dishcloth cotton though

anguk

I bought some dishcloth cotton and made myself some lovely dishcloths but unfortunately when they get wet they have a fishy smell, I've tried washing and bleaching them but they still smell fishy when wet. It must be the cotton.

I'm another one who can't do without kitchen towel, we use it all the time. I've found cheap is a false economy because you use so much so I normally use Plenty (bought when on offer). But recently I tried Nicky Supreme when it was on offer in Tesco and it's the best kitchen towel I've used, even better than Plenty.