How much do you spend on kitchen roll?

[Deleted User]

If I need to wipe out the grill pan I use a bit of loo roll,but I guess if I bought one pack a year I would be about right.Then only if they are reduced or on special offer.:):)
I recycled an old fitted sheet by cutting the frill up into squares and hemming by hand the edges. I have about twenty/thirty reusuable lavender checked squares that I use for wiping/cleaning etc and when the bag I keep them in is running low I bung the whole lot in with a boil wash and they come up clean again I have been using these for around 18 months now and saved a fortune on 'chuck-away ' paper stuff.The middle bit that I could use of the sheet that wasn't too thin I used to line my big wooden wool box that I keep my stash of wool in.This fitted sheet cost me about £4.00 in a charity shop about 8 years ago so I'd had my wear out of it, and now its got a new lease of life as cleaning cloths.

I hate waste of any sort having been brought up with rationing and 1940s/50s austerity. Nothing like the 'austerity ' of today. By todays standards I would consider most people today have more than enough.In the days of rationing even if you had the money there were few goods available to buy anyway.
It is very true 'Waste not, want not' and nothing gets wasted in my house at all.Even my two Dds call me Frue Frugal :):)

marcosdjcm

Under £20 per year - I don't buy kitchen roll

I switched to the strange cone shaped ones at Tesco, Ora, completely recyclable packaging, really strong and only one sheet comes off at a time and you can pull it off with one hand. Very good.

Strange looking, but great product.

http://www.tesco.com/groceries/product/details/?id=276287974

Former_MSE_Andrea

£21-£50 per year - I use a mixture of the two

Bumping this up for 2017 #recycleweek which starts Monday 25 September.

Cornucopia

Under £20 per year - I don't buy kitchen roll

I've not seen anyone mention microfibre reusable cloths - they are not only better than paper towels, but also can often clear mess with just water (obviously not potentially harmful messes, which need disinfecting). So they help reduce the use of kitchen cleaning products.

They seem to come and go from Poundshops, but packs of three cheap microfibre cloths should be £1-£2, and last for years. You put them in the washing machine when they start looking dirty.

Former_MSE_Andrea

£21-£50 per year - I use a mixture of the two

Great idea Cornucopia!

Exiled_Tyke

Why is there an assumption that using kitchen roll is a bad thing? I can't say I'm an expert on the environmental affects of the stuff but surely a product which ultimately comes from wood pulp and is biodegradable is one of our lesser worries?

I use lots of the stuff for two reasons:

1. Spending time in the catering industry taught me how unhygienic cloths are. I'm still shocked by the smelly and revolting cloths are find in people's kitchens. I always use paper to wipe down and mop up.

2. Paper towel is a great way of mopping up grease. Whenever I fry I clean the pan up with paper before washing up. That way I reduce the amount of fat going into the sewage system (currently a massive problem). Also I find that these fatty towels compost nicely and seem to enrich my compost. I reckon if everyone was encouraged to use paper towel in this way it would massively benefit the environment and save costs in the water treatment industry.

Cornucopia

Under £20 per year - I don't buy kitchen roll

Exiled_Tyke wrote: »

Why is there an assumption that using kitchen roll is a bad thing?

That's a good question. I think that (a) we are not just talking about environmental impact, but also the financial cost; and (b) even though paper towels are inherently sustainable and biodegradable, there is a still a large cost in energy to their production. It's a similar argument to that for disposable nappies vs. cloth nappies.

Maybe there is a proper scientific paper somewhere that could give us an accurate analysis?

sillyvixen

Under £20 per year - I don't buy kitchen roll

I buy kitchen roll at Christmas, as I do Christmas dinner for the family. Turkey fat makes a lot of itself, as a vegetarian I don't cook meat much, but kitchen roll is needed at Christmas!! Although a double pack will last 2 years ... as long as I can find where I have hidden gbd 2nd roll!!

Anthorn

£21-£50 per year - I use a mixture of the two

wood fibre

Exiled_Tyke wrote: »

Why is there an assumption that using kitchen roll is a bad thing?

The assumption is that using paper kitchen roll means chopping down trees. Using recycled kitchen roll is an answer but doesn't fit in with the current eco philosophy to "not recycle - re-use".

Microfibre cloths are a good idea. But my problem with them is that they will collect all manner of germs and viruses and need to be disinfected or bleached regularly. Microfibre cloths are also not biodegradable as far as I know.

Personally I use Ecoegg Antibacterial Wood Fibre Cloths (£4.99p for a pack of two from Natural Collection and Amazon) which are made from wood fibre (Viscose) derived from Bamboo and can be re-used and are biodegradable. I use them in conjunction with Method Ant-bac All Purpose (£3.00p from Sainsburys and Natural Collection). I bought mine a year ago and they're still good.

I also use recycled kitchen roll for quick mop-ups which is usually any old brand I come across while shopping.