My paper towel update...

Ok, well we all knew that eliminating paper towels was wishful thinking, albeit noble thinking. So it's no surprise that I have not been successful.

If you remember from my previous post about, I cut up an old sheet to use in place of paper towels. They worked ok, but for long term use, I'd have to hem them and I just don't have time to do that.

I was thinking about alternatives when the obvious hit me right in the face. Yes, literally hit me. One of the girls tossed a dish towel onto the counter, but missed. Oops!

Dish towels seem to be the perfect replacement for paper towels. You have to have a really large stack of them, which I do, so that you have plenty available. They absorb so much better than the sheet squares and are larger to boot.

But how do I get my family to remember to pull a dish towel out of the drawer instead of a paper towel from the holder? My solution may not be aesthetically pleasing, but it's caught their attention... I simply draped about five dish towels over the paper towel holder, right? I still see the family, though, moving them out of the way to get to the paper towels. Argh.

I was putting away a stack of clean dish towels this morning when it occurred to me that only I know which are the "rags" and which are the nice "hang on the oven handle" varieties. So what to do?

Different stacks? That would never last. Constant reminding? We all know that would be a losing battle. Then what?

I finally came up with a solution: I rearranged the drawer where I keep tin foil and baggies and put about five or six "rag" towels in there. Later, I'll alert the fam to the change. I'll still leave the other towels draped over the paper towel holder for now, just as a reminder.

Yes, breaking the paper towel habit is one of the hardest green things I've tried to do yet. I *will* make it happen, though!