photo via rachel saldaña (aka buttons magee)... I am completely in love with her gorgeous workSo often I make a commitment on this blog or ask you to share in new challenges that I thought it only appropriate to do a little "progress check" here and there. In the coming weeks, I'll do update posts on our new year's resolutions and life post-spending hiatus, but I’m starting by revisiting April's Earth Day challenge to do "just one thing", as this was something I was incredibly nervous about actually sticking to.
So I’m especially happy to report that it's six weeks post Earth Day, and I haven’t purchased a single roll of paper towels! I’ve used a few at the office, but otherwise, I am officially paper towel free. I'd be lying if I didn't say it was incredibly hard at first, not just for my family, but for our friends too (we we're constantly reaching out for the spot where the paper towels used to sit…aching for them like some sort of phantom limb.) But after a few weeks (and the purchase of 20 terrycloth dish towels), I hardly miss them.
How about you? How’s it going? Are you sticking to your Earth Day “just one thing”?
9 comments:
We haven't caved and bought paper napkins yet! We're sticking with the cloth ones, although it took a while to convince D that he could actually get them messy and it wouldn't matter.
So far so good! Since Earth Day all of the cleaning supplies I've purchased have been safe for the environment. I've even found shampoo, conditioner and body wash that is too!
I love the "phantom limb" comment - hilarious! Thanks for inspiring us all to be good!!!
Oh no! I forgot! Thank you for reminding!
I did this a few years ago. Want a tip?
Target bar towels (or they may call them bar mops). They come in packs of four for super cheap. I have them EVERYWHERE in the house. I don't miss paper towels at all.
I do keep a few paper napkins in the house for friends just in case. But most everyone knows about my bar towels.
They are super absorbent.
:)
nichole -- those are the exact ones I bought...they completely rock.
You are a brave and admirable woman! As I sit here in my apartment in NYC on the table is a roll of paper towels. Part of the reason for this is because I literally just moved and the kitchen towels are somewhere here and I can't seem to get to them.
Paper towels are like crack, really.
I have cut down. I get the "select" size which really reduces the number of sheets I use. Also, I do have a few kitchen towels always out (Crate & Barrel flour sack towels are beautiful and simple and absorbent). Two towels for drying things and two separate towels for drying hands.
My partner and I own a photo studio and a prop rental biz and you can not imagine the number of rolls we go thru each and everyday. Our client base is made up of a bunch of food magazines and food clients and they can run thru several rolls a day.
Thank you for giving my "green" attitude a bit of a pinch. Ouch!
jim...totally agree...paper towels are completely and totally crack! i hear ya.
yay! I haven't used paper towels in over a year. I decided this past week to take advantage of it and buy some pretty dish towels and drying towels from the Anthro sales room. Now my kitchen is all decked out with pretty new towels. Glad to see others doing the same!
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