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Dec 5, 2008

Paper towel vs Rags

You're pouring yourself a glass of milk and you accidentally spill some on to the counter.. which do you grab? .. a paper towel? or a rag?

Me? I grab a rag. I love rags. I'm not a paper towel person. I probably buy a roll every six months or so, if that. And I don't use them for cleaning or to dry my hands either.

When we wash our hands, we use towels to dry our hands off.
I have a stack of towels in the kitchen that are just to be used in the kitchen. And I have a stack of rags next to my washer, that I use for cleaning the house.

My Mom is a paper towel person. She dislikes using rags and is constantly buying paper towels.

I go to great lengths to save money and honestly, I think paper towels are a waste of money. Plus, it's bad for the environment! :)

I think it's funny that even our exterminator knows that we don't use paper towels. He asked the first time where we kept them and the second time he asked, I didn't even get to answer him before he remembered, LOL.

So, which do you prefer to use? Paper towels or rags?


These towels on my oven door are just for decoration, well, until my husband or my son start using them to dry their hands! But, aren't they just beautiful? Ignore the fact that they are wrinkly and not straight.. I just pulled them out of the box! ((I wrote this up a few days ago.. the next day, Kyle spilled some milk (!!!) and before I could stop him, he was cleaning it up with my only-for-looks towel!!))

9 comments:

Coby Sevdy said...

I use rags for drying hands and dishes, but paper towels for cleaning and everything else. I don't like getting my rags and towels dirty, so they only touch clean surfaces most of the time.

Paper towels are bad for the environment? They're paper! That's biodegradable! If anything, rags are worse for the environment because you have to wash them in the washing machine. That uses more water, chemicals (soaps, bleach, etc) and electrical energy. TONS of energy if you use the dryer too. At the house I rented in Japan, half my electric bill was the dryer alone.

Laura said...

Hey, Coby!

If you really think about it, neither are very helpful to the earth. There are pros and cons to both sides.

The way I think about it is this..

When I use a rag to clean, I use it a million times, over and over. You can't do that with paper towels. I even use old clothing to clean.

Yes, I use bleach on my rags, but most paper towels are bleached. Paper towels come in plastic wrapping... my rags don't.

I would have to use my car (and gas) to go to the store to buy paper towels when I'm out, with rags I just walk to my closet.

Yes, I use electricity to dry my rags, but to actually make the paper towels it takes energy, too.

Havings two kids, two and under, you can imagine how often I have to clean up. I would go through rolls and rolls a week!

I'm not a scientist or an enviromentalist, but I personally feel better by not using paper towels. And our bank account looks better, too ;)

Arlene said...

I use rags all the time, too. I buy a small package of paper towels maybe once or twice a year, too, because I only keep them for those really nasty jobs... like picking up after the kitty loses her dinner or things like that, lol. I use cloth napkins, too. I'm frugal like that ;o)

The Nelson's said...

I love rags and cloth napkins. We buy paper towels only when needed and I do have some paper napkins, but its only for when we have cookouts or from our big Thanksgiving get together.

I feel as if we are wasting if we use them so much! Money and paper!

Sarah said...

Laura, thanks for the comment on my blog. And yes, I do hear alot about you from Arlene (all good though!!). I guess I should comment on this post since I'm here -- lol! I do use paper towels and paper napkins. But I also use hand towels in the kitchen for wiping hands, etc. So, I don't use alot of paper towels. But I hate doing laundry so to go to all cloth would be worse for me!!

More Than Words said...

How funny you would ask this question!! I'm totally a paper towel person, but I do use a rag to clean my table and sometimes my counters! I'll even think about which one I'm going to grab! If I'm low on PT, I'll grab a rag, and vice-versa!! I love how the rags do clean up, and you can rinse and do a second wipe! LOL

More Than Words said...

Oh..and I forgot to say...my favorite creamer is the Coconut Creamer!! YUMMY!

Daphine said...

Hi Laura,
I came over from my friend Alicia's blog.

We're not much of a paper towel family either. I do buy them but not to often. We use mostly rags (homemade ones at that) and we also use cloth napkins with every meal. Before my husband's grandmother's passing, she made me ALOT of rags and napkins to use. I was already married in the family for 15 years before she passed away. Almost every visit, she would have a new set of rags and napkins waiting for me to take back with me. I have a whole china cabinet and a couple of tubs FULL of rags and napkins. Sooooooo...I totally prefer rags and cloth napkins over cheap paper towels! lol!

Happy Sunday!

Anonymous said...

I'm more of a rag person, but my husband likes paper towels, so we have both in our household.

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