Reusable Towels
My second eco friendly venture was my reusable towel rolls. I have 3 kiddos and I was pretty frustrated with my paper towel consumption. There were always spills, mainly of water. I was also trying to teach my kiddos to pick up after themselves, but I found they squeezed the paper towels and ended up making a second mess. Any other mom relate to this?
In my research, I stumbled upon how much waste we accumulate. Did you know? We have 3,000 TONS of paper waste a year. If each house used 1 less 70-sheet roll then 554,000 trees would be saved. Its also a waste of money if you think about it because you use them once. The average family uses 2 rolls of paper towels a week. At $14 for an 8-pack of paper towel rolls that equals $182 a year! My reusable towel rolls are $50 and you get to use them again and again. What would you do with an extra $132 a year?
So I looked around and found ‘unpaper towel rolls’. I researched the way different people did it and then it was time to experiment and make my own! As usual, I had some setbacks, but eventually I landed on the current product. (Like I have mentioned I am a perfectionist and I like to get things right.) First off, I had to find the perfect fabric. I decided on 100% cotton flannel and was blown away by how amazing flannel is. I really wanted to use natural fibers. The flannel really absorbs the messes, but doesn’t create that second mess when kids use them. I have also found my kids prefer using the reusable towel rolls. They actually motioned me away and prefer to clean the mess by themselves. “I got it!” I think I stood in shock the first time they did it. I have followed up with other parents and they have said the same thing. Snapping the towels back onto the rolls is always a great kid chore. Kids love snaps! Mine will fight over putting them back on the roll. Now if every kid chore was that easy! Cleaning their room is still an issue. The struggle is real, folks!
The other part was finding a roll to attach the sheets to. Since I wanted them to be reusable and not fall apart, I needed a fairly strong cardboard tube. What to do? I didn’t want to just order cardboard tubes because I am an upcycler. Well, I found Scraps PDX in downtown Portland. They have big cardboard tubes that have been donated. I have to say that Scraps PDX is amazing if you are a crafter! The supplies are donated and its run by volunteers. They also do day camps with kids, so definitely look into that if your kiddo is crafty. The Make & Take Studio is also great for kid’s camps, for the non-school days but I digress. I cut the tubes down to size and attach the sheets. I have had my current roll that I have used for almost a year and it still looks like new. I added a reminder sheet, which is deliberately a different pattern than the other sheets, to remind you that its the last one on the roll. I find these things helpful because I seem to have no memory or realize that something will eventually run out. I blame kids and their endless requests and problems. I also will have refill packs, so if you get tired of the pattern and want something new, you can easily switch it out.
At my events, I talk to people about their paper towel usage. I am happy to say that about 50% of people in the Portland area use cloth napkins or cloth towels instead of paper towels. I am always so excited to hear that and quiz them on other changes they have made. The little things do add up.
So where are you? Are you a frequent paper napkin/towel person? Or do you use cloth napkins or towels? Let me know in the comments. Also, if you would like to get email alerts to when I post Journal entries or add a new product, please sign up on my email list. Thanks so much!