More insane and unheard of solutions to the money crunch.

This is part two of the insanity. Part one can be found here.
So - the first tip was not all that hard now, was it?
This mission however - should you chose to accept it - will be a bit harder. We will get rid of a budget enemy that you thought you needed - but you really don’t.
Paper towels. Think about it, 50 or so years ago - did they have paper towels? Just think how ridiculous a concept this even is - you’ll use it, just like you would a towel - only you’ll throw the towel away after each use. Think about the amount of waste you would create if after every shower you would use paper towels to dry your hair and your body - you would probably go through a whole roll each time you take a shower. But you would not do that - you use a towel. So why is it that in the kitchen we use pristine, bleached paper - that we just throw away? Your precious body is good enough for a towel - but your kitchen floor deserves a piece of paper? But, no you say - “Germs” - how could I expose my kids to germs. First of all - we have this national obsession with germs that is backfiring already. Just look at the explosion of allergies around. The immune systems especially of children need to get a little practice to function - and second - if indeed you are eating a mainly vegetarian diet your exposure to scary germs like salmonella or all the other yucky ones that you only find on meat is minimal. And since the tomato scare is just raging through the US right now - well if your tomatoes came from your local farmer, like your CSA (hint, hint) - they would not be a problem.

So how do we get rid of paper towels you ask (hopefully at this point!) - well the answer lies in the word itself - “towels”.

You could, if you really had to, run out and buy proper tea towels - but that is pricey - the more budget friendly idea would be - to take one of the towels you already have - your choice which one - I prefer darker colors, but that is just me, cut it into squares - and use one fresh one per day. If it gets dirty it goes into the wash - never keep it for more than one day - and there you go. You eliminated your entire bill for paper towels - that can really be a lot and if your have to pay your garbage by the gallon - like some of us do - you’ll be amazed at the reduction in waste. Because every single sheet of paper towel winds up in the trash. So this is also a step to reduce your waste.
I know it will be hard - having paper towels is almost an addiction, but if you think about it every time you run out, you cope somehow - just do it. Say no to the criminal minds that duped us into believing paper towels are a necessity!
Even though I don’t condone running out to spend in order to save, I will give you a link to a site where you can buy really cute towels - but making your own has benefits that go beyond the money saving. It is almost like a pledge!
Check out Crate&Barrel's selection of fancy dishtowels.
or even cooler from the guys that brought you the world’s greatest sponge (see my blog entry ode to a sponge) with the coolest tagline ever “What if a sponge and a papertowel had a love affair? eurosponge!