I guess you could say I found something that I just feel the need to yell about. I know I'm probably sounding a bit redundant here but I have to talk about this paper towel project again. It just dawned on me today as I refilled the paper-towel holder in the kitchen that it has been sometime since I've posted an update. So I started this project back in May. Starting with a $57 investment in reusable kitchen rags a shelf and a $12~12 roll case of Bounty Select-a-size. In the last 5 months we have managed to only use 7 of those original 12 rolls. Here's the kicker folks, we would have gone through nearly 60 rolls, costing around $60, at our rate of normal consumption prior to the start of this project.

Eureka! The project has paid for itself and we have 5 rolls left in the storage room. At this rate we could reduce our paper-towel usage to just 3 cases a year. I think that's awesome. And believe me, I'm not suggesting the end of paper-towel use here folks, just a helpful, more renewable, longer lasting alternative. Paper-towels will always have a home in our kitchen, it's just that they have a different role now, namely the nastier of the jobs. Like raw food clean up and cat puke..gross!

My Wife did the laundry today. As I was putting the kitchen rags up on their shelf I got to thinking about how easy it was to make the transition. I'm not sure about other peoples paper-towel usage but I suppose we would have been an example of a high usage family. Our new towels are all still in great shape and I could honestly see us getting many years use out of them. That's a lot of savings and even more in the end as the price of everything seems to be getting ever more expensive.

I think what we need to do is get some people on board with this idea. Wouldn't it be cool to see major paper towel companies start marketing this to the masses. They would even get the benefit of being able to transition there production away from the Tree based paper market to a more sustainable and faster growing cotton crop or dare I say Hemp. Well, maybe one day.

One another note, I feel the need to give shout out to my new hometown of Warren, Pa up in the northwest part of the state. The city has recently started a very solid recycling program or should I say expanded upon there system. Warren is now recycling 5 major groups of recyclables free of charge to all city residents. They even provided free delivery of free containers to keep your stuff in. The groups are Paper, Plastic, Tin-Aluminum and two types of glass. I do wish they did more in the way of plastics as they only except types 1 and 2. Man was I surprised to here how hard it can be to find places that take all the other types of plastic. I've noticed that since we received our recycle containers a few months back that we have reduced our throw aways considerably. Where as we would generally have 3 to 4 filled trash bags a week we have now gotten consistently down to 1 to 2 bags. 

These are just drops in a bucket I know and the bucket is big....Lord let it rain.

Peace y'all,

~Jay~   

Just a little update on the paper towel replacement project. Well, we are over a month in to this now and I must say that this already seems to be paying off. My wife and I have adjusted very well to using the cotton towels. We have developed a system of use for them to get the most out of them in between washes. It's nice to know we are helping out in some small way and I really feel that this would be of benefit to any household.

 Also, I state earlier that I couldn't imagine being able to replace my use of paper towels in my work place. Then something amazing happened, our daughter was born. Let me explain, as my wife and I went through the laboring process I realized that everything they were using was cloth. This really got me thinking, so I asked a few of the nurses about there sterilizing procedures and I found out that they outsource there laundry. Tattooing doesnt generate any where near the amount of "body fluids" as does birthing an infants so I now know for certain that I technically could transition away from paper towel use in my work place. Know I just need to do some follow up research and figure out if these services are affordable for me and also how my clientele base would feel about it. Until next time, Peace.

I got to wondering how many trees that I've help bring down over the years just to wipe up a small spill or to dry my hands. I tattoo for a living and our most commonly used items are paper towels. There is definitely nothing I could think of to replace them in my work environment but I thought I could maybe drastically reduce our use of them at home. After talking it over with my wife we went to the store and purchased 20 nice bistro style bar cloths, a small trash can and mesh bag to store the dirties in and a shelf to put the clean one's on in the kitchen. All in all we are in for $57 and the way I figure it that's about 5 to 6 cases of paper towels in cost. With a case lasting only about a month for us this project should pay for itself within about 5 months or so. You could save some money if you have no need for a shelf but with limited space we definitely needed one. One of the great things about cotton cloths is how long you could keep them around. After the new cloths have been used in the kitchen/household and are all beat up, just transfer them to the garage or garden to further there lifespan. Then when the time comes to retire your trusty rags rest assured that you have helped our environment in some small way.

Ultimately I would like to be able to completely discontinue the use of paper towels in my home. With a new baby on the way and having been raised using paper towels my entire life, I'm not sure if we will be able to completely stop using them but I would like to make the one's I have to buy last much longer.

We spent yesterday doing some of our spring cleaning and at the end of the day took notice that we did not have to replace the paper towel roll when normally we may have used a roll and a half or more. Hey that's a good start. Think of how many resources we could save on just by using cotton cloths instead of tree based paper towels.

   OK I'm back, So some other things my wife and I have done are to purchase those reusable shopping bags that are starting to pop up at different stores. I also found a water purifier that I plan to purchase with that economic stimulus check. The water from the tap in our area leaves a lot to be desired so we have been buying somewhere in the range of 3 to 5 cases of water a month. All those bottles going to the local landfill and I never thought twice about it.

   Now with gas prices going through the roof, my wife and I are considering moving closer to where we work. It would be nice to be close enough to walk or bike to work. 

   There are a lot of ideas I have rolling around in my mind to help out where I can, but I would really like to find people in my area that have similar ideals and maybe get together and make a larger impact in this area. 

   It's been a week or so now since I've watched the film and have had to let this new information sink in. Over the past few years I have been coming across little bit's of info here and there like Gore's film and a host of things on public access. After having all this new info rolling around in my brain I can't help feeling the need to do something.

   Truth be known, I have been just has hard on our environment as most and in some really selfess ways at that. Buying bags and bags of plastic ware and stacks of paper plates so I don't have to do dishes. But I am going to stop that for the most part buy reusing them until they break. Also, I have an idea to for the most part to stop using paper towels and replace them with reusable cotton clothes. I have a host of other ideas that I will write about later, but for now I have to go to work.