Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Reusable Un-Paper Towels

We go through a bum-load of paper towels every day, cleaning up after our two messy little boys. I was planning on getting rid of a few of my old t-shirts that were all stretched out in the neck. Instead of throwing them away, I decided to cut them up to make reusable un-paper towels.


I made them about the same size as the select-a-size paper towels, 6x11 inches. I didn't sew the edges because the material is such that it won't unravel. Thank goodness, if sewing had been necessary I know this project would never have happened! (tip: use pinking shears to cut your fabric if the edges fray) I was able to get 6 paper towels out of each shirt so now I have 24 reusable paper towels. We'll see if that's enough to get us through at least one day! I plan on doing the same thing with our old baby receiving blankets and my husband's old t-shirts.


Last time I was at The Container Store I noticed one reusable paper towel/napkin selling for $6! Yeah, they are cute, but give me a break! Make your own for free!

Have you made your own un-paper towels? How did you make them?



This post was proudly featured at:
Nature's nurture
This post is linked to: Living Green Tuesdays, Simply Natural Saturdays, Happy Hour Friday, Simple Steps to Healthy Living, Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways, Works For Me Wednesday, Healthy 2day Wednesday, Penny Pinching Party, Raising Homemakers Link-Up,Tiny Tip Tuesday, Tip Me Tuesday, Teach Me Tuesday, Anti-Procrastination Tuesday, Tout it Tuesday, Too Cute Tuesday, Domestically Divine Tuesday, Show Me What Ya Got Tuesday, Saturday Show & Tell, Link and Greet Saturday, Get Schooled Saturday, Strut Your Stuff Saturday, Little House in the Suburbs, Frugal Friday, Thirty Handmade Days, Simply Sweet Home Friday Favorites


49 comments:

  1. Cool idea! I have some of those same shirts I could use. We have a million old, ugly washcloths and towels that get used for cleaning, and I sometimes use Connor's bath washcloths to clean him up during the day. But I definitely don't have enough of those to not use napkins or paper towels, so I like the reusable idea. My only question is, how absorbent are your homemade ones? Let us know how they work for you!

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    1. Brittany, I've been using my reusable paper towels today and I'm very happy with the absorbency. They are more absorbent than my Bounty paper towels. Thanks for your comments!

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  2. Great idea! Enjoy your thriftiness!

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  3. I have done the same thing. I also used the sleeves of the shirts for "Kleenex". My family does not like to reuse hankies after they blow their nose once, so with the smaller sleeve portion of the shirt they can blow their nose and throw it in the hamper right away. My husband wears white tees everyday, so I had several old ones I cut up. I found they are fairly absorbent.

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    1. Becca, What a great idea to use the sleeves as kleenex! Thanks for sharing!

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  4. Cute idea! I gave up using paper towels months ago. Instead I just use some inexpensive washcloths I have, mismatched dish towels, and worn bath towels (cut down). (Link included if you'd like to see! :)http://cheapwise.blogspot.com/2012/05/paper-towels-suck.html)

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  5. I've seen moms fold their reusable diaper wipes so they'd dispense out of a pop-up wipe container. This idea looks like it would mesh with that one really well! Then your reusable napkins could even have a bit of moisture or antibacterial soap on them, if you wanted.

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  6. Great idea. I've been thinking of doing the same thing but I don't sew!

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  7. I love mine too! They are double sided, made from soft baby bath towels and a flannel sheet.

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  8. Definitely thinking seriously about doing this! Thanks for sharing. Hopping over from Raising Homemakers. Blessings from Zagreb - A Little R & R http://jukiczr.blogspot.com

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  9. Those are great! I made mine with old towels and some cloth on the back. I like your blog. I am your newest follower. Please come by and visit with me.

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  10. Great idea. We have been trying to cut down on our paper towel usage and this looks like an easy way to help the transition. Thanks for sharing on Tout It Tuesday! Hope to see you next week.

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  11. great idea!! I know hubby has some old shirts I could totally cut up!! What a great idea! Thanks for linking it up to the Simple Steps to Healthy Living Linky!! xoxo

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  12. Thanks for this great tip! I like to use scraps around the house for cleaning, but hadn't considered them as a paper towel alternative. My baby wipes are flannel squares, which I suppose is a similar recycling tip in itself. Thanks so much for linking up!

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  13. Really good idea! My mom did the SAME thing but I never really thought about them being paper towels. We never had paper towels. WE always just had to go to the "rag bag" if we had a mess to clean up. I really do need to do this as well!!! Your blog is awesome!

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  14. Great idea to make your own. I've done this before, but mine were not nearly as neat...I kinda just tore up a shirt and ended up with pieces of all different sizes. Thanks for sharing!

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  15. amen nice post thanks for sharing looking for to visit more..blessings from arnhem

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  16. I did this too with hubby's old t-shirts! Great minds really do think alike :) Thanks for linking up at Tiny Tip Tuesday, Kendra!

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  17. This is great, Kendra! Great idea to use old t-shirts. I bought two flannel receiving blankets from the thrift store at $2 each and plan to cut them up to use as paper towels. It's really so easy and cheap to create your own, isn't it?

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  18. I've been cutting up my husband's tshirts for a few years to use as cleaning rags. His are gray which I like because they wash out well in the washer without leaving stains. I never thought to use them as green paper towels; good idea and I'm going to look for the diapers in the thrift store as well. I also cut up my hubby's flannel shirts for cleaning rags, too. The thinner ones would work for "un-paper" towels.

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  19. Great idea. We always toss the worn out items in a rag bag for my husband's shop. Then he uses them as disposable rags for changing oil or whatever.

    In the kitchen I just use those white bar mop towels & rags that Walmart has in big packages for a reasonable price. We've had to train the kids to use them instead of paper towels. The tshirt idea would save my towels from some of the stains the kids have inflicted. lol

    Do the edges curl up very much as the rags are washed?

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    1. Yes, the edges do curl up quite a bit when washed but it doesn't keep them from being functional. Thank you for your comments!

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  20. what a great concept, why haven't I thought of this, but going to do this now. If I haven't mentioned it before, loving this blog.

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  21. Just found your bog via New Nostaliga. Been hearing about this for a while now. I'm wondering where you store the reusable cloths? Approximately how many do you use in a week.? Do you wash them separately or with the rest of your laundry.

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    1. I store my reusable cloths in a kitchen drawer with the rest of my kitchen towels and washcloths. I wash them with my kitchen towels and washcloths about twice a week. For really yucky messes, I still use regular paper towels. Thanks for stopping by!

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  22. Great post, what a good idea to use old tshirts! I made us some out of scrap fabric and old dish towels that also work great. It is amazing how much we use them, I can't even remember the last time I bought paper towels at the store!

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  23. Great idea. i would love for you to share this on my new blog hop, Repurposed Ideas Weekly at:
    http://repurposemylife.com/repurposed-ideas-weekly-3-blog-hop/

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  24. I've seen posts for un-papertowels before and liked the idea, but I've always wondered if washable towels are really better if you live in a semi-arid environment that ships water in from a distance. I buy 100% recycled content paper towels which use 80% post-consumer content and are FSC certified. Does anyone have any thoughts on this or know if by chance anyone has completed a life-cycle assessment comparing the impacts?

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  25. I love this. Such a simple but useful idea, especially for husband who goes through shop towels like they're free!

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  26. I stopped using paper towels a while ago, but this idea would be great for my hubby when he's working on cars! Endless supply, and he doesn't stain my kitchen towels with grease and grime!!

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  27. I have been using cut up baby recieving blankets for years. I get them at the thrift store for 50 cents each - I get about 8 squares from each. I use one color/design for paper towels, one color/design for dusting, one color/design for wipes, etc.

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  28. I get ugly cotton sweaters at the thrift store and breathe new life into them by ripping them apart for the yarn and weave them into things like wash cloths, towels, napkins,table runners, placemats and all sorts of cloth items, but my fav is the kitchen towels.

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  29. I have been using washcloths and old towels that I cut down and zig zag the the fray edges for the past 25 years I never bought paper products. I keep nice ones in the kitchen, they are color coded for each area if the home

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  30. Old flannel sheets make marvelous 'paper' towels and napkins as well. They don't ravel either.

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  31. I've been using an old tshirt for a television/computer screen wipe....great idea to use as paper towels! My poor husband is losing some old shirts today!

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  32. Instead of using a large facetowel in the bathroom, I bought a cheap bundle if washcloths from Walmart and use these for quick drying the many times I wash my hands. saves my good towels and the large loads for lots of towels.

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  33. Great idea! :) We use cloth dipeys..have a whole stack of them.. and the kiddos know to dash to the closet for any oopses..they suck up anything in 2.2 seconds! lol Great ideas!!

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  34. I bought some of those "orange" knock off absorbent towels from the dollar tree. And cut in half thats about 50 cents apiece or less if you cut smaller, they are very absorbent and great for dishes too and wiping down the kitchen and countertops. If you wash with your towels they will "pill" I noticed. A.L. from OK

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  35. I have been using cloth for years but mine (the once $0.49 towels from IKEA) are not very absorbant. As they run their course and get tossed, I will be looking for new options to replace them. Is the Jersey material from your t-shirt towels very absorbant? It seems like they would be. Thanks for the idea!

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    1. I'm very happy with the absorbancy of the t-shirt material, which is 95% cotton, 5% spandex. They soak up better than my kitchen towels. Thanks for stopping by!

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  36. Didn't these used to be called "rags" back in the day?

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  37. I made some and posted them on my blog. I got the idea and the tutorial from another blog that I referenced. It was such a great idea and has saved me a ton of money. I used to buy paper towels all the time. They are so cute and I plan to make more. Here's the link to my tutorial. http://tinasnowandagain.blogspot.com/2012/09/my-new-quest-and-paperless-paper-towels.html

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  38. I've been using thin washcloths for years (the kind that come bundled in inexpensive sets) and keep real paper towels on hand only for cleaning up messes that are so greasy I don't want to throw them in my wash AND for cleaning up after shattered glass. No glass shards in my washcloths, thank you! I like your T-shirt idea, too.
    I have also cut back on my toilet-paper use by about 85% by switching to pee wipes made of old flannel sheets I get at thrift stores. I have a bin for the clean ones and a wire mesh bin for the used ones (they dry out quickly). When I have a load of whites to do, I throw my pee wipes in a zippered, mesh bag and wash them with other laundry that requires hot water.
    Savings are greater for households with more women and girls. I use regular toilet paper for #2 and... that time of month. I have heard of people using a Diaper Genie and using cloth for ALL their toileting needs, but I don't want to go there.

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    1. What is the measurement for your pee wipes?

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  39. Nice way to make a shirt last as a rag. I usually just use it as is, and it lasts one use before I throw it away (guy greasy stuff). I know if I cut them up it would give me more bang for the buck.

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  40. reusable paper towels its called a rag and has been used for centuries......

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  41. I bought gorgeous white facecloths from Walmart to use as toilet paper, ... super absorbent, pretty, and sanitary looking. I made the investment in nice facecloths, as an experiment. Your hands dont touch the cloths, so it is very hygenic. 1 lady uses 1 roll of toilet paper at least, a week, just for for pee pees. I just toss them in a garbage pail, and wash them weekly with laundry towels and undies etc... they will last for years! You have to use excellent laundry soap, Tide will irritate the skin. My home made laundry soap works fine. I have been using them for 2-3 years now. My toilet is happy too, less flushing.

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  42. Love re-usables.
    My paper towels are made from good flannel from the fabric store and serged edges.
    They are also available on etsy.com, but I made my own.
    I have light blue in the kitchen and off white ever ywhere else.
    Used a 40% off coupon for the fabric too.

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