Since “retirement” I am always looking for ways to save money. Here is a quick money saving tip!
At meals switch to using cloth napkins. We have changed to a stain resistant nylon napkin. They are not as absorbent as a paper towel but they do the job at the dinner table. 
In addition the microwave food cover prevents us from using paper towels to cover food in the microwave. This accomplishes two things. First of all it saves money and trees and secondly it prevents me from cleaning the microwave every week and that is a good thing!
Also you save a considerable amount of money, consider this:
If you buy only 8 rolls of paper towels per month at $14.99 for an average brand such as Bounty then you save almost $100 per year.
The 12 cloth / nylon napkins cost us $24.00 and the microwave cover cost $5.99 So in the first year you save about $60.00 and the savings will accumulate from there!
Now don’t get me wrong we still use some paper towels but our consumption is down from 12 rolls per month to about 2. What a deal!
Just a little savings, but in this economy every little bit means a lot!
I think using paper towels and disposables for everything is a very American concept.
here, in india, hardly anyone uses paper towels. Cloth napkins are preffered.
From what little I have seen of America, I think American society takes a LOT for granted. For eg
- a never ending supply of water and hence pools, washing m/c and dish washers are ‘essential’.
- a never ending supply of paper – toilet paper, paper rolls, this paper that paper. they have an infinite variety of kinds of specialiesd paper.
I could go on but I dont mean to bash America. It’s got its own good points. Its just that recycling, reusing, isnt as much part of the culture as it is in India. I hope more people realise like you did, that its more economical and eco-friendly to cut down on using disposable stuff.
Thanks! Anything to save money and the planet at the same time!
Yes, but 3 napkins a day is 21 per week just for one person…..possibly another load of wash using energy, water and detergents. Not sure the savings is hugely significant by not using paper napkins.