Our strange ways

It occurs to me it might be time to revisit how we are doing with some of the weirder embargoes and substitutions around the house that we've adopted in our attempt to live a more sustainable--and frugal--life.

This thought came to me as I was cooking bacon just now.

If you fail to see the connection, then you have never lived in a household with a rule against purchasing paper towels.

I should make one distinction clear:  there is probably a really nifty product out there designed to drain bacon without paper--perhaps a platter with a grill pattern that drains the grease away, or something.  However, my purpose isn't to justify purchasing a bunch of "green" products designed to solve the given problem.  Reusable or not, I believe that we are too easily seduced into buying the next clever environmentally-friendly product.  I say this, not in judgement, but as a fellow perpetrator--believe you me, I could spend our combined incomes in a hot second on any number of websites and catalogs geared toward the green consumer.

But the truth is that anything new has an enormous manufacturing legacy of materials, fuel, and and often cruel labor choices behind it; no matter how many recycling triangles and super-duper green endorsements are on the packaging (the packaging!), it would still have been better, ecologically speaking, to get a used version at a thrift store or make your own out of re-purposed items.

So.  The paper towels.  What do we use instead?

Handsome, but occasionally vomits.

Well, we realized pretty quickly that we use paper towels for three main things:  draining bacon, mopping spills, and cleaning up cat puke.  (Yep.  Just took you from mouth-watering to gagging in one sentence.  Mad skills, I tell ya.)  You might add cleaning windows and mirrors to the list, I suppose, but I can't think of much else.  If you are still using paper towels to wipe down your counters in the kitchen, then please, consider the beauty of a...

...(drumroll, please)...

Rag.

A rag.  A rag is a beautiful thing, simply because it can be made of so many, many other things most of which you would otherwise throw away.  Under duress, I will admit to a bit o' pride in the cardboard box of rags in my laundry room.  It is satisfying to always have one when you need one.  I realize this is weird.

Sock have a hole in the toe?  --Rag.  Grease stain on your skirt?  --Rag.  Almost any item of cotton clothing can be used in place of paper towels.  Cut them up into 12" squares, and there you go.  If you want to get really fancy, you can mix up some cleaning solution out of castile soap, white vinegar or lemon juice, and water, put it in a lidded bucket, and use it to store your rags--just wring one out and clean what ails you.  Old towels are perfect for bigger spills, and cotton jersey works nicely on windows and mirrors too.

But back to my bacon.

I have two substitutes for paper when I want to drain bacon.  First, is a square of fabric from an old t-shirt.  Between uses, I suds it up with dishwashing detergent (which cuts grease better than regular soap), rinse, and let it air dry.  Not all of the grease is removed but enough for my comfort level; we probably use the same cloth over a period of 4-6 months or more before I throw it away.

If you aren't comfortable reusing a cloth like that, then why not at least give a second life to paper grocery bags that are likely lurking under your kitchen sink?  A plate-sized square of brown paper drains bacon too--and if you are feeling particularly virtuous, save the greasy paper and use it the next time you start a cozy fire in the fireplace. (Consider the humble grocery bag for many things...rustic gift wrap and gift tags are another common use around here.)

[So, bacon and spills are handled with cloth rag, blah blah blah.  I mentioned cat vomit also.  Well, I draw the line there.  I refuse to reuse anything that addresses vomit--the whole situation is too gross.  I realize that this is illogical.

Instead, I use...junk mail.  Mmm hmm.  I take a credit card offer in one hand, and a stiff-papered catalog or flyer in the other, and I use the envelope to scrape up the yuck on to the flyer and then throw it all away. Then I spray the spot with cleaner and mop up any residue with a rag.  I'm sure you were dying to hear about all that.]

Used rags of all sorts tend to wait for the next washday on top of the dryer, but you might want to give them a box or bucket in which to be stored until you do laundry, just to keep things tidy. 

Ready to cut up some old shirts and towels?  Want to get really obsessed and make rugs out of them?  Perfect.