How to Reduce Paper in the Kitchen

January 20, 2016

One of my most clicked on posts and ideas is how I cut way back on paper towel usage in the kitchen. A few years ago I felt like I was going through a roll of paper towels every day and if you’ve ever bought paper towels you know that that can get a little bit pricey and wasteful. So I tried to figure out a way to get kick the habit. I rolled up bar mop cloths in a clear glass jar and put it where my paper towel holder used to be. Five years later, I’m happy to say that I am still using the same jar and idea! I still use the occasional paper towel, but I love the way bar mop towels clean counters and the whole kitchen. They truly work better than paper towels and they are so much prettier! I now have aqua and white bar mop towels in my shop – these incorporate all my favorite features into one beautiful and functional towel.

What’s so great about bar mop cloths?

Once I figured out how much I enjoyed using the bar mop cloths, I found them to clean better than paper towels – no streaking, no/less lint, I can clean all the counters with one cloth. And they just plain feel better – soft and luxurious.

Tips and tricks to reduce paper in the kitchen:

1. Stop buying paper towels and put away your paper towel holder.
2. Buy at least a dozen bar mop cloths, put the cloths in a container where your paper towels used to be.
3. Use one or two cloths every day to eliminate possible cross-contamination.
4. Have a plan for the dirty towels – I put mine on a hook under the sink and then in a basket when they’re dry.
5. Have kitchen towels that you love and keep them in a convenient place for hand drying (by the sink or dishwasher) – put out fresh ones nightly.
6. Use microfiber on appliances (microfiber will last through 300+ washings). I love my new Clean Mama Home microfiber cloths – the polishing cloth works amazingly well on stainless steel!
7. Add fabric napkins if you’re feeling ambitious – this is something that I tried but went back to paper when my youngest was a baby and haven’t gone back yet.

I keep extra bar mop cloths in a drawer with these microfiber stainless and glass cleaning cloths.

Make your homekeeping a little more enjoyable by adding pretty products in the kitchen and reduce your paper waste in the process!

This is my kitchen hand and dish towel drawer – organized towels make it easy to find what I need and just nice to look at when I open the drawer.

Here are a couple of my favorites for reducing paper in the kitchen:

Bar Mop Cloths – aqua and white


Kitchen Towels – gray and white


Microfiber Cleaning Cloths – gray/polishing


Anchor Hocking Jar – glass

The Clean Mama HOME Bar Mop Towels and Kitchen Towels are in my shop – perfect for cutting down paper towel usage!

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