a bounty of waste

how many paper towels do you use in a day? i was using too many to count, which got me thinking (ouch!) -- how many trees are chopped down so I can perform such noble tasks as cleaning the pile of cat barf off my carpet?

well, think of it this way: according to my heroes over at the natural resources defense council, if everyone in the u.s. replaced one roll of virgin fiber paper towels (70 sheets) with 100% recycled, we could save 544,000 trees. think about what the difference would be if we replaced a majority of our paper towels with washable, reusable dishcloths and dishrags?

believe me, i’m not suggesting you get rid of all your paper towels, as i think there are just some clean-up jobs (meow!) that require a paper towel, but -- you know as well as i do -- most do not. this is where the cloths come in handy. making these your primary cleaning tools (along with sponges) will save you money, as well as a few trees. nifty!

(as a side note, when you notice that your sink sponge is getting a bit, you know, funky, just water it down and pop it in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds. instant disinfectant!)

and, while you’re at it, you can cut down the number of dinner napkins you use by digging out those cloth napkins that you got ages ago. seriously, when's the last time you had a formal dinner party, anyway?

now... if i can only teach matisse, my feline friend, to use the potty...