The Great Paper Towel Challenge

Tomorrow I am beginning an experiment. It was recently brought to my attention what a waste of money paper towels can be. I love paper towels. They're small, handy, quiet, and come in a variety of prints although I always buy the plain white as they seem to be cheaper. However, over the course of a year, a lot of money is spent on them. I haven't actually calculated how much, but I'm sure I'd be surprised! So, I saw this idea on another blog and have decided to give it a try. I have a small, square basket (one that I've had for years) next to the kitchen sink. I bought a package of blue dishcloths at WalMart (9 for $3) and placed them in the basket. The plan is to use one cloth per day...whenever I would normally use a paper towel. Of course, if something is really messy, I'll rinse out the cloth and hang it on the side of the sink. At the end of the day it will go to the laundry with the other dishcloth used for washing dishes, wiping counters, etc. So, that's the big plan. I do laundry often enough that having nine cloths should be sufficient. I'm not sure how long I'll run the experiment. I plan to give a short orientation to the family in the morning. They already know the general idea...but you know, they may need a little coaching. Everyone seemed fine with the idea, but I could see the wheels turning in Tim's mind as I spoke and quickly promised him that I wouldn't get any funny ideas concerning our toilet paper usage! :)