Resolution #7: Paperless Kitchen

This is my resolution that falls into the “green” category. 🙂

A few months back I read a post about going Paperless in the Kitchen. It really got me noticing how much paper we actually use and then toss. It’s wasteful and expensive and not exactly great for our landfills that continue to pile up and up and up!

I do pretty good about using cloth to dry my hands and while cooking. My biggest problem comes with cleaning. I’m kinda (ok, I am) hooked on Clorox wipes. Mainly it’s convenient but I also like the antibacterial factor for cleaning my stove and counter tops.

I’m going to have to sell this resolution pretty hard to the hubby. I don’t think he minds using a cloth towel to dry his hands, but he wants to make sure that it’s clean. If I try to hand him the towel I am also using while cooking dinner, he’s not going for it.

When trying to implement a paperless kitchen, the biggest issues I foresee are locating where to store the cloth (needs to be easily accessible) and determining which cloth is to be used for what. Of course, I want it to look pretty too.

First of all we are very limited on space. I have a very small prep/work area in my kitchen and I can’t spare even an inch of room. I would like to get some baskets similar to these and have them mounted under the cabinets.

I want a separate basket for hand drying towels and napkins. I also still plan to use my current cloth storage drawer for cleaning towels. This will keep the old, dingy towels out of site and only the “pretty” cloth will be visible. Color coordinating is also another idea. That way there will be no mistake as to what each towel is for.

Finally, I’m going to have to find a cleaning liquid that I can live with. Preferably, I would love to make some of my own but I’ll start with just getting the paper under control. Maybe we’ll see homemade cleaning products on my 2012 resolution list.

When I finally get this one set up I’ll definitely post it so you can see it in action.