A) Shop towels instead of typical paper towels on the paper towel holder.

B) Commercial, bulk 100% cotton dish towels, along with the “pretty ones” most people put on their ovens

C) Bulk Microfiber towels, instead of rags.

Essentially, the dish towels are great for use while cooking, and if they get too greasy, they just get tossed.

Same with the microfiber towels, if we need to clean something quite nasty, or if we need to wipe something which we need to be very clean. (A brand new microfiber one work great on eye glasses.)

And, for the more expensive stuff: robotic mop/vacuum with self draining/filling. Interior design hasn’t caught up to these, yet, but our next house will be laid out with these in mind. (Need stations for them, round coves in corners are always a better idea, along with smaller grout lines, etc.)

While I like shop towels, they are pricey as hell and I’m not convinced that they are that much better than regular paper towels.

I’ve stopped using plastic containers for bulk pantry items like flour, sugar, rice, etc. stainless all the way. No more plastic chemical crap, no more brittle containers hitting the floor.

100% on the robot mop/vacuum. My house is also all porcelain tile, except for the bedrooms. The robot works well for the whole house, minus the carpet.

I also am a big fan of food vacuum sealers. I have two extra freezers I keep stocked from sales. A sale on chuck roast is also a good reason to have your own meat grinder. It’s nice when you can grind fresh beef that is cheaper than store bought ground chuck.

If you drink espresso, get a good burr grinder and an espresso machine. You will save a TON of money making lattes and mochas at home rather than $6-$7 a pop at Starfucks.

quote:

Originally posted by flesheatingvirus:
I’ve stopped using plastic containers for bulk pantry items like flour, sugar, rice, etc. stainless all the way. No more plastic chemical crap...

...I also am a big fan of food vacuum sealers.

So plastic containers = BAD
But
Plastic vacuum bags = GOOD

Confused, I am.

About 10 years ago, made the switch from plastic "tupperware" to glass w/ plastic locking lids (e.g. Glasslock). The glass doesn't stain like plastic and the plastic lids don't touch the food. I was originally concerned about durability but I still have have 80% of them after 10 years that included 2 international moves.

I use automotive glass cleaner (e.g. Invisible Glass) on household mirrors and windows. It doesn't streak like ammonia based products such as Windex.

quote:

Originally posted by Fenris:

So plastic containers = BAD
But
Plastic vacuum bags = GOOD

Confused, I am.

Yep. I'd explain the off gassing and degradation properties of polymers at room temperature vs. cold temperatures, but I'm sure you can Google that. Also, if I can get rid of some of the negative elements of using plastic, why not? Do you know of a simple alternative for vacuum sealing that doesn't involve polymers? I sure don't. Just because I'm stuck with plastic for one purpose doesn't mean I won't take advantage of better materials for others.

Plus, you only focused on one part of what I stated. I also noted that I was tired of dropping and breaking plastic containers.

I can see how it appears to be dissonance if you only scan what I typed while sitting at a red light or taking a quick poop.

That Invisible Glass is good shit, too.

97.3% of our meals are consumed on paper plates/bowls.