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We all have habits good and bad. I used a lot of paper towels until we created Rakot75.
Ending my paper towel habit to clean, wipe, and mop was a rough one. Almost as bad as reducing my need for a big bowl of Rocky Road ice cream every day.
All I could imagine was how many paper towels, I, personally, had contributed to our landfills. I really wanted to switch away from paper towels and never use them again. This was a big part of the inspiration for Rakot75.
After 30 days of using our cloth paper towels, I felt confident enough to use, abuse, re-use, rinse, wash and dry over and over again. We were the original product testers, so we, literally ran them through the gamut and I discovered that the durability of the cloth paper towels allowed me to clean up messes and spills, bathrooms and the stove much faster.
The challenge was remembering not to throw them away. We all need help to break our paper towel addiction. Below are some pointers that will help you transition and feel better about your contribution to cleaning up our environment.
How to Break Up with Paper Towels
Recognizing what habit you want to change is paramount to your success in moving away from paper towels to a more sustainable option.
Here are 9 helpful steps to changing your paper towel habit:
Identify that you want to change your paper towel habit and define why. Having a purpose to quitting paper towels will keep you determined and focused to do so.
Honor your own wisdom. You know it's the right thing to do.
Change it up. Choose something to replace your unhealthy paper towel habit. Find alternatives like washable, reusable cloth paper towels will save you money in the long run
Visualize yourself changing and feeling good about your new choice. So good, in fact, that you now share it with everyone who still has paper towels.
Look at what you are getting out of it. Feel good about helping the environment by reducing the number of paper towels that end up in landfills
Think about all of the different uses that this particular "paper" towel is even better for. Cloth paper towels are one of the greatest cleaning hacks ever and I am betting you will discover more uses.
Get involved. Let your new found desire to help protect our environment lead you to share your new habit with friends, family and social media following or support an organization helping to clean up the environment.
Don't look back and feel guilty. You can "shoulda" all over yourself for not letting go of paper towels and adopting a new habit with washable, reusable cloth paper towels. You're doing it now. Be proud of you.
Take baby steps, if necessary. Again, the hardest thing is remembering not to throw away your cloth paper towel as you would a paper towel. But fear not. Simply pull them out of the trash, wash and reuse. Just like new again.