In my effort to "Go Green" as much as I can, I stumbled across the idea of reusable paper towels (It also didn't help that a recent trip to a big-box-wholesaler-who-shall-remain-nameless resulted in spending $19 on paper towels. $19 I will never see again. $19 that will ultimately end up in the landfill somewhere, sure it will break down after a while I guess, but not for a while, anyway...) After using cloth diapers, cloth wipes, and cloth napkins, reusable paper towels seemed only logical! It was through researching that I found my next homemade goodie The Unpaper Towel .
There are tons of options when deciding to use reusable paper towels, but none as pretty and effective as these little gems! Bevin, the genius behind these towels, generously provided me with a roll of towels of my choice for the purpose of this review. I picked a fantastic green, brown, and while floral print that matched my kitchen perfectly! Let's start with first impressions, when this box arrived, this is what I opened:
You could just feel the love and pride that went into not only making this product, but the packaging as well! When I opened the box, Polish Prince was just as excited as I was, maybe even more! His exact phrase was "Whoa! These are so cool! They may be our next "thing"!" Whatever that means... :) You know you've got a great idea when the hubby gets excited for reasons other than saving money! In addition to her business card, Bevin included some details about the "unpaper" towels. I couldn't get a good picture, so here's what it says:
These towels come with a cardboard tube that may or may not fit your paper towel holder. Feel free to replace this tube with one of your old paper towel tubes. The elastic bands are there to help keep the towels in place. Be sure to rotate your towels out so they are used equally! Happy unpaper toweling!
The cardboard tube that was provided was so sturdy, I was a little bummed when it didn't fit my paper towel holder. I do have an odd shaped towel holder, if I had a standard one with just a bar I'm sure it would work fine! Mine just happens to be kind of sqaure-shaped. So I did what Bevin suggested and placed the elastic loops over the old paper towel tube and it fits and works perfectly!
Each set contains 12 reusbale paper towels. They are made of either cotton terry cloth with a cotton print or an organic/hemp terry blend with an organic cotton print. There are tons of colors and options to choose from. My favorite part is the fact that the towels all snap together! I've seen "unpaper" towels before that are meant to just sit in a drawer or on the counter, these babies are meant to shine! They all snap together, then snap to the tube so they become just as convenient as your throw-away paper towels! Bevin also takes great care in making sure the snaps she chooses for the towels match the cotton print pattern. The snaps are also plastic so there's no worry about scratching counter tops or little one's face when wiping after a meal!
I put these towels to the test the first day I had them. Since the towels are pre-washed I decided to jump right in. We were having spinach and turkey lasagna for dinner, so I figured the red sauce would make a great test for the towels! Polish Prince was a little reluctant to wipe his mouth or hands on the towels because they were so pretty. I have to admit, I was a little nervous too! I didn't want to make them dirty! But, alas, I had to break down and dirty those puppies up! We got marinara sauce on both sides of the towels. After dinner, I wet one down and used it to wipe B's hands and face. I wish I would have somehow marked the towels so I could have taken a picture when they were out of the wash. But I forgot, and when they came out of the wash, there were no stains! I'm pretty confident, that had they stained, I could have used the old cloth diaper trick of sunning them to get the stains out, but I didn't have the chance! Great work on choosing quality materials Bevin!
As much as I hate to say this, I may have to say Polish Prince was right. These may be our new "thing". I would love to get a few more sets to be able to rotate between them. Perhaps a roll for cleaning, a couple rolls for the counter, maybe a roll or two for the holidays? These easily double as cloth napkins and are way more absorbent! Plus, the fun prints make it easy to jazz up a table for a dinner/holiday party without having to run out and get colorful paper napkins.
Ok, now that you've heard all the fantastic details of this amazing product, who wants some!? You can order you own set here AND Bevin is providing one lucky winner with a roll of Unpaper Towels of their choosing!! Simply enter via the Rafflecopter form below and cross your fingers and toes!
