Would you use Skoy cloths to soak up bacon grease? Bacon is the one and only reason I keep paper towels in the house.

We just use cotton shop towels. Bought a few big packages of them really cheaply at Home Depot and store them in a bag. Use as required, and toss in the washing machine when dirty. Have not used paper towels in years.

I use something sort of like this that I got from Target. They're basically very thin sponges, but in a 5x7 rectangle, so they act more like cloth. I use them to clean up spills and wipe things down. Absolutely love them.

I still keep paper towels around, though, for things like bacon, as napkins, and to clean up the inevitable hairball that my cats will gift me with throughout the week.

I go to Walmart and pick up an 18-pack of regular white washcloths for like $3 - these I use for everything, kitchen wipe-ups, bathroom cleanup, dusting, you name it.

The only thing I use paper towels anymore are for when I'm frying or bacon.

Owning a pet a still always have a use for paper towels however I prefer to drain bacon on a cooling rack over a pan. Then you have the option of scraping the grease after it hardens directly into the trash or saving it in the fridge to add that smoky porky flavor whenever you need to.

Is a Skoy cloth any different from ye old Handy Wipes? Cuter, definitely. But Handy Wipes can also be laundered. I don't know if a Handy Wipe is biodegradable, but it's cloth, not plastic, so I don't see why not.

I, too, use cheapo white washcloths from Walmart for most kitchen pickup, except those involving raw chicken, grease or oil, and pet messes.

I had never heard of this product - thanks for pointing my way to it. Good to read everyone's comments on a variety of ways to go papertowel-less. The boys in the house will sure miss creating things from the leftover papertowel rolls....

Re: Bacon. I'm with marid22 and save my bacon grease. It's like pure gold in my kitchen. However, you can use a brown paper bag to drain your bacon, like your grandmother probably did. Or newspapers.

Re: Handi Wipes. They're made of viscose & polyester blend spunlace nonwoven fabric and impregnated with toxic chemicals like Sodium Xylene Sulfonate, D-Limonene, Ethoxylated alkylamine, Linear alcohol ethoxylate, Diazolidinyl urea (in very small amounts.) They are not biodegradable or compostable.

The great thing about Skoy (as opposed to a terry bar wipe) is that terry cloth makes it too easy for bacteria to hang out, what with all those nooks and cranies. (Bacteria is unsanitary and makes the cloths stink.) Skoy is smooth, wrings out almost dry and can be microwaved for a minute or two to kill bacteria. Or you can throw them in the dishwasher.

I would love to use these and have tried various versions like the really thin sponge like cloth towel that is available - my issue is these start smelling especially after a few uses like for wiping down the kitchen counter. Any ideas or suggestions to avoid that???

@Archie29: The microwave is your friend! Run the smelly sponge or cloth towel thing under some water to clean it out and then stick it in your microwave for a little bit and it'll kill off the bacteria.

@dana, this:
"Re: Handi Wipes. They're made of viscose & polyester blend spunlace nonwoven fabric and impregnated with toxic chemicals like Sodium Xylene Sulfonate, D-Limonene, Ethoxylated alkylamine, Linear alcohol ethoxylate, Diazolidinyl urea (in very small amounts.) They are not biodegradable or compostable."

Ack! Thanks for the information.

can we get a GOOD QUESTIONS on how/when to reuse bacon grease? i think it's stealing the show from the Skoy cloths.

stealing the show? How about products that are being designed and marketed to people who are trendy-green? like the skoy cloth, for instance? I use washcloths, like many other people. I try not to be swayed by the latest and greatest money-sucking ideas that fly at us. A big part of going green is simplicity, folks. make your own cleaner sprays out of vinegar, water, and essential oil. use washcloths. run dishwashers only when they're super-full. put flow restricters on your plumbing. Compost. Buy local produce. Use your brain, not your wallet. I love the ideas on this site, but often feel there needs to be an article about simplicity and true conservation in the kitchen.

i pretty much only use paper towels for wiping down my cast iron pans and then reapplying oil. i'm totally up for an alternative though! any ideas??

Our house is completely paper towel free, and when we cook bacon we drain it on a brown paper bag. We try to use reusable bags when shopping, but of course we forget every once in awhile so always tend to have a brown bag on hand. Once it's soaked in the bacon grease it goes into the compost!