We can't seem to break the paper towel addiction at our house.  We use cloth for food spills and most household cleaning, but we have several pets, which inevitably means messes that my washing machine simply can't handle.  Thus the paper towels.

Has anybody ever seen them without the plastic wrappers?  Preferably recycled paper -- I'm not too picky, even the cheapies are good enough for cat puke.

How about clothes you don't want to use as rags? I have cloths for cleaning and some (old socks, ugly shirt bits, unders) for single use.

Thank you so much!  I've made a lot of progress, but sometimes you just need to throw the whole mess away.  We have some home repair projects coming up, and I think disposable towels are inevitable for a little while.

I haven't figured that out, either.  I think paper towels help us avoid the heavy-duty dishwashing liquid. 

I love my Skoy cloths!  But they're starting to come out of the washer still nasty, so I might go back to paper towels for certain things.  I can't justify sacrificing a cloth that cost at least a dollar and has lots of uses left just to clean one greasy skillet or huge cat/dog/kid accident.  I keep wishing I could buy single rolls of paper towels with a paper wrapper, like toilet paper!

S.Assilem said:

What do people do to wipe up cooking out (as in a cast iron skillet) in place of paper towels? Currently I use trash clothes (old socks, etc) or a cheese clothe – I can't imagine washing an oil soaked clothe.

I don't use oil for cooking anymore.  At all.  Don't miss it one bit.  Food stuck to my pans all the time when cooking with oil, not a bit without.  "Needing" oil is a myth.  I had a hard time believing it, but it's true.  You just have to "engage" a little more with the process!

Speaking of, have you seen that horror called the "robo-stir" on TV?! Ugh! Prime pickings for the Plastic Wall of Shame (I'm sure it's already there).