Actually, I don't use as much stuff on a roll as I used to; I use the bowl covers made like shower caps more than anything else. I have lots of different sizes, some thicker than others, some older than others and I use them so much that I've even been known to patch them up with tape when they get a hole or tear. I use them to cover plates, round bowls, square bowls, rectangular pyrex casseroles, bread rising in a loaf pan, just about anything you want to cover. If they get dirty, I wash them in the sink with a little detergent and let them dry in the drain rack.

I still have waxed paper in the drawer and use it sometimes when taking a dish to a pot luck.

1. I use parchment paper and have a lifetime supply of it. I purchased a large box of it from a restaurant supply store and I cut all the sheets in half. I measure dry ingredients over a sheet and anything that it catches can be put back in the original container. I remember my 8th grade Home Ec. teacher saying that we waste more by the tablespoon in the kitchen than a farmer wastes by the pichfork full (rural country school). Then I'll use the sheet to line a cookie sheet.

2. I use plastic wrap/cling wrap (Sam's Choice from Wal-Mart) to cover yeast breads while proofing. But being cheap, I fold the sheets up and keep them in the freezer to re-use several times. I quit using a cloth towel because they sometimes stick to the dough, and the towels can actually weigh enough to restrict the rise of dough.

3. Baked loaves of bread that are placed in the freezer are wrapped in a sheet of plastic wrap, and then a sheet of foil, to keep as much air from the surface of the bread as possible. This tight fitting covering prevents the formation of ice crystals from moisture migrating from the crumb of the bread. The foil is re-used many times before it's put in the recycling bin.

4. Foil and Non-Stick Foil. I thought I was going overboard when I bought a roll of non-stick foil until I found all kinds of uses for it.

I don't keep wax/waxed paper anymore either.

-Grainlady

I use parchment but I buy 1/2 sheets rolled in a tube from KA. There's 100 in a tube & that lasts several years since I reuse most of them at least a couple times.

Press-n-Seal has replaced Saran Wrap/Cling Wrap...much easier to use & does a better job. I wrap bread for the freezer in Press-n-Seal & discovered I don't need an extra layer of foil.

Rarely use foil & currently don't have any in the kitchen although I usually keep one around.

A roll of paper towels will last 2-3 months.

I also use the shower caps for covering leftovers, bowls of rising dough, etc. Got them from Vermont Country Store on the way home from King Arthur many years ago. It's amazing how large a container the larger shower cap will cover!

I don't use waxed paper at all & haven't in years.

/tricia

I seldom use plastic wrap (although I found it makes a pretty decent sushi roller) and have never tried Press N Seal. I have a stack of glass containers with plastic lids from Pyrex and another stack of Rubbermaid/Tupperware stuff that I use almost exclusively. Even my glass 9x13 cake pan has its own lid. I have a couple of "bungee cord" kind of things that I scrounged from who knows where and I use those in a criss-cross "x" to keep lids on casseroles like my cast iron dutch oven. I use those when I take food somewhere. I have parchment paper that I use when baking and a roll of waxed paper that I use to drop no-bake cookies on once in a blue moon when I bake them. I mostly have the waxed paper because Ashley did one of those projects in high school where you iron the autumn leaves between two sheets of waxed paper and I still have that roll left, LOL.

I do use aluminum foil occasionally, mostly because I can recycle it easily and I can use it in a roasting pan to make cleanup a bit easier. I don't seem to find that it tears, and I also use it to "tent" a chicken breast so it doesn't get too dark or to cover my pie crust edges so they don't brown too quickly. It's also good for camping because I can toss a package of meat and veggies into the fire and have dinner.

Mostly, though, I just use real containers with real lids, even to carry my lunch/leftovers to work. I don't like to throw anything into the landfill that I don't have to, so I'm pretty judicious about what I use.

I've even convinced Amanda to give up paper towels, and I bought her two dozen of those white terrycloth bar mops to wipe up spills and sticky hands.

Actually, those stretchy elastic bungee cords are great for a lot of things. I still use them in my refrigerator door, the plastic shelf fronts were broken (I bought it used) and so old I couldn't buy replacements. The hooks of the bungee cords went right into the holes where the shelf fit and I like it better, it stretches to accomodate oddly shaped items! Elery laughs whenever he opens my refrigerator door though, and says I'm very "creative". I think he really means "cheap".

So, now I've gone off topic completely, someone is going to have to yell at me for that! :-)

Annie

I use parchment for all baking.

I do use some foil to line a sheet when cooking bacon in the oven and to wrap up baked potatoes.

I use plastic wrap to cover lid-less bowls (I need to get some more shower caps).

About the only thing I use waxed paper for is no-bake cookies or 'stuff' dipped in chocolate. I probably won't replace my roll when I finally use it up.

I try to use "re-usable" containers as much as possible. It's a work in progress to build that habit and find containers that really work.

Lunches are the biggest obstacle for me. DH & I both take leftovers for lunch. I hate having 3, 4 or 5 containers to haul with us...some with just a pickle or some veggies or whatever. One, maybe two is OK, but geez........try to get some fried chicken, veggies, dip, pickle, chips, etc. to work without a bunch of bulky containers. So, yeah, I still use some "sandwich" bags.........BUT! I'm working on it!!!!

So........where's a good place to get shower caps???

Deanna

Any kitchen store with a wall of gadgets or any dollar store should have the elastic covers. My very first bowl cover that I used for my biggest bread bowl was actually a shower cap! Wash those well as they sometimes have a powdery substance on them. The freebie caps from hotel rooms are great too. I got a pack of several large clear plastic shower caps at the dollar store for our bread bowls at Paney Camp last August. The dollar store also carries a pack of covers in graduated sizes.

Well, I have a roll fo waxed paper from when I was a bride....a almost never use it....but occasionally put a piece on the end of my ironing board to rub the orin on when it's lost it's slippery.
Bobby is you are having trouble with plastic wrap, try Reynolds...but what I really like is that huge box of the commercial stuff you can get at Sams...but I hate to give it counter space.
And foli! I Loooove foil...I buy it by the 200 sq foot roll.
And Bobby if it tears it's because you are buying the really cheap stuff.
And parchment...I use a fair amount of that too...can';tw ait until I can get to a place that carries th flat sheeets...
But I am also a baggie queen....and paper towel princess!
Linda c

I must be the lame brain of the group.

Zip-Loc bags are my work horses.

I love parchment paper, but use silicone baking sheets too. Mine are oh so oui! oui! French! I got them when they first met the home kitchen.

Glad wrap is in my drawer and I use it sometimes. I do have some press and seal. It is housed in the garage, as it bugs me. Why? I don't know. I don't have a engagement going so we will never get married as far as I cam concerned.

I have plastic storage bags with the twist ties, they disappeared from the grocery store, but the hardware store had tons of them, so now I do too.

I have both heavy duty big long rolls of aluminum foil and the regular stuff. I use the heavy stuff more often. My husband prefers the old fashioned thin stuff.

I love waxed paper and use it for cookie making all the time. I also wrap big messy Italian subs in wax paper and then in foil to keep for dinner.

I have Glad sandwich bags that do not zip and use them every once and a while. I especially like to put chips in them, as the zip-locs tend to mash the chips.

There are brown paper lunch bags in my drawer too. I love them for everything from pop corn to lunches and quick fixes.

Cheesecloth is also in my drawer and I use it sometimes for various things. I like it to wrap meat into when I am going to do something with it "tomorrow". Cheap enough to wash or throw.

My drawer has lots of toothpicks types and sizes and skewers.

My drawer is a catch-all for every type of wrap or store need.

No favorites. Just want it at my fingertips.

And, I love rubbermaid. I have a whole gorilla shelf in the garage filled with every kind of storage thing from tupperware to rubbermaid to glad.

Like I said, I am a disorganized lame brain. No sense about my likes and dislikes at all.

For plastic wrap, my mom swears by Sam's Choice, same as Grainlady. She says it's by far the best. I don't live near a Wal-Mart, or I would pick it up more often.

I use so many paper towels it is shameful. I cover food in the micro with a paper towel because I don't like to have heated plastic over the food. I wipe up most messes with them.

I am driven my laziness more than anything. I never use zip lock bags because I don't feel like I can toss them. I always wash for re-use. Instead I buy sandwich bags and 1 quart bags with twist ties.

I cover bowls in the fridge with plastic wrap, but always have the same wrestling match as Bobby. I better try the press and seal stuff.

I never use parchment paper but I do use waxed paper for one thing. When I sift something, I sift it onto a sheet of wp and then pour it into a bowl. Works well for that.

Waxed Paper is also excellent for rubbing on a metal sliding board to make it "slide" faster. Works on slanted cellar doors, too. If you sit on a piece of waxed paper, you really fly.

My usage of these things has changed since our new garbage bylaw was implemented, and I'm feeling better for it.

Parchment paper is a staple, I use it for all sorts of baking including some meat dishes. It can go in our green bin for compost so I don;t feel bad using it.

Paper towels, which have not been used with chemicals, are also acceptable in the green bin so I actually use them more often in the kitchen than I used to.

I love my tin foil and use both the regular and non stick. The Reynolds non stick is fabulous for lining roasting pans, wrapping ribs etc. Love that product and it can go in the recycle!

I limit my use of Press and Seal but love it for wrapping individual servings of leftovers or individual burger patties when freezing.

Am trying to totally eliminate my use of freezer bags and baggies. We used them for everything before, I mean by the crate load, but they can't be recycled at all and must go in our, three bags, every two weeks, garbage bags! So good bye baggies!

Like Linda, I have a part roll of waxed paper from a zillion years ago but I never, ever use it. Funny though I recall wrapping our lunch sandwiches in it when I was little. I still know exactly how to wrap a sandwich in wax paper. They stayed fresh, so how come we stopped using wax paper?

I use very little plastic wrap but have it on hand. Almost all our leftovers go into dollar store plastic containers.

Since we went on this new garbage system in our town I am down to a half full, green garbage bag, of land fill garbage, the rest is all recycle or green bin ...it feels good.

If you can't find the 'shower cap' bowl covers locally Vermont Country Stores carries them.

/tricia

Here is a link that might be useful: Vermont Country Stores

I must be the only person left who uses wax paper regularly. I use it most frequently to cover food in the microwave to keep spatters to a minimum. I use it when I grate cheese - grate the cheese right onto it - pick it up and take it where it needs to go, and then throw it away. I use it like a flexible cutting board. No mess and no cleanup. I use it to wrap sandwiches, just like a deli. It makes shaping rolls of refrigerator dough very easy. I could go on and on.
I use paper towels very rarely, relying instead on cloth, particularly microfiber or linen. A roll of saran wrap will last me the rest of my natural life. I use Lock and Lock or a knock-off or glass to store most foods.

I also use wax paper often as elisa. I use it on top of my cutting board when I am oiling or buttering bread / rolls to make paninnis; I use it to roll wraps for cutting crosswise later.
I cheat and use the foil sheets, but also use the hy duty foil for various grill cooking.

I use those flexible plastic cutting boards for a lot of things some of you use waxed paper for, like cutting on and covering a pan of dough and grating cheese and sifting flour...as well as making toast and sandwiches. It's reusable and doesn't go into the landfill ( well but for about every 10 months or so!)....
But I make up for that in paper towel and baggie use!! LOL!
Linda C

I don't have flexible cutting boards, and so I use waxed paper more often than anything else on a roll. I keep my use of paper towels to an absolute minimum, however, and almost never use them to wipe up a spill. I will use cloth or a sponge for that. I use waxed paper to collect grated cheese (mostly Parmesan) and also to collect lime or lemon zest, as well as shredded ginger. I don't use it in the MW - I use plates instead to cover things, and I have some nice round glass samples from Murano in different colors (they were color samples) that make nice covers for most things.

I use Saran Wrap fairly often, much as Grainlady does, for covering the bowl that has bread dough rising. I also use it to cover my board when I want to oil it.

I use aluminum foil fairly often - I haven't seen tin foil on the West Coast or in Texas, but I imagine that it is much prettier than aluminum foil. I've heard that people still get tin foil on the East Coast. I use aluminum foil mainly to line baking or roasting pans, to make them easier to clean.

I have a very wide roll of parchment paper, and I use that mainly when baking, but less so now that I have Silpat.

This thread just reminded me - I'm almost out of toilet paper!

Lars

i'm guilty of almost everything except papertowels. i have never brought a roll and never will. i have used them at other people's houses, but i usually cut them in half. i have a sister who could go through a roll in a day, it's shameful. i'm big on cloth napkins, so i guess it's that paper thing.

i drain bacon or anything greasy on newspaper or brown bags. (although i shop using cloth bags).

i use waxed paper for so many things. it's a staple in my house.

i never had a problem with plastic wrap. i purchased a massive industrial sized box about 20 so years ago and i'm still using it.

i do use foil, but i also reuse it until it can't be used again. i do the same with parchment.

years ago i found boxes of those shower cap type lids - maybe glad made them - in the dollar store. but i haven't been in a dollar store in so long, i don't know if they still sell them. my BIL travels extensively so my sister sends me the shower caps. good for bowls/dishes as well as when you are waiting for the hair color to take.

i like that press and seal stuff and use it when i'm separating large quantities of meat.

i just replaced 75% of my tupperware containers, so i do get major use out of them too. i also use canning jars to store other stuff.

maryanne

I use it all in abundance. And we go through paper towels constantly. It really does irk me though when a clean dishtowel is right in front of dh and he gets a paper towel to dry his hands.
I do reuse parchment, however, and most of the time wash and reuse freezer ziploc bags.

I don't think I have a favorite roll. My least favorite however is the toilet paper roll. Especially when you are on the pot and you can see that empty roll there at a most inconvenient time. TMI I know.

Duane

Grainlady:
Is that being Cheap or Conservative ?

Maryanne:
Reminded me of something I do with Papertowels.
My one daughter will pull out about 5 pieces to pick up a few drops of water.

And they want to know why I rip a piece in Half to do the same thing. I just answer, Why not.?

I told them if you want to know why , just exaggerate.
So, I pull out about 20 pieces,to pick up a Small spill.
And I throw it all in the trash bin.

They will say you didn't have to use that much. Whalla !!!
That's what I thought when I watched you!

Now they are making Half sheets ????? They never mentioned this ! But they buy them now.

I also told them , if everyone in the US , did this for a few days,
it would mean a lot less trees, would be cut, needlessly.

VF:
I have a large Commercial roll of Plastic wrap, that I roll onto smaller cardboard tubes.
As I use it and cut off a piece, I wrinkle the end a little, so I can find it.
LOU

My favorite roll... There is only one!!!!

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. .
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Give me that Ol' Time Rock & Roll....

Rita

A roll in the hay could be at the top of the list. Where is Jessy on this one?

Wax paper is my survival necessity. All my sandwiches for work get wrapping in it and then slid into a baggie. Something to warm them in and then something to eat off of in the lunchroom. Some people at work can tell how much of a hurry I was in by the neatness of my wrap job... LOL the things people notice! No tortilla press so it is wax paper and a rolling pin in my kitchen.

Paper has replaced most of my kitchen towels. Kitties like to pull down my cloth towels and bring them to me. For awhile I took to clipping the towels to the oven door but gave up and went paper. I buy in bulk and get the rolls with the short sheets to keep costs down. About $40 a year just for paper towels. I also gave up on dish washing and went with paper for everything but my coffee cup and cooking pans. My housekeeper was thrilled. For what it costs for domestic help I'm money ahead as the housekeeper spends less time doing my dishes.

Aluminum foil? My last bulk roll lasted five years. About one roll of parchment paper a year. My sister taught me to cook fish in parchment paper and it works pretty good.

About 25 years ago I could get rolling papers by the roll. Great for what people called "chongers" in tribute to Cheech and Chong. Wish I could go back to the University....

: )
lyra

and where is Jesse? she should have something to say about "your favorite roll"

waxed paper? yes, in the microwave. And before I had even heard of of parchment paper, I used it in the bottom of cake pans.