Well CRAP!! It won't let me select a "featured answer" which would most certainly go to Ms. Jinx!!! Thanks for the laugh (although not the visual LOL).

@maddielee I'm not quite sure what the reason for having paper towels is. We do use them, just not so much. I haven't had a problem with anything being smelly, but I guess it depends on what you wipe up. It's just the two of us, and I'm the one doing most of the kitchen stuff. Our laundry room is right off the kitchen eating nook, and I have a hamper in there just for dishtowels. I have a rod above where they dry before going into the hamper.

Of course if I had a cat and it yakked, I would NOT use a dish towel. LOL!!!

In our last home I had one in the pantry since the blender, toaster and microwave were in the pantry too. Also in that home, and in our current home, I use my paper towel jar from the Workshop of David T Smith next to the sink.

My roll is on a vertical holder on the counter in a somewhat out of the way location. My kitchen is small so even out of the way is just a couple steps from everywhere else in the kitchen. I like the mobile holder in case I need to take the roll somewhere else to clean something up. Usually that's cat barf but I think I've fixed the cat that's had digestive issues for the ten years we've had him so the PT hasn't been moved lately.

Mine, like Bunny’s, is on a marble on-end holder. I try to limit use of paper towels. I keep bar mops handy for things that aren’t too gross and bleach them frequently.

Mine is over the kitchen sink. I think twice before using them but they are frequently my choice for the job at hand.

I don't like being argumentative here, but if you congratulate your own environmentalism for not using paper towels but do fly for pleasure trips you should probably put your choices into some sort of scale. I am not condemning flying just a reality check.

I try to limit my use to cat yak. DH uses them to dry his hands instead of the towel hanging on the front of the sink cabinet that I change out at least daily.

We also have paper towels by the laundry and utility sinks for grody stuff (at the basement one, it’s mainly because we don‘t use that sink too often and I’d never remember to get the dirty towels.).

I also keep a roll under the sink in each bathroom. We have two cats, don’t want to be running up and down and across the house. Not that they yak that often, but when you need ‘em, you need ‘em!

I have tons of rags and bar mops for cleaning that I can wash or toss (in the trash or to the textile recycling bin in town).

I just wonder what paper towels in the pantry are used for? I think of them mainly for wet jobs, like by the sink.

@bpath that's just where we keep them. I don't like to see them for one, and as I mentioned, we're pretty conditioned to using cloth towels, etc. more often than paper. We don't actually use paper towels IN the pantry LOL! :)

@lisaam if your remark was directed to me, I was not congratulating myself and hope that it didn't come out like that. Yes, we try to use less paper products. I'm sure alot of people do.

I was using more paper towels than I like, but now use the 1/2 a sheet paper towels, and have been using a sheet or two off rolls of the wrong TP I bought, when I can to cut down on PT use. I don't rinse dishes and pans with oil, mayo and stuff down the drain into my 60+ year old septic system, and disposal is not recommended, so I wipe things out carefully with the smallest amount possible. Mostly I hand wash. PT roll is just out on a counter, and the TP roll in a cabinet.

I keep mine in the laundry room next to the spray bottle of cat mess cleaner. Kitchen messes are handled via a very big stack of 6x6 kitchen rags that lives in a kitchen drawer, use and put in wash. That drawer also houses “good” clothes for hands and dishes which get swapped out less frequently. I have also used newspaper which is to be recycled for clean ups.

My statement isn't directed at any one person. There have been other conversations where people extoll how they don't use paper towels any more. Ok that's good but the carbon footprint pales in comparison to some other choices that we all make.

I keep paper towel on a vertical holder by the sink. I'm a paper towel snob. Has to be bounty and most often select-a-size. I also have an unreasonable aversion (is hatred to strong a word?) to sponges so I only use paper towel. Using a good quality pt like bounty is probably more environmentally-friendly than the cheap brands as I use far less. Of course my dishtowels would be a better choice.

Here's a thought, Lisaam. How about starting your own discussion about environmental concerns? It's a really worthwhile topic, but to me feels adversarial to interject into a friendly discussion like this.

We use way too many also, right next to our sink.

@lisaam but you don’t know our choices.

Vertical holder under the kitchen sink. I change cloth towels daily and always have 2 going at a time.

Ours is on a horizontal rack attached to the cab door below the sink. Like jinx, we use them mostly for cat barf. It's second use is for bacon, but we only have that a few times a year. I wish the cat barf was just a few times per year, as well (altho switching to wet food has certainly helped).

We are weaning ourselves from the paper towels by the sink. Son gave us Unpaper Towels for Christmas and they are wonderful. I throw them in the washer and dryer. They are fun and work really well.

Marley's Monsters unpaper towels

Like Jinx, mine is on an (upright) holder next to my kitchen sink (far left in this pic). But, like Jinx, we use cloth hand towels for most things

The previous homeowner installed holders on the inside of the cabinet doors below the sinks, so that's where my paper towels reside. I mostly use dish towels and dish cloths that can go into the laundry sink after use. I wonder what is the environmental tipping point between using paper towels and using water and fuel/energy for laundry?

Fun, I throw my unpaper towels in with other loads, so no extra energy or water is used.

Under upper kitchen cabinet holder.

On the counter. Usually use regular kitchen towels, changed daily, to dry hands and dishes but most other cleaning kitchen cleaning we use paper towels. We do use the 1/2 sheets. My mom and MIL have always used paper towels so it is a habit for both DH and I. Probably could improve on that.

In the bottom drawer next to the sink. We also use towels and microfiber dish cloths. PT only used rarely, and a roll lasts several months.

On top of my island counter by the sink.

Mine is standing vertically next to the sink. I also have regular dish towel hanging on the dishwasher.

As an aside, I posted this a bit ago but not sure if you saw it- remember the towel pig? Well here's a paper towel pig. I don't have it, but it brought a smile to my face. (I think it takes up too much real estate but it's cute).

Actually, my paper towels live on a vertical holder next to the sink. The inspiration photo had them in the pantry and I briefly considered that option but it would be pretty inconvenient for my kitchen.

I didn’t know cats were so barfy.

Not so barfy, but you sure want a paper towel handy when they do.

I prefer not to use a dispenser. We keep a roll of paper towel either under the sink or on top of the counter and move around as needed. We have four cats, so paper towel is primarily used for cat cleanup, and for kitchen messes I don't want to stain my kitchen cloths.

Yesterday morning I was in the middle of a weekly class (Zoom) that I co-mentor. Zephyr decided it was the right time to barf under the table where I was sitting. In one well-practiced move, I got up, reached for a couple of double sheets of paper towel, and cleaned up the mess before the person speaking had finished. Hurray for Mute Audio!

Right next to the sink

@cyn427 (z. 7, N. VA) those unpaper towels are great! I have a friend who has been making those and some other items.

Interesting how we all do things. I don't really "clean" with paper towels. I do use them to clean mirrors. I agree with whoever mentioned sponges - they can be nasty. I use dishcloths (designated as cleaning cloths) or "scrubbies" to clean (depending on what I'm cleaning) and also magic erasers (sink and glass cooktop). Also interesting about the water consumption. I hadn't really thought of that. I wash my dishtowels and dishcloths separate from clothing or towels, etc. but as I stated earlier, dishtowels hang to dry and then go in their own hamper and I wash when I have a small load. Which doesn't take long.

Thanks to everyone for their input.

So yeah, umm ...maybe it's a blessing I'm allergic to cats.

LOL! Funny thread. My paper towels are also on a marble stand next to my sink. But mine are mainly used for dog yak (stealing jinx word). I mainly use cloth towels and sponges in the kitchen, but when one of the dogs has an accident, gotta be paper towels,

We have 2 -- both stainless vertical stands. One by the sink and the other on the opposite side of the kitchen between the stove & fridge.

I also have hand towels out which we use more frequently. (and they get changed out about every 2 days.)

No cats, but there are some things I would prefer to clean up w/a paper towel as opposed to my kitchen towels.

I forgot to post mine. I’m posing it on the hutch with Lamp. The kitchen lighting stinks right now.

Dressed:

Undressed:

Looks light, but it’s actually quite heavy.

Most rolls fit over the top thingie without me having to unscrew it. Except Aldi’s ones, which I learned this week. Tried to push it down and it pushed every single layer back up into a 3 ft tall paper towel cone in my hand. And it wouldn’t roll back up right after.

@salonva I am so glad someone remembers the 'towel pig'. We recently refreshed our kitchen and I thought about getting something like that. In the end I just used an extra cabinet know to hang our towels.

I'm sure I replied to this post last year, but I'm too lazy to look. :) After buying a nice paper towel holder made out of cast iron, I put it up after awhile. When I need a paper towel, I need one fast. So we keep them on the counter so I can just grab the roll. I also dedicate a kitchen drawer just for paper towels. My bad.

Cats are pretty barfy!

Under the kitchen cabinet in a metal holder where you can pop the roll on and off.

I'm not sure why this popped back up but I see that I did not thank every poster when the thread originally posted. So sorry!

Finally! I’ve been waiting 370 days for that thank you!

Haha @Jilly! Im a stickler on those thank yous!!

😄😘

The paper towel ”holder” that I aspire to is a slot in the floor of the upper cabinet with the towels fed through the slot. Someone on the Kitchen Forum had done that when I was reading and looking for ideas ~15 years ago.

Pretty, Jinx.

I purchased our paper towel jar 16yrs ago. Still love it. (Workshop of David T Smith)

Thank you, Allison! I’ve always coveted yours. Besides being beautiful, it’s such a great design!

I scrolled through and did not see I had posted it earlier. WTHeck?! Thanks, Jinx.

Love your paper towel jar, Allison. I can't believe the price of a plain one now ! Yikes ! I hope yours wasn't anywhere near that price sixteen years ago.

Thanks, Woodrose. It was not inexpensive, brb.... they have gone up some. I paid $250. I look at it as a piece of art, just like the other pottery pieces I own from other artisans.

Allison, I did not know that sort of thing exists. If I ever get a new paper towel holder, I love my current brass one that is 25 years old and could also be a weapon, so much, but yours, oh my.

I would have one custom made from a favorite potter in colors I wanted.