DIY Reusable "Paper" Towels

When I stumble across something that totally changes my life, I HAVE to share it and tell everyone I know about it. For real. And these? These are currently "The best idea I've ever had." I know that I am far from the first person to do this, but I don't want to be the last! For the cost of less than a pack of paper towels [I spent $4 and used other materials I had around the house], you will never have to buy paper towels again. Genius. Also, this took like 15 minutes to make. Any project that can be completed start to finish in one naptime or less? Sign me up. It is so simple, it hardly needs a tutorial, but just in case my thoughts are not as easy to understand...here goes!



Materials:

• Pack of washcloths [Mine were $4 for a pack of 18 at walmart. I bought white ones so I can bleach them when I need to. They're for kitchen messes, so bleaching is inevitable. I also like the look of white paper towels on the holder, so I stuck with the basic.]


• Paper towel tube


• Snaps [2 full sets per washcloth + 2 extra sockets for the paper towel tube] I had these left over from making my cloth diapers.


• Snap Press [$12 with a 40% off coupon at Jo-Anns. Again, I had mine from making cloth diapers.]


• Awl [You might not need this depending on your washcloths. If the weave is loose enough for the snap to go through on its own, this isn't necessary, but most snap presses come with one anyway.]


• Paper


• Pen

1. Make a hole 1.25 inches from either edge of one corner of the paper.
2. Use that template to mark a dot in all four corners of each washcloth.

3. Use the awl and snap press to install two snap prongs and two snap sockets on each washcloth. You want them facing opposite sides of the washcloth. So if your prongs are facing up, you want your sockets facing down.

4. Snap the washcloths together in one long strip.

5. Measure 1.25 inches in from either end of the paper towel tube.
6. Install the two extra sockets onto the paper towel tube.
7. Attach your strip of washcloths to the paper towel tube, roll up and place on paper towel holder.
8. Check out your handywork, you're done!

I have a little canvas bin to throw the used ones into in our laundry room. It has been a dream, seriously. Every time I use one, I get excited again at just how good of an idea this was, and how inexpensive! I had seen reusable paper towels before, but they wanted you to sew each towel yourself out of multiple layers of fabric, which ups the cost and time involved. I couldn't commit to that and I was dang sure there was an easier way to do it, so here you have it. This works for us!