PaperlessKitchen Blog

Introducing New Full Circle Scrubbers!

In a previous blog post, we announced the expansion of our Full Circle collection and introduced you to our new green cleaning cloth and organic towel options. Today, we're showcasing some new brushes that we're carrying from Full Circle.

Full Circle Reach Bottle Brush - This brush solves the problem of how to easily clean out the bottom of glass or plastic bottles before adding them to the recycling. At 10 inches in length, the brush can easily reach deep within most bottles, and the unique two-head design allows you to simultaneously wash the interior and exterior of the bottles. The brush is made entirely from post-consumer recycled plastic and stainless steel.

Full Circle Lean and Mean Scrub Brush - When your cleaning routine calls for a heavy-duty brush to tackle a very messy job, the Lean and Mean Scrub Brush is ready for the job. The brush has thick post-consumer and post-industrial recycled plastic bristles and a very easy-to-grip handle that allows you to scrub very hard without having to use too much effort.

Full Circle Suds Up Dish Brush - We've already sold many Suds Up Dish Brushes to our customers, and we're pleased to announce that we've added the Dish Brush in a new color--Earth Green. The Suds Up brush contains a soap dispenser in its bamboo handle. The soap comes out of the dish brush head, helping the bamboo and recycled plastic bristles clean more effectively. The green accents on the handle are made from Bonterra, a plant-based plastic, and the heads are replaceable.

Full Circle Bubble Up Brush - The Bubble Up Brush was made for all those times when you have only a few dishes to wash or a very messy spot on the counter top that requires soap and water, but not a whole sink full. This handy two-piece set includes a ceramic base with a spring-loaded platform. When you fill it with water and dish soap and then push down on the platform with the bamboo scrub brush, the ceramic base will fill with suds. You can then use the brush to tackle your cleaning task or dip a green cleaning cloth in the water. The set comes in white and green or purple.

Do you like our new Full Circle scrub brushes? Let us know what you think in the "Comments" section.

INTRODUCING NEW FULL CIRCLE GREEN CLEANING CLOTHS AND TOWELS

Full Circle is one of our most popular brands, thanks to the innovative, unique designs of the company's green cleaning products. Recently, we've had the opportunity to add some new Full Circle products to our lineup, so we wanted to devote some blog posts to introducing them.

Some of the products that we're most excited about are great paper towel replacements for the kitchen. They include:

- Full Circle In the Buff Dish Towels - We've had In the Buff Dish Towels available in the Natural, un-dyed color since our store opened, and now, we're pleased to offer In the Buff Dish Towels in Blue and in Green. The towels are vibrant in color, thanks to the inclusion of eco-friendly, low-impact dyes. Like the Natural towels, our In the Buff towels are made from 70 percent naturally antibacterial bamboo and 30 percent certified organic cotton. The towels are great for drying dishes and hands, wiping counter tops and sopping up spills.

- Full Circle Stick 'Em Up Dish Towel Value Pack - We can't say enough good things about the Stick 'Em Up Dish Towel, and neither can our customers. The towel has a magnet sewn into its bamboo-organic cotton fabric, so that you can keep it at the ready on the side of your refrigerator. Because so many of our customers are returning to our site to stock up on these great magnetic dish towels, we've added a value pack to our inventory that gives you one dozen towels at a great price.

- Full Circle The Edge Cloth - This double-sided cloth is great for replacing paper towels for cleaning. A microfiber cloth on one side picks up crumbs and debris and can absorb spills very easily. The other side has a loofah texture that makes it perfect for tasks that need some elbow grease but that are too delicate for a scrubber.

Paperless Kitchen Tested: Toockies Dish Cloths Review

Now that I've made the leap completely and removed the paper towel holder from the wall in my kitchen, I'm starting to experiment more with reusable alternatives to paper towels. In past blog posts, I've discussed disposable towels and reusable scrubbers, but have yet to test any fabric cloths. To change that and familiarize myself with another green paper towel replacement, I picked up a pack of Toockies Handmade Dish Cloths and decided to put them through a kitchen road test.

The Basics

Toockies dish cloths are made from 100 percent certified organic cotton and are sold in packs of three. We've discussed this eco-friendly brand in a previous blog post, explaining how all Toockies products are produced by hand by women in India who are able to better provide for their families with the wages they are paid for putting their knitting skills to good use.

The Inspection

As a special touch, the packaging of the Toockies cloths gave the name of the woman who made mine. It was a powerful reminder of the good that Toockies does for impoverished families every day. 

Once I removed the cloths from the packaging and started handling, them I was immediately struck by their thickness. The cotton is so thick, and the knit is so flawless and tight that I could easily use my cloths as pot holders or trivets. The size of the cloth is perfect for the size of my hand and comparable to other dish cloths that I've used in the past, but my Kitchen Assistant felt that the cloth was a little small for his much bigger hands.

The Full Sink

Since dish cloths are primarily used for dishwashing, my kitchen assistant and I decided to fill up my sink and clean up the dishes from the lunch we ate before our road test began. Lunch was pasta, and our dishes were covered with sticky sauce and melty cheese. The grain of the weave on the Toockies cloth was easily able to lift away the grime, and it took very little scrubbing to get the dishes clean.

What impressed me even more was that when we rinsed the cloth, it looked as good as new. This surprised me because I was sure that the sauce would leave stains on the fabric. 

The Microwave 

Now that we had seen how well the Toockies dish cloth worked for tackling the dishes, we turned to the microwave, which I hadn't given a thorough cleaning in quite some time. My kitchen assistant and I took turns scrubbing and were impressed by how easily it was to clean all of the surfaces of the microwave. It was so easy to get the turntable clean that we didn't even have to take it out and soak it in the sink. We were also able to use just a tiny amount of dish soap to do all of the cleaning, thanks to the weave of the cloth.

The Washing Machine

When we finished with our test, I decided to toss the cloth in the washing machine. It softened up a little during the wash, but it held up very well without any visible signs of wear and tear. 

The Takeaway

I really love the Toockies dish cloths. They're well made and very easy to use, and if my initial wash was any indication, they'll stand up well to repeated use. I did this road test four days ago and have used my cloths several times to clean counter tops, wash dishes and wipe my hands.

My kitchen assistant was also impressed with the cloths, so impressed that when I offered to give him one of the three clothes from my pack he said, "No, I want to buy a pack so I can have more than one."

What to Do with Wet Towels in Your Kitchen

Going paperless in your kitchen means ditching paper towels and opting for reusable alternatives like biodegradable disposable cloths, green cleaning cloths and cloth towels. But what do you do with your paper towel alternatives after you've used them? Letting a dirty cloth or towel rest on your counter top is unattractive and unsanitary, but if you're like many people, you may struggle with precisely what to do instead.

 Here are some of our best ideas for managing wet towels and cloths in the kitchen.

 - Laundry bags. Both e-Cloth and PeopleTowels make special laundry bags for their products. Outfitted with zippers or drawstrings, these compact bags can be kept in a drawer or cupboard and filled with dirty towels and cloths that are ready for the washing machine. Although these are created for specific brands, you can easily use them to store other types of paper towel alternatives like our SKOY cloths or Bambooee bamboo paper towels.

 - Towel bars and rings. You can mount a decorative towel bar or towel ring on the outside of the cabinet beneath your sink, at the end of an island or in another easy-to-access spot in your kitchen. There are many green towel rings and bars available online.

 - Hooks. Pick up some sustainable wood, recycled metal or other eco-friendly hooks and mount them on the inside of one of the cabinet doors beneath your sink. This will keep your cloths and towels at the ready, yet out of sight.

 - Magnets. Several companies offer magnetic towel rings and bars that can be placed on the front or sides of your fridge. Full Circle even makes the Stick 'Em Magnetic Dish Towel, which has a magnet sewn right into the fabric.

 There are just a few ideas to get you thinking about what to do with wet cloths in the kitchen. Do you have a different technique? If so, share it in our "Comments" section.

Introducing To-Go Ware Tiffins

When you're committed to going paperless in your kitchen, the last thing that you want is to have to resort to packing your lunch in paper. At Paperless Kitchen, we're always on the lookout for eco-friendly products that make eating meals on the go more sustainable, and we're proud to announce that we've added two new green lunch solutions to our collection--To-Go Ware 2-Tier and 3-Tier Tiffins.

 Based on designs for lunch boxes that are prevalent in India, the tiffins are made from unlined stainless steel. Reusable and dishwasher-safe, the tiffins are far better for the planet than paper towels and are free of BPA, making them superior to many plastic food containers.

 The tiffins consist of stackable metal containers that can be carried together or used individually. The tiffins are safe for both hot and cold foods, so you can use them for everything from soups to salads to leftovers to desserts. The top container in both the 2-tier and 3-tier models has a carrying handle.

 To coordinate with the tiffins, we've also added To-Go Ware Tiffin Carriers to our collection. Available in 2-tier and 3-tier sizes, the carriers are made from recycled cotton scraps dyed with nontoxic pigments.

 In addition to promoting a greener planet, To-Go Ware is dedicated to bringing economic opportunity to impoverished families in India. The company pays fair wages to the artisans who make the tiffin carriers by hand, helping them better provide for their families.

 Check out our To-Go Ware tiffins and tiffin carriers and let us know what you think in the comment section.

The Eco Impact of Items You Never Thought About

When we think about greening our homes and establishing a paperless kitchen, many changes that we can make our obvious, such as abandoning toxic cleaning products and switching to paper towel replacements; however, there are many products in our homes that have a harsh impact on the environment or that are made from nonrenewable materials that we never consider.

 Here's a few products that you may never thought of greening before:

 Swiffer or static cling mops Many people make the switch to these "dry" floor cleansers because they eliminate the need for floor soaps, but those throwaway sheets are typically not biodegradable and can add up to a lot of waste.

 Instead try the e-Cloth Deep Clean Mop, which uses a microfiber cleaning cloth to clean with water alone. The mop head is reusable and can be washed up to 100 times. 

Coasters are often made from toxic-laden plastic or nonrenewable metal. Not only are these materials not biodegradable, but they're also not absorbent and can leave a wet mess on your hard surfaces.

 Instead try Toockies coasters, which are made from 100 percent certified organic cotton and are more absorbent than plastic and metal.

Wooden spoons and other wooden cooking utensils often contribute to deforestation and may be held together with toxic adhesives or finished with chemical sealants. 

Instead try Bambu certified organic bamboo wooden spoons. Every bit as durable and temperature-resistant as your everyday wooden spoon, Bambu spoons have a built in spoon rest to protect your counter tops.

What kitchen products are you planning to replace soon? Have you found sustainable alternatives? Leave a message in the comments for help finding eco-friendly solutions.

Kitchen Road Test: e-Cloth Deep Clean Mop Review

 I don't trust mops. I blame my mother and grandmother who I saw get down on their hands and knees to wash their floors by hand, both insisting that even with the best soap, a mop simply can't get your floors clean as some good old-fashioned elbow grease.

 Because of my mop mistrust, I was skeptical about the e-Cloth Deep Clean Mop, which is not only a mop--it's a mop that reportedly can clean your floors without soap. I went into my e-Cloth Deep Clean Mop kitchen test unsure what to expect, but after a morning of cleaning I have to say I'm now a mop believer, at least when it comes to the e-Cloth Mop.

 The Basics

 The e-Cloth Deep Clean Mop has a removable cloth cover with a highly concentrated fiber network. Each square centimeter of fabric contains 480,000 tiny fibers, which capture dirt and lift it away. Because of this unique network of fibers, the mop can be used with just plain water and can eliminate 99.9 percent of household bacteria.

 The Setup

Getting the e-Cloth Deep Clean Mop ready for use is remarkably simple. All my kitchen assistant and I had to do was remove the head, wet it with water ring it out and attach its Velcro side to the end. That's it. The cloth fastens securely in place and doesn't shift when you start to clean.

The Kitchen

I let both my kitchen floors go without cleaning for two weeks in preparation for this road test, so I was anxious to get cleaning. I have hardwood floors in my kitchen, and the e-Cloth Deep Clean Mop glided easily over the wood, even in the seams. My trusted assistant and I were both impressed with how much dust and dirt the mop lifted off of the wood, and I only had to rinse the cloth once to get the entire room clean.

The Bathroom

The e-Cloth Deep Clean Mop was equally impressive on the ceramic tiles in my bathroom. We were both amazed at how much dirt I was able to remove from the floor because the white tiles had looked clean before I went to work. I'm now left wondering how much dirt my rag, soap and bucket cleaning method had missed before. The telescoping handle on the mop really came in handy for cleaning around the toilet and tub.

The Cleanup

The e-Cloth Deep Clean Mop's package states that the mop head is guaranteed to last through at least 300 washes, so when I was finished cleaning, I tossed it in the washing machine. The mop head came out looking as good as new. Just make sure you don't add fabric softener! I didn't read the instructions carefully enough the first time and had to rewash mine without the softener.

The Takeaway

The e-Cloth Deep Clean Mop was as effective, if not more effective, than washing my floors by hand with soap and water. I even invited my mother over to inspect the results, and my sparkling clean floors received her approval. If two thumbs up from Mom isn't the ultimate endorsement, I don't know what is.

5 Best Natural Cookbooks for Families

Taking an organic approach to eating is the perfect complement to your paperless kitchen. And what better place to start than during the Thanksgiving Holidays? Organic fruits and veggies have a lower impact on the environment than those grown with chemical pesticides and synthetic fertilizers. Although there is some debate about whether or not organic foods actually contain more nutrients than other foods, it's clear that preparing well-balanced, healthy meals instead of using processed foods at home is better for your family and for the planet.

The key to making meal times more natural and healthier for your family is having a great collection of recipes at your disposal. For those who love traditional cookbooks, we put together this list of five of the best natural cookbooks for families.

1. The Organic Family Cookbook by Anni Daulter (Paperback, 176 pages) - This book comes from the founder of Bohemian Baby, a top organic baby food company. Each recipe is geared toward pleasing the palates of kids and their parents. You'll also find tips for greening your home and organic gardening in this handy book.

2. 201 Organic Baby Purees: The Freshest, Most Wholesome Food Your Baby Can Eat! by Tamika L. Gardner (Paperback, 240 pages, also available in a Kindle edition) - Gardner is a well-known expert in healthy baby foods and has had her recipes featured on television. This book gives you simple, incredibly healthy alternatives to traditional baby food, and infants can't seem to get enough of their delicious tastes.

3. Allergy-Friendly Food for Families: 120 Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Nut-Free, Egg-Free, and Soy-Free Recipes Everyone Will Enjoy by Editors of Kiwi Magazine (Paperback, 256 pages, also available in a Kindle edition) - Featuring recipes compiled from issues of Kiwi Magazine, this book focuses on eating natural for families where food sensitivities are an issue. The recipes make it easy to provide the whole family with meals that are delicious, yet safe for every member to enjoy.

4. The Vegetarian Mother's Cookbook: Whole Foods To Nourish Pregnant And Breastfeeding Women - And Their Families by Cathe Olson (Paperback, 429 pages) - Writer Cathe Olson created this book based on her own experiences trying to maintain a vegetarian diet and ensure that she had the proper nutrition throughout pregnancy and while nursing. Perfect for busy moms and moms-to-be, the recipes are quick and healthy for everyone, eliminating the need to make separate meals for kids and dads.

5. Organic Baby & Toddler Cookbook (Paperback, 144 pages) The work of a founder of a line of organic foods for children, this cookbook includes recipes that are perfect for transitioning kids from purees to more solid cuisine. There is a wide array of delicious dishes from traditional American fare to Indian recipes.

Do you have any organic cookbook recommendations? Let us know!

Great Green Gifts for College Students for Under $30

Out of everyone on my holiday shopping list, my 21-year-old cousin always seems to cause the biggest shopping dilemma. Now that he's in college, it's hard to decide what gifts are both practical and "cool".

To help you find the perfect gift for that 18-to-20-something on your list, here's some affordable gift ideas for college students.

e-Cloth Screen Cleaning Pack - $16.99

Why It's Great: Laptops are used daily by college students. Their fingerprinted, grimy screens are proof of it! This set makes it easy to quickly and safely clean computer screens as well as the touch screens on cell phones and tablet computers. The kit also includes a spray that helps prevent fingerprinting and dirt from adhering to the screen after cleaning.

Why It's Green: The tiny fibers in the cloth make it possible to clean without chemicals, and the CleanSafe screen spray is free of harsh, synthetic ingredients that are bad for the planet.

Eco Lunch Box Kit - $26.00

Why It's Great: College students often eat lunches on the go, and these reusable containers keep sandwiches, crackers and other foods from getting smashed in backpacks and messenger bags.

Why It's Green: The metal containers are reusable, unlike paper bags. The green design is free of PVC, BPA, lead and vinyl.

Method Tub and Tile Wipes - $21.17

Why It's Great: While it may not seem exciting to purchase bathroom cleaning wipes, your favorite college student will appreciate being able to sanitize the communal showers and restrooms in his or her dorms.

Why It's Green: The wipes are 100 percent biodegradable and are free of toxins and harsh, synthetic bleaches.

You'll find all of these great green gifts here at Paperless Kitchen and enjoy free shipping on your order!

Introducing the Full Line of PeopleTowels Products!

Paperless Kitchen is pleased to announce that we've recently expanded our collection of PeopleTowels! Since we launched our site, these handy organic cotton towels have been one of our best sellers, so we have decided to now carry the brand's complete line!

If you haven't yet discovered our PeopleTowels range, here's the scoop on the brand. All of the PeopleTowels are:

- 100 percent certified organic towels printed with low-impact ink

- 9 inches by 9 inches in size, designed for hand-drying but perfect for tons of other uses

- Adorned with colorful, vibrant designs that honor everything from Earth Day to pets

- Machine washable and reusable

- Outfitted with a loop in one corner for hanging

- Eco-friendly alternatives to paper towels

Paperless Kitchen sells PeopleTowels in one, two, three and five-day supplies. We also have a family pack that includes 12 towels. You can even find PeopleTowels in our Paperless Kitchen Starter Kit and Paperless Kitchen Party Kit.

Here are some of our favorite designs - let us know what you think!

We hope you'll enjoy checking out all the new PeopleTowels products on our site and that they help you establish your paperless kitchen.