kitchen cleanup

[gipsyweaver]

Storage space, weight, water, and waste are all major concerns for people living in small spaces, particularly a van or car. I thought of this one after some mention of paper&nbsp;towels for cleaning up&nbsp;dishes and pans.<br><br>Take a couple of old cotton t-shirts that aren't salvageable. Cut them up into small squares, between 4 and 6 inches across. Two large&nbsp;t-shirts should produce 30 or 40 of these, at least. These can be used for cleaning up small spills, washing and drying dishes, wiping out cast iron. Keep a small container with a tight lid (a one quart cottage cheese container is a good size) around to drop the used ones into. <br><br>If one gets particularly filthy or greasy, it's only a piece of scrap fabric you can throw away. They dry faster than terry and are less bulky when doing laundry. So they're cheap (free) and&nbsp;they reduce waste over paper towels and weight and storage space over terry towels and cloths. They make decent napkins too.<br>

 

[Seraphim]

<P>Nice suggestion. </P>

 

[She]

Very good idea!

 

[KayakGirl]

You can also make up some "baby wipes" using old T-shirt squares. Some alcohol, water, and a drop of Dawn Liquid, soak the cloths and store in an airtight container. Wash when you do laundry, open your container of wipes, and put the clean ones in the bottom of the container.....

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Something else that we used to do when kayak camping was to have a couple of quart size containers (with lids for storing), one with water, dish soap, and a drop or two of bleach, and one with clean water, also with a tiny drop of bleach. Put your dirty utensils in these to soak a bit, swish around, rinse, then dry. You can use the same containers for quite a long time before the contents has to be changed. One of the "baby wipes" can be used for your plate or bowl to clean, then a shot of clean water from a squirt bottle for rinsing and then dry with one of those T-shirt "paper towels".

 

[Seraphim]

Haven't had to wipe a baby in a looooong time lol...

 

[highdesertranger]

thanks gypsy, I find reusable cloth much better than use once and throw away paper towels. I still use paper towels but on rare occasions. highdesertranger