Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
Generally what is the cheapest to use of the paper products? Paper towels, napkins, tissues, or TP? I just spent $9 on tissues for about a month's supply :(
By shelleyt
You cannot live without toilet paper, but the rest is a waste of money and trees.
Stop buying tissues, use handkerchiefs.
Stop buying paper towels, make tea towels and throw all of them in the washing machine once a week.
Toilet paper is essential, and you can buy the cheap stuff, if you can stand it. I like to buy a little better quality, as it is not necessary to use as much. I use cloth napkins. Have napkin rings with names on them, and use the same napkin for several meals.
I started out using nice dishcloths for napkins, and later got some nice cotton ones. I wash them with the whites or with the tea towels. They last for years. Paper napkins only get used for picnics or wiener roasts.
I use tea towels and dishcloths for general wipe-ups and cloths for cleaning. I buy paper towels so seldom that I don't even worry what they cost. A paper towel is a wonderful thing for cleaning up messy spills of gross stuff like cat vomit! Or for wiping the grease out of frying pan or something like that.
I still use tissues as I think that they are more hygienic than handkerchiefs, but handkerchiefs are certainly an option. I think that you should purchase the appropriate product for the job; you cannot make one paper product do the job of another efficiently. Toilet paper will not wipe up spills and is not gentle on the nose. Napkins will not do the job of a paper towel.
I think 1.00 to pay for 200 tissues is a steal, so I buy one for the desk and the bedside table.
As for the TP I spend a bit more, like others have posted, for the comfort.
I don't buy paper towels, but Handiwipes, again at the DT. Napkins, no.
However, keep in mind that more trees are killed to make that pizza flyer than you and I can ever buy, so please recycle and save money when you can.
After raising two children (and their friends, lol), I really do think it's just cheaper and simpler to have specific products-facial tissue for noses, paper towels for clean-ups, paper napkins for eating.
When I lived in America I found all my paper products were much cheaper when I bought them at Dollar General-except facial tissue, which for some reason was always a better bargain from CVS and Walgreens; watch for sales.
I bought Bounty paper towels, DG toilet paper marked safe for septic tanks, DG napkins and paper plates, and Zip-Lock freezer bags from DG. I found I could get good quality products at a consistently low price there. Their TP, napkins, and paper plates are great products.
Sometimes cheaper isn't better, though, be careful that you aren't actually using more of the cheap stuff than you would from a quality product. You have to experiment, and in doing so, I also found I could get a better deal on facial tissue in the drug store.
My lifestyle has changed; it's just me and my husband, so we don't need paper napkins and plates, for example, but we do buy paper towels, and facial tissue for sanitary reasons. I figured out that I was washing his handkerchiefs at a higher cost than it cost to use paper facial tissue, and using facial tissue is a lot more sanitary than a cloth handkerchief.
I hope this doesn't gross anyone out, lol, but we stuff used facial tissue into empty toilet paper rolls, and use those for fire starting-we heat our house and water with wood stoves, and those rolls never hang around long enough to spread germs:)
I don't know if it's the very cheapest or not but for TP I like Angel Soft Double Rolls. It is sort of cheap, not like some of the others and it's a good product, well worth the money. I don't use paper towels any more. I just keep plenty of old wash cloths on hand.
If you have a Big Lots in your area they have good prices on paper products. I continue to use paper towels because I don't like washing rags/napkins as the cost of water in my area is outrageous. I use a lot of microfiber cloths; they clean mirrors and greasy stove tops without chemicals. Just wet the cloth and clean. I hate buying all these things.
I too still use paper towels for minor spills as I don't use hot water for washing laundry. It depends on your preference. I have tried both ways, the cheapest paper products I could find, versus the ones I like.
The cheapest TP doesn't last very long, and I have to keep buying and buying, so I stick with the TP that we like (Cottonelle purple pack).
I generally get the cheaper paper towels, as I don't scrub surfaces with them.
I prefer Puffs Plus with Aloe or Lotion tissues for runny noses, as it helps prevent the chapping around the nose during colds.
I rarely buy napkins, except for holidays, and then just get the smallest pack of a cheaper brand, but we usually just use paper towels in their place. (we don't do formal types of place settings or meals!)
I use inexpensive finger towels for napkins and they last a long time; then I use them in the kitchen as rags, then to the bathroom to clean the toilet and then I toss 'em. I hardly use paper towels (use rags, etc) but I do use them to wipe my greasy pots and pans before cleaning. I buy Puffs in the big long boxes and decant, if you will, into the smaller square boxes that don't take up much room. Not buying the small square boxes but recycling them forever saves quite a bit and the big boxes go on sale quite often. Good luck on being green(er).
As a female and making numerous trips to the bathroom during the day I found that using the cheap TP for those #1 trips was less costly than using the more expensive TP we use for the #2 trips. I can buy four rolls for 79 cents at our local grocery store and it lasts me quite a while and I don't feel like I'm flushing our money down the toilet.
I like to use TP for my seasonal allergies. And keep it on the bathroom sink counter. I use a bidet and use old baby wash cloths once for number one and use Charmin TP for dirtier messes. I do use paper towels cut into smaller pieces for napkins only when I need it or am being more dribbler than usual when I eat.
I've been in a rough financial situation for a few years. Not a lot of TP. I cut up a very soft old t-shirt into rectangles and folded in fourths. Rinse out and throw in the laundry (I only used them for urination). Really saves me a lot of TP. You could make handkerchiefs out of old clothing too.
