Inspired by this post on The Simple Dollar:
http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2009/09/20/thoughts-on-abandoning-the-paper-towel/
I've converted a ripped single bedsheet into an impressive array of covers and rags, by cutting to size and overcasting the edges with the sewing machine. A few big ones which are used for mopping up kitchen floods or for sitting on whilst cleaning the low kitchen cupboards; and then a good-sized pile of smaller ones that are now our kitchen supply of "paper towels". They sit in a decorative bowl in the kitchen, get dampened and used to clean up the kitchen bench, stove and floor, and then sit in a little pile on the edge of the sink until they get thrown in with the laundry. The amount of effort it takes to deal with them is not even noticeable.
I bet my grandparents could have told me this idea would work!
Just over a year ago, I bought myself an ordinary 60L plastic bin and two plant pots (a small one upside down, a big one right side up). In it I put a bit of soil, a bit of newspaper, and 500 composting worms. Since then all of our fruit and vegetable scraps, including the mysterious items at the back of the crisper drawer that get forgotten and rediscovered, have gone into that plant pot, and been silently and cleanly converted into a fantastic liquid fertiliser by the worker worms within. I wish I had done this sooner; it's wonderful how much less is going to waste via our kitchen bin. We empty the bin less often without issue, because it no longer smells or attracts fruit flies even in the height of summer. The fertiliser the worms produce is more than enough to cover the regular fertilisation needs of my pot-based garden - there's enough to give away bottles to keen gardener friends too.
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