Podcast Ep.54: What is it with Americans and Paper Towels?

This may be a hot topic - or not - but we're diving into the research showing that Americans are using a lot more paper towels than the rest of the world. We're not surprised, since people love paper towels, but is this a symptom of our throwaway obsession? We share our thoughts along with some easy paper towel (and other paper product) alternatives that saves us money and generates less paper waste. We have some exciting updates on the farmhouse remodel and a real life week's worth of menu ideas. Plus some cool discoveries and lots more!

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Americans & Paper Towels

Here's the article we based this episode around (and the one that states that American tissue waste in 2015 was 7.4 billion pounds): Americans are Weirdly Obsessed with Paper Towels

Other kinds of paper goods are also out of control according to this article from The Guardian about the Canadian forest, US toilet paper, and climate change.

Here are the AOC articles I mentioned on just one of the ways we save on paper:

• Use cloth napkins with individual napkin rings to keep and use for a few days. This is also a great gift idea!
• Our simple laundry system where I talk about washing cloth napkins, rags, and other things we use instead of paper (hint: you don't have to do extra loads...).

And here is the link I promised to see Unpaper Towels, which I'm thinking of making. That's on Etsy - if you search more, you can see them on the upright towel holders (they were just more expensive or made with really thick layers). I'm more interested in the simple serge-edged flannel type. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a tutorial for the simple one-ply flannel towels I want to link to. You can do your own search if you're interested in seeing the other types.

Farmhouse Updates

And the new windows are in! While we now have more windows than I imagined, it sure brings in more of the view, doesn't it?

We also got these tasks marked off the list:

• Exterior window molding-trim, as well as finishing the siding trim.
• The expanded master bathroom subfloor.

And this:

The vegetable garden deer fence is close to being finished! We need gates (obviously), and there will be an arbor over the gate with the higher posts.

It coming together, but we need to step it up, since it's planting time and I'd like to be at least on time if I can't be early. 

If you're wondering what the plan is for the garden, this article shows the vegetable garden full plan. It's changed a little from this, but the basic layout is the same.

What's Cooking

Every once in awhile on the podcast I like to list what we actually ate the previous week. I want you to know I really menu plan and we eat simple, but from scratch food. Even though this week highlighted was a little different (hello turkey in March!), I hope it inspires you to plan simple foods your family loves!

Last week's easy real food menu:

Monday- Chicken oven nachos made with frozen rotisserie chicken (store bought or slow cooked)
Tuesday- Tuscan Onion Soup (different because of an egg cooked in it)
Wednesday- Roast Turkey, mashed potatoes, lemon garlic grated carrots (I usually buy an extra turkey during the holiday sales to roast in the winter for a dinner and to have the cooked, chopped turkey for freezing. They work in all the same recipes like these that chicken does)
Thursday- leftovers
Friday- Curried Turkey Rice Soup
Saturday- Homemade Pizza
Sunday- On Your Own

This is Really Cool!

Brian's: Pocket - both for saving articles to read later and for the interesting daily email that comes to your inbox. It's where we find so many interesting articles, many that eventually make their way as a podcast topic.

Jami's: Happy Salmon - the wild card game everyone loves, kids to adults! It was a hit with my niece and nephew and their friends.

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