I continue to tiptoe into the green world.  This week my intent is to find out as much as possible about the pro's and con's between using paper towels versus washing kitchen towels...and using glass containers for storage versus baggies.

My initial thought is that there's not much "need" for a paper towel unless I'm cooking bacon.  A RARE occurrence in this household!  I think we cook bacon on Thanksgiving and Christmas or New Year's and that's it. 

Other than catching the grease, I think kitchen towels and multi-use disposable towels should be the better alternative.  I only reach for a paper towel out of habit, not out of necessity.  I'll do a post if I find out that there's some downside to a slightly bigger load of laundry due to towels and rags, but I'm dubious.

Baggies are the other kitchen convenience I'm debating about.  I know the hundreds of plastic ziplocs (and other brands) that I use each year cannot be good for the environment.  In the past, I've resisted washing and re-using the bags because it seemed like a wast of time.  And kind of nerdy, to be perfectly honest.  But now it seems like an awful waste to throw plastic bags out after one use.  So I think I'm going to migrate to using multi-use containers and give up on the baggie habit. 

And I will give in, seem like a nerd, and wash the baggies I do use.  I don't want to create a lot of new rules about when I can use a baggie and when I can't, so it will be interesting to monitor this habit change and see where the sticking points are.  I suppose I'll also check to see if there's a greener source of baggies than Ziploc.  Anyone got any hints?

Had a good session with my trainer today, talking about food plans.  Perfect timing after going to San Diego for Donna's 50th birthday buffet at the Balai Hai.  Yummy food and now time for the food plan to kick in.  <grin>

Happy birthday to one smokin' 50 year old! 

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