Since this month is "green month" my husband and I have started taking a look at some of the smaller things we can do to be a little more eco-friendly. Sure we want to save baby seals and give the earth a hug with less pollution, but the impact it has on our pocketbook tends to motivate us more than anything. Baby seals are out of sight out of mind 9 times out of 10... but our electric and gas bills aren't. After the jump, I let my energy saving secret hang out for all to see....
A Shammy. That's my big secret. It's huge isn't it? So huge in fact, that before spilling the beans on how I put them to use in a way most wouldn't think, I had to first check online to see if anyone else was doing the same thing with them.
Although in theory it would make me feel better to know that someone else was using them in the same manner I was... horrible images ran through my mind as to what I was going to find.
Searching for the word Shammy brought up pictures of the wonderful microfiber towels and a ridiculous amount of Manga Fan art... our searching stopped there, as I realized that if I was bold enough to inform all of AT about my cleaning habbits, then I didn't need the reassurance that anyone else was as bizarre as I am.
So, here it is, out there in the open to be judged by all.... I use them to dry off after the shower.
I know, I KNOW! You are supposed to be using large, fluffy, soft as a baby's behind, designer named and environmentally friendly fabric towels. You should be washing them and finding/buying storage for these large bulky products. When you have company, they are a point of pride, where as you put out "the good towels" so that others might see them. You might have even looked up how to fold a towel without any edges showing.... that's what normal people do.
I, on the other hand, have now been using a Shammy after I shower (as well as in the kitchen or for other household messes) for the last month. I had used them in the shower prior to this, but it was more of the, "Dang, I forgot to do laundry" type moment, instead of the "Let's do a scientific test" type moment.
I keep 5 shammies in the cabinet next to my shower. They come in all different sizes, however I feel that the smaller the better because they are just that absorbent.
This works for me for a few reasons.
1) Shammies hold up to 20x their weight in water (and if you buy now with just 3 easy payments of $19.99 you also get this toaster free!). This not only dries me faster, but also dries back out, freeing the bathroom of humidity, faster than a normal towel.
2) All 5 take up less space than 1 regular bath towel does and allow a ridiculous amount of space for other things that our bathroom needs to hold.
3) I can wash 5 shammies with far less electricity/water/soap than I can a single, standard size bath towel... and forget about the oversized bath sheet!
3.5) Laundry is never something I seem to find time for. Knowing that I don't have to run a separate load of towels is fantastic!
Normally microfiber shammies are marketed for use in your home, your vehicle, your pets, for the pool, but in my bathroom... they do a fantastic job of drying me without having any additional waste of energy. And best of all, it has cut our electric bill by 10+ dollars a month. So don't forget, small changes can make a big impact on your energy footprint!
Photos by: Simplygoodstuff.com and Amazon
© 2009 Apartment Therapy
Not a new concept...if you are a swimmer!
view AMP's profile
I've got one of those "turban towels" for my head, which is made from a microfiber shammy-like materials (love it!). They also have full-sized towels, I believe.
P.S. When you said you were using the shammies for something unusual, I totally thought you were going to say something about a TP relacement when going #1.
view burpchick's profile
I have a feeling that the only reason this is particularly "green" is that you were being really really wasteful to begin with, like washing your towels after one use.
I wash my towels 2x a month and since its just me and my bf, i don't consider that an excruciating amount of laundry. And since i hang dry my laundry i'm not running up the bill with the dryer.
view mh330's profile
how have they cut your electric bill?
view mhirsch's profile
agree with mh330 on only washing towels every two weeks or so - i use them at the moment i'm cleanest every day and hang them to dry, so it's not as though they get very dirty. but also, i have a roommate, and can't make it back from the bathroom to the bedroom in much less than a full-on towel :)
view akostalas's profile
I agree with AMP, very common use for swim team members. I had forgotten all about this though, as it's been about 10 years since I was on a swim team.
view Jessimuhka's profile
I use one towel a week, plus a bathmat, and two hand towels. They get washed with another identical set every two weeks. I think this is reasonably conservative, and I don't think buying and using chamois is going to reduce my energy bills by much.
I grant you, however, that I would probably wash them with another load of laundry, thereby reducing my annual washing by 25 loads a year. If we ALL did that, we'd use less water, electricity, and soap.
What about the effect of adding my towels to post-consumption waste pile? or creating a demand for a new product? and the plastic tube they're sold in? and the trip to the store to find them/delivery truck gas? (see the "use what you have post"). I think chamois are a great idea and my only point is the question I always ask:
What is the net effect and which action will waste/use/want less?
I wish there were a reasonable "expected lifetime carbon footprint" tag on everything I considered buying.
So what's the net here? buy a new product ( waste from its manufacture and packaging), use resources to obtain it ( gas) or continue using what I already have ( water/energy/soap)?
*sigh*
view kimg924's profile
My secret: I don't use towels at all. I have a bathrobe and a couple of those twisty turban things for my hair. I started doing this in college, when running from my room to the bathroom was much easier in a bathrobe than in a towel and kept it up afterward. Admittedly, doesn't work if you need to get dressed immediately after getting out of the shower, because it takes a little longer to dry off than with a proper towel. But I just take a few minutes pour a cup of coffee and figure out what to wear and I'm all dry.
view lurker2209's profile
Burpchick, I thought the same thing about TP replacement!
view Larrabee's profile
...What does your husband use then?
view buda's profile
i've always used a bathrobe for the commute between the bathroom and bedroom. when my hair was short i would use just a dry wash cloth to dry myself off with. now that my hair has grown out i've graduated to a hand towel to dry my body then wrap my hair in. in my opinion, terry cloth feels so much better on then skin than a shammy does.
view itsabecky's profile
I cut out $25 from my electric bill every month by simply shutting off the fuses when I am not using them. I do have to reprogram my microwave everytime i use it but its well worth the savings!
view slyvester's profile
I'm a pack rat. Plus I use the same towel for at least 5 days during my work week. My hairs so long that I wash it only twice a week.
view Snugglitas's profile
The greenest thing my husband and I did was to become childfree, to decide and take steps to not add to an overcrowded world.
Permanent steps, by the way. For both of us.
No amount of scrimping and conserving will ever equal the effectiveness of of that simple action.
Recycling and buying carbon credits are just bandaids on a sucking chest wound.
view witchdoc's profile
If you're really interested in saving on laundry-related costs, invest in a highly-efficient washer and dryer, some of which use very little energy, water and soap. Then all of your laundry, not just a few towels, will be cleaned in an efficient manner.
view AmberM's profile
witchdoc, if you didn't have children to help alleviate the stress on our planet, then you and your partner are incredibly selfless, as that is quite the sacrifice, and so I sincerely thank you.
view enviromodernist's profile