Blog Update!
For those of you not following me on Facebook, as of the Summer of 2019 I've moved to Central WA, to a tiny mountain town of less than 1,000 people.

I will be covering my exploits here in the Cascades, as I try to further reduce my impact on the environment. With the same attitude, just at a higher altitude!

Thursday, April 19, 2007

A little hanky panky

And you turn yourself around. Oh, wait. That's the hokey pokey. Or the Kama Sutra. Anyway...

Toallas de papelI've always been alarmed at the number of paper towels I end up using at work each day. I can't help it, you need at least two for effective drying. So, add up the number of bathroom trips (at least three) and trips to the kitchen to wash dishes (at least two) and you're looking at a minimum of 10 paper towels per day. And it's not like I'm soaking up acres of wetness, just a daub or two and into the trash they go. Sigh.

I've thought of taking home the paper towels to put in the food waste, but I've not yet gone down that slippery slope of lugging home a container of food scraps. Perhaps that's for another post in the future.

The air dryers don't really work, are loud and use up energy so I don't use those. I suppose I could just let my hands drip dry but then you have to touch the door knob which is worse than not washing your hands. Yes, that's right, I use the paper towels to open the door, thereby exiting the bathroom as sterilely as possible. Or is that even possible?

Anyway, I was reading this post about carrying around a small towel for these purposes and thought, well, what the hell. I'm a Crunchy Chicken. And I started bringing a bandana to work.

Hanky pankyIf you don't like the classic style and would prefer to be a little more stylish, there are all kinds, from a pretty Japanese tenugui to a super absorbing microfiber bandana.

So far, it's been quite easy. I just tuck it into my pocket and whip it out when I need to dry my hands or my dishes. I hang it up in my office and it's dry by the next time I need to use it. I don't totally feel like a freak and nobody's asked me about it yet.

But, when they do... hooo boy! are they going to get an earful :)

8 comments:

QT said...

I use the paper towel to open the door as well. I really like the new bathrooms where there is no door, it is just designed as a large doorway you walk into.

Interesting idea. It would take a little more for me to incorporate something like that, but it is doable.

Caroline said...

I really like the blue surgical towels, but the microfiber bandanas are definitely purty!

Trina said...

I'm an avid user of the paper towel to open the door too. What are you doing about that part?

Crunchy Chicken said...

As for opening the door... well, I'm trying not to be too anal about it. Right now I'm using the bandana to open the door. And I'm trying not to think about what's getting deposited on it.

Since I'm doing this at work I'm not too grossed out by it. I suppose if I'm out in public somewhere I would just air dry and use my elbow or some other body part to open the door if I can :)

Eva said...

HA! I had this same dilemna at work before my second kiddo was born. If and when no one was around, I used to wedge something in the door... then after I washed my hands I would shake them like crazy (imagine a wet dog), then I would pull door open with legs & feet so I wouldn't have to touch the handle... hahaah yes, it's crazy, and I was only brave enough to do it when I thought no one was around. Needless to say I sometimes got some very very strange looks. Caught!

BTW, your blog is lookin so awesome!

Anonymous said...

YAY! I'm so happy I have some solidarity on this -- congrats on taking the plunge, and doing so in style with a funky bandana :)
I love your line, "well, what the hell. I'm a crunchy chicken." Hysterical. Seriously, it's the best name for a blog I've ever seen.
It's too bad they don't make all bathroom doors a "push" on the way out instead of a "pull"; that way you could just shove it with your shoulder instead of having to use your hand.

April said...

I pull down my sleeve and wrap my hand in it to open the door or use my shirt tail. It's a lot of work and I stretch out my shirts to ridiculous lengths to avoid germs.

Anonymous said...

thats funny i started carrying a bandana a few days ago. same reason! my guilt is growing..