You might have seen Jess' confession on Instagram recently about being a KRO... a Kitchen Roll Offender, a.k.a. KTO (Kitchen Towel Offender).
Did you know that if you switch to using anti-bacterial microfibre cloths (e.g becoming a Minky Defender), you could save up to £72 per year by adding this one simple product to your kitchen cleaning routine? Bonkers, eh?
(By the way, this is NOT a paid ad. I would love if it was, but this is a genuine "we paid for our own and decided to tell you about it" moment because it's saving us money and we want to help you save yours too!).
Jess admits that she uses far too much of it because she hates it when it falls apart when cleaning. And it's not the bog standard kitchen roll either (apologies for the pun). She always use good kitchen roll, same with me. I get the stuff that tells me wonderful things like it's uber absorbent and keeps sheets strong and intact, despite moisture.
We both usually pay around £2 a roll for about 100 sheets. That's 2p a sheet. Doesn't sound extravagant.
In Jess' home, that lasts 2 people 1 week.
For my household of 4 (2 adults, 2 children), I don't think we use as much as Jess but its use can vary from an emergency wiper-upper to a temporary bib (for the adults, obviously! I'm a disaster), a roll might last us 10 days to 2 weeks at a push.
Images: MPAS UK, Products purchased by individuals, not an ad.
Jess' insights about this Kitchen Towel V's Anti-bacterial Pad debate: "Like others, I have found that the cost of my weekly shop has gone through the roof and spending £8.66 on kitchen roll every month seems a lot, doesn’t it?
So I introduced @minkyhomecare Anti-bacterial kitchen cleaning pad to my monthly routine and it was a money GAME CHANGER.
£2.49 from @bm_stores, can be washed on a cold wash or hand washed weekly for the equivalent of about 3p (if in with your weekly load of washing) and if you’re not comfortable using it for longer than a month even washing it, that £72 saving includes replacing it every single month.
And the results are brilliant. It gets even the toughest of marks up.
I use this in conjunction with kitchen roll but I’m using on average one roll every 16 days - that’s cut my kitchen roll usage by two thirds!
I love my Minky!"
Here are the savings for Jess and her household.
So this got us thinking... how much could a family of four save? Here are the results...
Em's thoughts:
"I went to B&M and found similar items to test, as Jess and I had discussed setting our 2 households a little challenge for the month of August. The pink hearts one is for my daughter."
Image: Emma's own - Bought all 3 products from B&M, not an ad. Minky £2.49 each, colours vary. Silicone scrubbing brush £2.
"My 12 year old and I are finding a psychological difference since we changed to Minky Anti-bacterial cleaning pads because we're using less kitchen towel and are being more conscious of the cost since the switch. My almost teenager rarely considers cost like that, with household items anyway, so it was really interesting having a chat about it. I'm not generally frivolous with my kitchen roll usage (my husband may say differently) but even I have noticed myself asking "can I do this with the Minky?"...
When I told Jess this, she felt this was an interesting and unexpected development. Getting kids to understand how money works and costs in an everyday situation is a great way to learn, and hone in on home-making skills, budgeting and training for their future. We can teach our younger generations how to save money effectively and use environmentally friendly household items by teaching them interactively. Something we definitely agree on. Make it appealing as well as economical. In this case, we've been using colourful, eco friendly, cost saving cleaning products!
Have you done the switch? Did you realise how much you could save? Are you hesitant?
It might not sound like a lot, but let's put it this way...
Jess' savings of £100 per year means she could either save this money for a rainy day, she could get a Costa Coffee gift card and get 33 Americanos (or 29 hot chocolates for me *wink wink*) or she could buy Luke a popular construction toy consisting of interlocking plastic building blocks, Star Wars themed...
(Pssst! Luke, I had the LEGO Star Wars 75255 Yoda in mind, £104.99, also not an ad)
Worth a try, eh?
Take care all, until next time, have a great week.
Emma x
P.S. Check out our new Instagram page called Thoroughly Thrifty UK, where we explore household budgeting ideas and put some items/theories to the test. With the cost of living rising at a crazy rate, we want to help people save a little to gain a lot!