Disposable paper products can be a great thing or just another way to separate us from our hard-earned money. I’m not a greenie by any stretch of the imagination but I’ve cut down on buying/using some paper products: paper napkins, paper plates, tissues, paper bags. Paper products I can’t give up are: paper towels and toilet paper.

Terrycloth hand towels are the norm for us, however, I like to wipe up greasy, oily spills and other grossness with something I can throw away.

This started years ago when paper towel companies came up with the “select-a-size” gimmick. I ignored it. Then I bought some and lo and behold, I loved having that choice of a half-sheet, whole sheet or even one-and-a half sheets and beyond.

I waste less when I can pick a smaller towel for a smaller clean-up.

The last time paper towels were on sale, I bought one (or two) packages. I thought they were the select-a-size but when I was putting them away, I realized they were the whole sheet towels.

Enter the hack: I cut a roll of towels in half with a saw so I have half-sheet paper towels. I wanted easy access to both sizes of towels so I had to come up with a way to adjust my towel holder.

This is the super-duper strong magnetic paper towel holder I have (more colors available) that lives on the side of my refrigerator. It comes in two pieces so I can expand it with a longer core to fit both rolls. I used a tube from an aluminum foil roll that was smaller than the paper towel core, making vertical cuts at the bottom so it would fit snuggly over the end.

I put one roll over the new core,

the half roll,

then the top of the holder keeps everything in place.

I have two pieces of cardboard between both rolls so they can move independently but haven’t perfected that yet as they both turn when getting a towel.

So that’s my life hack.