This Coffee Filter Hack Is The Solution When You're Low On Paper Towels

There are many staple household items we've all come to rely on in our kitchens over the years. Paper towels are one of these handy items for most of us, but because they are not reusable, they come with one big caveat: You can run out at a moment's notice. Often, you don't even realize you're out of paper towels until you lay eyes on that familiar sad, empty brown cardboard cylinder.

If you're ever faced with this sad state of affairs, don't ruin a fresh tea towel or waste a dinner napkin. There's one other unexpected paper product in your kitchen that can double as a paper towel in a pinch: a paper coffee filter. While this might sound like a last-minute choice, surprisingly, coffee filters work just as well, if not better, than paper towels. These filters are made to get wet, so they're experts in cleaning up common kitchen spills or blot excess moisture off proteins. Coffee filters are highly absorbent, and since most are sold in packs of 100 or more, coffee lovers should always have plenty on hand in case of the unthinkable.

While switching out paper towels for a more sustainable option like cloth towels is also a fair option these days, some jobs just don't do it like paper. For those times, coffee filters are your friend, so don't feel weird about using them beyond their intended purpose. These babies are much more versatile than you think, and you can even use these to craft your own tea bags.

For the purpose of blotting proteins, however — to help dry meat out so it can properly cook – unbleached coffee filters are the absolute best choice. Compared to bleached coffee filters and even paper towels, these undergo minimal processing, so they won't impart dangerous chemicals onto your meat. Plus, they are a much more sustainable choice than bleached paper and are even compostable. So, if you're attempting to buy less paper for environmental reasons, this is still a fair option. 

Unbleached coffee filters are also more sturdy than their bleached counterparts, and unlike some paper towels, they won't leave any paper product residue on your meat. So, simply put, don't knock this hack until you try it. And hey, if you like how it works, here's another quick tip: Coffee filters work great in lieu of paper towels when storing veggies like spinach.