Each of these biodegradable cloths provides the absorbency of 17 rolls of paper towels.

A girl can never have enough closets, which is why we use the trunk of our car as an annex to our kitchen pantry, storing nonperishables like detergent and paper goods. These days we have a lot of extra room — for, say, a spare tire and out-of-season shoes — since we gave up paper towels and replaced them with Sponge Cloths from Twist, an eco-friendly Boulder, CO, cleaning-tools company.

Made from pine trees, each cloth provides the absorbency of 17 rolls of paper towels. The Twist line also includes dusting cloths (made from bamboo and corn), loofah scrubbies for getting the goop out of that scorched lasagna pan, and all manner of dye-free (pure white and very chic), biodegradable and durable sponges, such as the Dish Dumpling (a sponge packed in an agave wrapping) the Ravioli (a hemp burlap pouch with a sponge inside) and Sponge Blossoms (mini sponges that grow to full-size when you add water). Find Twist products — from $1.99–$4.99 — at Crate & Barrel, Target, Whole Foods and Williams-Sonoma.

We love products that cut down on waste. Do you have any favorites?

Tags: Contraceptive sponge, Cuisine, Food and drink, Home, Luffa, Paper towel, Sponge, USD, WILLIAMS-SONOMA INC.