Use extra long cooling racks (Change 102)

Another eco-friendly Christmas present, this time from DH.  I bake a LOT, because I like to, and because life is easier to deal with DD1's food allergy when I make my own cookies, muffins, etc.  I've always cooled my muffins in the muffin tins and breads on a tiny round cooling rack.  But cookies have ALWAYS been cooled on paper towels - to absorb any butter goodness, and because there was more room on the counter.  I justified using this method since starting my green challenge, because the paper towels were made with unbleached, recycled paper, and I always composted them when I was finished with them.  There is still an environmental cost associated with them, in the form of the manufacturing process itself, but I assured myself that I was at least using the most eco-friendly product possible.

No need to justify any longer.  DH bought me an extendable cooling rack for Christmas.  Made up of three layers that stack neatly when not needed, the cooling rack allows me to cool up to 3 dozen cookies at a time.  Usually by the time I'm ready to cool the 4th dozen, I can store the cooled cookies in a container, and start over again with the next 3 dozen.

No more paper towels, and no more need to compost them.  Since this process was my main consumption of paper towels, it will be interesting to see how many paper towels I use in the future.