throw away germs or save a tree

I've been gradually moving towards more natural cleaning since I started having littles. I scrub the tub with vinegar and baking soda, steam clean the floors, deep clean the kitchen with vinegar, scrub grout with baking soda and essential oils, etc. But still I use 20 select-a-size paper towels and a chemical cleaner to clean the bathroom. I like throwing the germs away. Yet, every time I see the mountain of paper towels in the trash I feel a little sick. But...I really like throwing the germs away.

This Monthly Clean Home Challenge got me thinking about microfiber cloths and how I could use them with a 50/50 water vinegar solution to clean the bathroom. So much more environmentally friendly. But...then I'm not throwing away the germs. Not only that, I have to figure the best way to launder the germy cloths. Hmmm.

I think I'd have to do a separate load. That's ok because quite frequently I have  laundry that involves some kind of bodily fluid. In fact, we have a separate wash machine for such loads (weird but true). The story goes, our washer took a pooper right before our third little arrived. A newborn and no washer is horrifying. Imagine my gratitude when we got a HE toploading washer as a baby gift (We have very, very, very generous family!). Before my husby returned to work from paternity leave, he fixed the old washer. Perfect! It was declared the work clothes and germy stuff washer. Sometimes I feel like The Duggars!

Ok, seperate load...settled. But where do I store the nasties out of littles' reach until I've got enough to make a load?  There's always this method:

credit

Hmmm, again. I like it; it's pretty, but I'm not sure I have the space for it (We have a pedestal sink so no vanity storage.) 

It's time to trade in the excessive bathroom cleaning paper towels for a more environmentally friendly method. If anyone has suggestions, I'd really love to hear them!