We can't control the volume of post-holiday-meal cleanup you'll have to do or even venture a guess at what types of messes you'll face over the coming weeks, but we can point you in the right direction when it comes to an essential cleaning implement: paper towels. Watch our testing video, right.

Our December 2009 report on paper towels found that lower-cost store brands from CVS and Walgreen's outperformed many big national brands. Those results are in line with our October 2009 feature "It Pays to Buy Store Brands," in which our trained panel of tasters judged many store-brand foods to be superior to national brands.

Here's an alphabetized listing of products in the paper-towel ratings (available to subscribers), which include paper towels designed to be more eco-friendly:

365 Everyday Value (Whole Foods), Bounty, Bounty Basic, Bounty Extra Soft, Brawny, CVS Big Quilts, CVS Earth Essentials, Earth Friendly Products, Great Value (Walmart), Green Forest, Kirkland Signature (Costco), Marcal Small Steps, Scott, Seventh, Sparkle, Trader Joe's, Up & Up (Target), Viva Kleenex, Walgreens Ultra Quilted, White Cloud Green Earth—Gian Trotta | e-mail | Twitter | Forums | Facebook

Essential information: Check out our coverage of the best glass cleaners and the top shower cleaners. You'll find more savvy cleanup advice by reading "Home (Wreckers) for the Holidays" and our How to Clean Practically Anything, a book that even made an appearance in an episode of The Sopranos.