I was thinking of putting paper towels down under the bedding.
I already have pine shavings, so will be using that. The chicks will be almost 2 weeks old by the time I get them and I think they will already be accustomated to it.
I'm in Western PA and will be getting about 2-week old chicks this weekend. The temps here are still dipping below freezing so I moved my brooder (cardboard-lined XL dog crate) to one corner of my kitchen far from food prep, but I'm sure I'm still underestimating how smelly and dusty it will be...