Roughly two weeks ago I took $14 of our grocery budget and invested into washcloths.
A strange investment, I know. You don’t want me in control of your 401k!
I kid.
Not really.
Seriously, these washcloths are amazing. They are not your typical run of the mill washcloths.
- First, they’re white.
- And, they’re square.
- They’re made of cotton.
- They were cheap.
- They’re brand-name (the store’s).
- They’re from Target (pronounced Tar-zsay).
See, totally high-end and very extraordinary washcloths.
🙂
These washcloths are so magnificent that they are now our official “napkins.” We used to use paper towels, or on an extra special occasion, a real paper napkin. But now we use washcloths.
When company comes over for dinner or if we’re hosting a special occasion, no longer do we feel inferior because our company has to wipe crumbs and sauce off their face with paper. No sir-ree! Our company can feel ultimate pleasure and comfort while wiping their face AND be reminded of a bathroom at the same time!
How’s that for hospitality?!
Did you hear that washcloth napkins are all the rage? Yep, they sure are.
(Don’t bother Googling to verify this – they’ve been slow to update their search results.)
Don’t you want to do what’s popular too? Why should you invest in super-cool, ultra high-end exceptionally remarkable white cotton washcloths?
Cloth napkins cost less.
For the average family of four using one paper towel each for three meals a day, one roll would last 13 days. At 52 sheets in each $1 roll, the cost of cloth napkins becomes significantly less expensive (free) after 182 days (or just over six months).
Cloth napkins look better.
Company isn’t impressed when we rip off a paper towel, tear it in half and tuck the ripped piece of paper gently under their forks and knives. Now everyone gets their own full-size napkin. We could get extra fancy and fold it into a fan and stick it in their water glass!
Cloth napkins last longer.
Cloth napkins are not a one-time-use and toss item. They cover way beyond one spill and can even last beyond one meal (if it’s not spaghetti). Even used to the maximum capacity, cloth napkins end up in the hamper, not trash, which means…
Cloth napkins produce less trash.
Cloth napkins can be used and washed and reused until they shrivel apart, and even then they can become “heavy duty” rags. Less trash = better for the environment.
Kids can’t rip apart cloth napkins under the table.
There’s something soothing about ripping pieces of paper apart into tiny little pieces. That soothing factor diminishes when you’re the one cleaning them up.
How does the “average” family integrate this posh commodity into their ordinary lives?
1. Search for a good deal at low-end joints. Think Walmart, Target, Goodwill, garage sales, etc. Expect that these will get very dirty and come up with a fair price. The high-end washcloths mentioned above were on sale at Target, $3.23 for an 8-pack. I thought 40 cents each was fair.
2. Aim for plain. Flowers and patterns are cute today, but won’t always be in season. Solid colors will stand the test of time and increase your odds of not having to replace them later. Why white? It matches everything, always.
3. Buy several. 32 seemed like a good number. Enough to last us through a few days without having to wash, but not enough to make laundry more of the chore it already is.
3. Wash before use. This should go without saying, but since someone in my family is guilty of wearing new clothes without washing them first (ahem), it’s worth mentioning. Wash the washcloths in cold water and dry.
4. Fold and put not too far away. Keeping the washcloths in a closet upstairs is a great way to not use them. Re-purpose a basket or tupperware container or toy box or something to hold the napkins. Fold them neatly and place them inside the container. Keep the container in a central location to the dining table and/or kitchen and make sure everyone in the house knows where this location is. Don’t keep it a secret.
5. Wash regularly. Keeping them clean will make them look newer longer. Wash dirty washcloths at least once a week. Save money and time by washing with other dirty towels and rags too. Another reason to go white? If they become so stained that they’re no longer worthy for company, let them soak in bleach in the kitchen sink. Two outcomes: white washcloths and a clean sink.
6. Put paper towels out of sight. Because out of sight is out of mind.
I’ve used cloth napkins for years now and yes, they do get stained. My only gripe is that the current lot need to be ironed to look good, so replacements will be homemade & wrinkle free!🤗
Barbra, that is a good point and solution. 🙂
I have been using washcloths for about 10 months now. Love them and I get colored ones to fit table settings and/or holidays. I also save gently used paper napkins/paper towels and extras from restaurants. I keep them in a separate place to wipe up spills on the floor, etc. where you don’t really need something spotless. I also invested in a package of cloth diapers to use to blow my nose. Much gentler than tissue.
When company comes over, where do they put their used napkins? Do they leave them on the table after the meal, or do you have them place the napkins in a specific spot?
We make a pile on the counter and one of the kids takes them upstairs after dinner.
I have started doing something that is really handy and saves on paper towels (even though I usually never buy paper towels, but I do buy paper napkins). I have some of those thin cotton dish towels, similar to the really thin baby diapers. I hang one on the door under my kitchen sink, and I use it all week after the dishes are washed, to wipe the counters and around the sink and faucets. It is not for drying hands, because it is used for wiping the grime off of the sink, and it is very convenient, and dries quickly. I used to use the towels for drying hands and dishes, but they got soaked so quickly with so much use that it wasn’t pleasant to always be drying your hands on a wet towel. I started to get rid of them, then I realized that I could use them as un-paper towels, and it is very economical.
Thanks for sharing Jeanetta!
We’ve used cloth napkins for years, and don’t miss buying paper napkins one bit! I get all mine from secondhand stores, which is the only affordable way to buy cloth napkins. The side benefit is that I’ve been able to buy napkins that match the seasons. So over thanksgiving/Christmas we use red, green, or Christmas-y napkins, over the fall it’s fall colors, spring is spring colors etc. All bought secondhand, all dirt cheap, and it’s so fun to keep changing out the colors/patterns.
If you can sew, you can buy a fat quarter at Wal-Mart, and, for about a buck, you can get 2 good-sized dinner napkins out of it. Just sew some seams down around the edges. I send cloth napkins this way in the kids’ school lunches. The fat quarters come in Super Man, Star Wars and Spiderman prints. You could even do seasonal napkins this way. If you’re feeling really crafty, you could attach some ribbon or rick-rack along one side 🙂
I have started using old rags to clean my bathroom sink, but I still use paper towels and cleaner for things like the toilet and floor.
So here’s my quandary: how do you suggest I clean out my iron skillet? This is possibly the last use for paper towels that I just can’t come up with a solution for. I cringe to think about throwing a grease-soaked rag in my washer machine :O
Hi JC! We have been on a cloth-only program for a few years now, and I also love my CI (it’s all I have aside from a few enameled CI pots). I currently use some plain white shop towels I got in bulk from Sams club a few years ago. When I wash my CI, I just wash it as normal (I even use *gasp* SOAP!). When I need to re-grease it after washing, I have no problems using one of my towels to spread the very thin layer of grease on my skillet and tossing the towel into the bath towel laundry. No Ill effects yet!
I first heard of the cloth napkin rage from Zero Waste Living. I almost never wash my CI, makes my morning eggs taste amazing. I’ve been using a neat tip I found online: just dump some salt in the pan, warm it up and rub it down with a wet towel. Seasons and debrids the pan, just dump the extra salt out.
Thanks for replying, nice to meet you 😉
I agree with the reader that buys them at thrift stores. I don’t like the idea of a wash cloth on my face, too rough and not nice looking. I wouldn’t choose white either because they’d stain right away so even when you bring them from the laundry freshly clean they’ll look dirty I bought cotton napkins for $1 a pair at the Dollar Store at least 6 years ago as we were living in our old house and we’re still using them. I love the idea of cloth napkins though, sorry about my comments about the wash cloths.
If you’re having trouble finding them at your thrift store, you can easily cut up an old sheet or thin towel and just hem around the edges. One towel can make a dozen or more, depending on the size you like.
You can also do it with an old tablecloth that may have a stain or two. Just cut around the stains BUT make sure if it’s a tablecloth that it’s made of an absorbent cloth, not VISA treated, as that will only spread the mess, not soak it up.
I found many over a few years at garage sales and thrift shops. I keep the nicer ones for company and use the more casual mismatched ones for everyday. When company comes, they think I’m spoiling them!!
Washcloths for napkins? That’s definitely practical, but not so pretty. Since I like pretty and frugal, I go to my local thrift stores and buy real cloth napkins. I get them for 25 cents each (or less if they are on clearance) and I like to buy the darker colors to hide stains. If I paid 4 plus dollars a piece for napkins I would never use them for fear of them getting stained, LOL. My kids like to help me pick them out too. For that price we can get seasonal napkins plus any color they like, I’ve even found embroidered napkins. And if we have more people over we can mix and match the colors and patterns. It’s fun!
That’s awesome that you found napkins at your local thrift store Karen. I looked for ages and never found them!
I use waffle-weave cotton for napkins. It’s really absorbent and still looks “elegant”. It comes in colours, but I go for white so it can be bleached, and I’ve been using them for about 5 yrs now. I don’t have paper napkins or paper towels in my house.
I get old towels (from a thrift store if I don’t have one when I need one) and cut them into 6ths or 8ths and run a quick stitch around all the edges. These are my rags, so no need for paper towels at all.
If I go through a drive-through (extremely rare), I’ll save the paper napkins from the bag and keep them in the kitchen in case I have a messy spill that I really don’t want to use a cloth rag for.