Switching to cloth napkins

[taubel]

I would like to switch to cloth napkins. We're currently using typical disposable napkins, and I feel like we're using WAY too many! 

We have 3 young kids and eat all our meals at home (almost), so we will need a lot of napkins. 

Would I need about 15 per day? 

I do one load of laundry every day, but that is our clothes and towels, so I don't really have room for more, but I guess I might be able to squeeze in a few small napkins. Or is it not a good idea to wash them with the regular clothes? 

And where would a find a good quality non-toxic cloth napkin? 

Thanks for sharing any tips you might have!

[philomom]

I only change the face napkins twice a week. They have personalized napkin rings so that no one uses anybody elses.

I find them cheap at the clearance bins of places like Pier One. .. but you could make your own just like the family cloth folks do,

[VisionaryMom]

I've also gotten good deals at Pier One and also at Target for plain cloth ones. We usually use them for 3-4 days at a time.  We don't use new ones at every meal. They're often never even used except to wipe crumbs. We have 20 total for when we have guests, but I'd say we use maybe 6-8 per week that need to be washed.

[taubel]

Originally Posted by philomom 

I only change the face napkins twice a week. They have personalized napkin rings so that no one uses anybody elses.

I find them cheap at the clearance bins of places like Pier One. .. but you could make your own just like the family cloth folks do,

What do you mean by face napkins? Do they use different ones for their hands - or do you consider any meal napkins to be face napkins? 

I think ours would be filthy after just one dinner! But I'll see how it goes....

I like your idea of using personalized napkin rings.

[Amys1st]

We have been using them for years. I have a laundry basket  that serves as the dishrg and  cloth napkin laundry bin. We have several sets I bought on sale over the years. I  find Jan and July are  the best times to shop for them. I wash the laundry about once a week when it fills ups.

[taubel]

Originally Posted by VisionaryMom 

I've also gotten good deals at Pier One and also at Target for plain cloth ones. We usually use them for 3-4 days at a time.  We don't use new ones at every meal. They're often never even used except to wipe crumbs. We have 20 total for when we have guests, but I'd say we use maybe 6-8 per week that need to be washed.

I must have really messy kids! They sometimes use three or four paper napkins APIECE at dinner! But we do use a lot of olive oil so maybe that's why...

But you're right, I could use the same napkins for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and then just wash them once a day. Our breakfasts and lunches make very little mess. Usually.

So maybe I'd need to buy only 10, since I do wash once a day, and 5 can be in the wash at any given time.

I will check out Pier One and Target. Unfortunately, I am not very crafty so can't make my own.

[sagewinna]

I find them cheap at the thrift store, usually 4 for a dollar.

We use them until they are obviously dirty. There are 5 of us and we eat most meals at home. I wash them with our regular clothing.

[LeighPF]

I have quite a variety of napkins but find the flour sack towels a great place to start. I throw them in the kitchen laundry when they start to look dirty. They can wash with everything else.

[BetsyS]

My laundry room is right off the kitchen, so I just throw them in the washer after a meal, and they get washed with other stuff.

I have 3 kids--almost 1, 3, and 5.  The 5 year old mostly uses a napkin, the 3 year old has one on his lap to get used to it, nad the baby doesn't.  That means that their napkins mostly last a whole day.  I also keep a basket of washcloths, and I use a wet one to wipe everyone down (starting with the least messy going to the baby--LOL) after every meal.  This is where the majority of my big messes are wiped up, on that washcloth.  I have a bunch of them (just bought two 10 packs on clearance somewhere a million years ago), and I wash at least every other day, so there are always clean ones.

I also have a lot of napkins--clearance finds, Target end of season (they sometimes have napkins at summer and Christmas that go on clearance), yard sales, and some came from putting the word out to older relatives that we used cloth napkins.

[JesKace]

We use a mixture of different things.  DH and I usually use dish towels, the same ones I use all around the kitchen (we don't use paper towels at all for anything)  Most of the dish towels I have are terry cloth type towels that are like 2x the size of a wash cloth.  I got a huge pack of them at Home Depot really cheap and they are cotton, and they last forever.  The kids usually use gerber baby washcloths.  They are super soft since they are terry on one side and smooth on the other and they are small enough that they aren't too big for them.  I will wet one down and wipe my littlest (2y/o) hands and face with them after each meal.  I send them to school in the two older kids lunchboxes.  You can get them in a pack of like 8 for a few bucks.  I have a whole stack of them under my sink.  I also use them for wipes with our cloth diapers, tissues, and for family cloth.  The wipes/tissues/FC are washed separate from our napkins :)  I wash all my dish cloths separate from my regular laundry in one load maybe 2x a week or when ever we run out.  I do also have actual "napkins" for company, but they rarely get used.

If you're using a lot of olive oil, I'd wash the napkins separate so you don't get the oil residue on your regular clothes.

[iowaorganic]

I don't use paper.  My favorite cloth napkins are double flannel- like a big wipe.  We have a ton- but we also use them as kleenx.  I do have some nice purchased ones from yonkers (like bonton?).  If you aren't crafty- you could still do fat quarters and pinking shears. 

[JudiAU]

Napkin rings aren't meant to be fancy, they are meant to help you locate the correct semi-used napkin. Just get one for each member of the family and wash the napkin when it gets dinner. Really, it is 1-3 times a week for each person. We use cheapo baby washclothes for the kids instead for face and hand washing. You can wash them with any load.

[JudiAU]

I like the plain hotel napkins from Williams Sonoma and the linen napkins from Pottery Barn. They both wear really well, release stains. Somtimes they are ironed and sometimes not.

[TiredX2]

When I started using cloth napkins, I just bought them on clearance.  I didn't really care about the patterns/ colors/etc just got a variety (at least four of each kind generally).  For bigger messes we still use plain white towels from Costco, though.  We wash them with our "normal" was (not our whites) but we don't have an entire load a day.  If you have a $ store handy and don't mind shopping there, that could also be a good place to start.  At this point I'd guess we have around 40 napkins so we never run out.
 

Originally Posted by philomom 

I only change the face napkins twice a week. They have personalized napkin rings so that no one uses anybody elses.

I find them cheap at the clearance bins of places like Pier One. .. but you could make your own just like the family cloth folks do,

Great idea with reusing based on napkin rings!

Originally Posted by JudiAU 

I like the plain hotel napkins from Williams Sonoma and the linen napkins from Pottery Barn. They both wear really well, release stains. Somtimes they are ironed and sometimes not.

[HollyBearsMom]

I get mine at clearance type stores- Home goods, TJMaxx, etc. They sell napkins all the time so there are usually a lot on clearance.  I only buy 100% cotton an usually get them for 50 cents to a dollar per napkin. I prefer "hotel" style which means they are bigger than average.

Unless we are eating BBQ or similar messy finger foods the napkins usually last for 3-6 meals. Regular use napkins get washed with the regular laundry. Super messy ones covered in BBQ sauce or high staining foods (tomato sauce,etc) get washed with the whites on the hot wash cycle.

[kawa kamuri]

we use small baby washcloths. i keep linens/rugs/mop head/etc separate because it's easiest for me. that's my non-fancy way. 

[redvlagrl]

We have napkins from various sources including Ikea (v cheap and fine), but mostly we use washcloths (again, cheapies from Ikea) for the kids. DD prrefers them warm and wet/damp. We tend to let the dry between meals and reuse if not too soiled. We have a wetbag that we throw thme into. I also use them on DS but he soils one every meal. I just wipe him down at the end of each meal and toss the wipe into the wetbag.

I also use the wetbag for our tea towels and knitted dishcloths.

[taubel]

Originally Posted by redvlagrl 

We have napkins from various sources including Ikea (v cheap and fine), but mostly we use washcloths (again, cheapies from Ikea) for the kids. DD prrefers them warm and wet/damp. We tend to let the dry between meals and reuse if not too soiled. We have a wetbag that we throw thme into. I also use them on DS but he soils one every meal. I just wipe him down at the end of each meal and toss the wipe into the wetbag.

I also use the wetbag for our tea towels and knitted dishcloths.

What exactly is "the wetbag?" As I'm relying more on cloth and less on paper products, I end up with a bunch of wet towels, etc. every day. I feel that I need to wash them within 24 hours so they don't mildew. But is there a way to keep them from mildewing until I'm ready to wash a full load of them? Just trying to figure out the best way to use more cloth without wasting tons of water, energy, etc. Thanks! 

[Toolip]

We have a TON of cloth napkins. Many were given to us from other people and many are target clearance. By far my favorite are from a cooking store that was going out of business and were selling NICE napkins for about fifty cents. I still kick myself for not buying more. They are thin and soft but very absorbent and wash well. LOVE them. If you buy at Target get ones that are 100% cotton for sure, with no decorative painting. That makes for a stiff, nonabsorbent napkin. Grandma hand-me-downs are also a good way to get really nice napkins. Anyway, I think my point is, don't just go cheap. You can get good deals on good napkins but I think it's worth it to get decent quality.

Oh, and I LOVE cloth napkins. I think they are so beautiful and lovely to use!

[BetsyS]

Originally Posted by taubel 

What exactly is "the wetbag?" As I'm relying more on cloth and less on paper products, I end up with a bunch of wet towels, etc. every day. I feel that I need to wash them within 24 hours so they don't mildew. But is there a way to keep them from mildewing until I'm ready to wash a full load of them? Just trying to figure out the best way to use more cloth without wasting tons of water, energy, etc. Thanks! 

Where I live, things do mildew pretty fast.  That's why I am willing to wash wet things with any other types of clothes.  I throw them in the bottom of the washer and just wash with the next load. 

I was M, W, and F every week, with the last load being in the late afternoon (with diapers and all, I usually do about 3 loads a day on those days).  During the weekend, I will do a load when the washer fills up (and it usually does, between napkins and dirty gardening clothes and maybe a wet shirt from milk being spilled at supper and whatever else gets dirty and wet).  So, at most, my wet napkins are going from dinner on, say, M, to W am, which is about 36 hours.  In that time, I usually don't have a problem with mildew. 

If I waited a week to have a load just dedicated to kitchen laundry, then, yes, my stuff would mildew.  I live in a hot, humid climate, though, which makes a difference.  We battle mildew and mold even in the dead of winter with forced air heat.