A few posts dedicated to answering email questions from readers…
A friend inquired about switching to cloth napkins. She was not convinced the effort, expense and care were better for the environment. There are certainly arguments for both sides of the debate.
Personally, I like using cloth napkins. It was an easy switch in our home once my husband stopped complaining. From a frugal perspective, we have saved money this year when we stopped purchasing disposables. If you are handy with a sewing machine, it is a terrific way to repurpose old sheets, tablecloths and fabrics. Garage sales or second hand clothing shops are a good place to find inexpensive vintage or retro sets.
Unfortunately, composting paper napkins might make us feel good but it does not make them environmentally friendly. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council “If every household in the United States replaced just one package of virgin fiber napkins (250 count) with 100% recycled ones, we could save 1 million trees.” If you cannot give up the disposables at least try to buy unbleached 100% post consumer recycled napkins.
There is nothing eco-friendly about starting a hot water wash just to wash cloth napkins. To avoid this we reuse our napkins. When we are not entertaining, we have different napkin ring holders that help us keep track of every family member. This might gross you out, but I do not wash napkins every day. (Gasp!) Even with kids, it is rare napkins need daily washing. When laundering is required, I throw them into the wash with a full cold-water load of…whatever. No special loads, no special laundering. As for stains, I pre-treat bad stains with my favourite non-toxic stain remover (I like Nature’s Clean – a Canadian Company that does a super job.) Next, I forget about it in the hamper until the next full load. Take it a green step further and hang them to dry on the line.
My only minor complaint using cloth napkins is wrinkles. I resist the urge not to haul out my iron to press them into folded perfection. What can I say? I grew up with a Mom that ironed underwear.
I find the key to managing crinkled cotton is the brilliant napkin ring! It does not have to be expensive. We have a set of toilet paper rings from a rainy day craft project. For fancier occasions, we have mismatched old spoons bent into circles that look funky. Wrinkled cotton is somewhat forgivable stuffed into a napkin ring or…peaking out of a glass like a crinkled flower. (kinda sorta?)
Tacky or terrific?
If you want to purchase cloth napkins try to look for green home stores that sell fair-trade, organic cotton made with natural dyes.
So, to answer my friend Alli’s question, I think for minimal effort cloth napkins can save money, save trees, save landfill and brighten up a table with colour and fabric. Definitely, worth trying. What do you think?
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
How often do you wash your napkins? Do you own multiple sets? Just wondering how many I would need to get a family of five started. Thanks!
I think it’s brilliant that you reuse the napkins before laundering them. I always thought I was too lazy to use cloth napkins, but you have me convinced that even I can do this!
And definitely terrific, not tacky.
We have a drawer full of cloth napkins. We stil have papertowels but I don’t use them very often. I find that with kids the napkins only last one meal and then they are thrown in the washing machine.
Krista – I started with 8 napkins initially because that was the amount I found in a sale bin. If you don’t mind reusing napkins (my kids, particularly the youngest gets washed the most) I can let mine go for 5 days if I’m having an unsloppy personal week. (!) Also, I find that adding a napkin here or there to a full load of laundry makes things manageable. The only challenge is when we have company…8 isn’t enough. I now have 16 and this weekend we had visitors and went through them so quickly I didn’t have enough for every meal. I would like to have more…but I’m too cheap to buy anything. Good luck with switching over. Please let me know what you think.
Finola – You can totally do it. If I can…anyone can.
Capital Mom – It’s hard when kids are really little…it gets easier as they get a little bigger. A whole drawer full? That’s cool. Do you sew them yourself?
I guess we kind of use cloth napkins…really we use washcloths. We have a whole drawer full of cheapy washcloths – I bought several packs, I think we have at least 30 of them. The kids grab one for a meal – they usually go through one per day – and any time I need a wipe for the kitchen counter, or to clean up a spill, we just grab a cloth or two.
When used I put them in the washing machine where they accumulate. They get washed whenever I’m doing a load. I’m not fussy about them getting stained or discoloured or whatever – they aren’t fancy, but they do the trick!
Lynn – A washcloth is just a fluffy napkin. What a great idea! Love it.
We use cloth napkins for us, and reuse them many times before washing them, but I bought a large bag of paper napkins years ago, and it just won’t die! I’ll use those up until they’re gone when guests are over, and then I’ll transition to cloth napkins for everyone. I like your napkin ring alternatives!
Terrific! This is motivating me to figure out a cloth napkin situation.
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