What do you use at your house for napkins - everyday dinner?

[Anonymous]

We use cloth napkins and placemats. reuse for about a week, then wash everything with the dish towels. Easy peasy.

[Anonymous]

We use real dishes and cloth napkins. I was them every night. Not a big deal....I just throw them in with the dish towels.

[Anonymous]

We also use cloth napkins. We have a lot of them, and small messy kids, so they get swapped out pretty frequently based on what was for dinner. I should get a little linen basket for the counter - great idea PP. My current system is to pile the dirty ones up in a corner then every couple of days drop them in with a load of wash. It's really not too difficult though, and it seems really weird to me now to use disposable ones. We also hardly ever use paper towels anymore - the older, stained napkins get used as kitchen rags instead.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Paper napkins? Cloth napkins? Paper towels?

We use the half size paper towels. I grew up with cloth, which is a better choice environmentally, but I hated cleaning them all, so I don't do it unless we have company.

Just curious.

cloth. We have a large supply in a basket, change them every few days. Wash in regular laundry. Each family member has his/her own napkin ring.

I hate paper napkins.

[Anonymous]

Cloth. Somehow I have accumulated a lot of them and one day ran out of paper and decided to put an unused commodity to use. Funny, but now paper (the kind with holiday designs/birthday decorations) are for special occasions. Change them out as necessary but not every day.

[Anonymous]

Cloth. We got so many extra washcloths when DD was a baby that we just decided to use them as napkins at the table. H still uses paper napkins but DD and I use the washcloths. Just put them in with her laundry.

[Anonymous]

Cloth also. Unless we're having a very messy meal (fried chicken or something really greasy).

[Anonymous]

Cloth - Usually can use for 2-3 days depending on what we had for dinner. Spaghetti or ribs might make it a one nighter. For guests we use decorative paper - seasonal themed etc.

[Anonymous]

Cloth, I have a lot and just throw them in the wash each time (lots of washing going on in this house anyway!)

Paper napkins for birthdays etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Cloth napkins. Everyone has their own color. We reuse if not really dirty, otherwise goes into the laundry basket. Sometimes if my kids get something like ketchup all over theirs I will rinse it out and hang to dry and use next night.

I'm trying to get there...trying

[Anonymous]

I use the pick a size paper towel. When we finish, I use the clean ones to wipe the table and counters. We do use real plates, cloth placemats, and stainless utensils.

[Anonymous]

Paper. Right around the time I was considering switching to cloth, I was at MIL's house, who uses cloth. After the meal I saw her cleaning off the table and putting the used napkins back in the drawer where the "clean" ones are kept. I know for a fact that I used my napkin during the meal, and then watched it go back to the drawer. VOM. That turned me off from the idea completely. (And now at her house I discretely take a paper towel to the dinner table to use for myself)

[Anonymous]

Paper and will not switch. My son spits food into them (he is a picky eater but will try things).
Our napkins are filthy by the end of the meal. I cannot image having to throw them in the washer. I would have to pretreat, soak, and scrub.

Kudos to those who barely need a napkin. I cannot even imagine this.

[Anonymous]

Cloth most of the time. Also do the basket with a bunch of different ones in them.
Now most of the time my son actually uses his sleeve, but that's another story...

[Anonymous]

Cloth and matching mats. When they get yucky I just toss them in the wash. But definitely a notch above the small square paper ones that we used when I was a child.