Cloth Napkin Convert...

photo credit

This past week I finally did something that I have been wanting to do for awhile... I switched my house over to cloth napkins.

I know, how scandalous.

We already use rags to clean with, cloth diapers and wipes, metal drinking straws, no paper plates or cups and reusable snack and storage containers (I do use disposable freezer bags for when I freeze things) so buying paper napkins seemed kind of silly.

What really gave me the last push to go the cloth route was that Jilly, my two year old, would go through about four napkins at each meal. She is such a stickler for cleaning her hands, her clothes and the table when she's eating and she also refuses to use a napkin more than once, as in she will clean up a drop of spilled yogurt and then that napkin is done even though only 5% of it's surface is actually dirty.

The switch was a little bumpy because the kids were a little resistant to them but once they realized they had no choice they got on board pretty quickly. And the best thing is that Jilly only uses one per meal but if she wanted to use more it wouldn't even matter because clean napkins are only a washing machine cycle away.

So far I like cloth napkins better than paper napkins. They clean better, look nicer and will eventually save me money. Plus I'll never have to worry about running out of napkins!

The only other disposable items used in our home are toilet paper and feminine care products- those are two things that we will continue to buy because while I enjoy being a little crunchy being that crunchy is not something I desire.