Dear Frugal Upstate-
Hi… I’ve been enjoying your blog via Bloglines for a few months now. Thanks! I wanted to post this question when you had the contest… but … well, I won’t go into why… Here is is NAPKINS? paper/disposable versus cloth/washable What do you know about this? Which is a more frugal choice?
-Jimmie
Well Jimmie, as with making your own laundry detergent, the answer is a very definite “it depends”. Things are just not absolutes in this world, especially when it comes to frugality. There are too many variations in prices around the country and the world for me to state anything categorically.
But that won’t stop me from giving it my best shot! Personally, I think that cloth napkins in my case are both more frugal, and better for the environment*. Here is why.
#1-Paper napkins get one use, then are thrown away. This makes paper napkins a reoccurring cost. Plus disposable ANYTHING just seems so un-green. Cloth napkins are a one time outlay for the actual purchase. Although you can find some very nice, pretty but expensive napkins out there, you can also find them very inexpensively at thrift stores (frequently $.25 each) garage sales, or your mom’s attic. If you have even minimal crafting skills you can sew napkins or fringe up some pretty quickly. And to be uber green, when a cloth napkin gets old you can use it as a rag, and then (if it is natural fiber) when it’s life is totally done you can compost it. That makes it triple purpose. Although to be fair I suppose I must point out that you can compost paper napkins. . .
#2-Cloth napkins can be used multiple times before being washed, which lowers their cost per use** and their impact on the environment-at least as far as water goes.
#3-Water isn’t very expensive here. I feel the water used in my case to wash napkins is negligible. Since we do use them multiple times before washing (except in the case of a big mess-see below) my napkin washing each week probably only equates to 8 or 10 napkins. That barely makes any difference in a load that we are already washing.
#4-In the case of my kiddos, paper napkins often don’t stand up well. If there is anything truly wet or sticky on the hands (which still happens frequently in Buddy’s case) then the paper napkin disintegrates. I might have to use a couple of paper napkins to get the job done, which brings the cost per use of the paper napkins up.
Now there are many things that could make my analysis wrong for someone else’s situation. You could live somewhere that water was much more expensive, or you might have to take into account the fact that your laundry is done at a laundromat (with associated costs). You may be able to buy paper napkins at a great discount, or have awesome coupons, or maybe even your Aunt Ruth works at the paper napkin factory and brings a ton home for free! Maybe you have a germ phobia and the idea of using a napkin more than once totally grosses you out, thereby causing your family of 4 to run through 84 cloth napkins a week. . .
But let’s say that I’ve convinced you-let’s just talk for a minute about a couple of ways to manage the whole cloth napkin thing. There are basically 2 ways to keep the napkins straight (because although the idea of using my own napkin again later doesn’t bother me, the idea of using a napkin that Buddy has gotten his saliva on is mildly disgusting). You can either use different colored napkins, or napkin rings.
We use napkin rings. The object here is to have each family member have a unique ring, so you can tell them apart. Pretty matched rings might look all snazzy, but does nothing for keeping track of who is using what!
Shortly after deciding to make the switch to cloth napkins I happened to be browsing in a housewares style store (the particular chain will remain nameless as it doesn’t really matter). They happened to have a bunch of their napkin rings on sale. So I bought 4 different napkin rings and assigned one to each family member.
Can you guess which one is mine?Here is the process:
1. Set the table, laying each person’s napkin, still in their specific ring, at their place.
2. Use the napkin at said meal.
3. After the meal, inspected each napkin to determine the level of grubbiness.
4. If it is nasty, it get’s thrown downstairs in the laundry room.
5. If it is fairly clean, then it goes into the user’s individual napkin ring, and is placed in a basket on the sideboard until the next meal.
6. Repeat.
Napkin rings should be a one time purchase. You could spend a bit more on this, buying each person something that appeals to them. Of course you can look for them on sale, buy them at thrift stores or garage sales.
You can even make your own. How about no sew felt flower napkin rings, recycled toilet paper tube napkin rings, beaded napkin rings, or even salt dough napkin rings.
Using different colored napkins works pretty much the same way, except you skip the napkin ring. Let’s say you have 4 people in your family-you would just need to procure 4 napkin sets-then Suzy would always know that she had the pink napkin, and Dad would know he always had the brown ones etc. Alternately you can just accumulate a bunch of different types, and folks need to remember from one meal to the next which one was theirs.
So Jimmie, I hope that this helped answer your question!
And readers, let’s help Jimmie out-if you have related cloth vs. paper experience or advice, please post it in the comments section below.
*Note: Pablo Paster disagrees on the environmental issues-but his analysis assumes that you use a cloth napkin one time and then wash it, along with all the water that takes. I use napkins multiple times before they are washed.
**Note: I am not going to actually compute the cost per use. I’m just using it in sort of a theoretical way.
cloth napkins
{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
I live in a community house with 9 adults and two kids. With this combo of 5 families we easily came up with 9 different napkins designs (some with 2 to a set and others with four). We each chose our own napkin design and get our own napkin at meals. We tend to use the napkins for about a week before washing and just throw them in with regular laundry. I think this system works great for us and we don’t use hardly any extra resources since we just add them into laundry loads we were already doing and they don’t take up much space. (we also use our homemade laundry detergent
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I agree with your take on napkins, and even if they were equal in the frugality department I’d go with cloth. We just like them better. We use old wash clothes for our kitchen napkins (breakfast & lunch) and I bought some better ones on clearance for the dinner table. Love the napkin ring idea. I’ve been trying to figure out a better system to reuse them. That sounds like it works!
we have used cloth napkins for quite some time now. i am still amazed how many times you can reuse them without the need for washing. we still end up washing them about once a week anyway.
bandanas can also be used. also you might find some men’s sturdier cotton handkerchiefs (new) on sale to use.
we used clothes pins with out name on them at first before we got our own unique napkin holders.
That’s what they did in France, when I was there about 20 years ago. Good idea and we should do it too.
Using personalized rings is genius! I’ve always wantd to try this, but the idea of washing big stacks of napkins didn’t appeal to me. Now we can save them from meal to meal!
Great ideas but, don’t forget to clean them daily or you could get a nasty infection from germs, bugs and ect… No one wants to get sick. Good luck!!! Annette
Great information!
I do have a germ phobia so we use new napkins at each meal and it is still cheaper than paper. I just treat them for grease stains and toss them in with whatever load of laundry is being done that night. No extra water is used, because the load would be run anyway.
I have also used bandannas and was lucky enough to find a few packs of men’s handkerchiefs at the thrift store for 25¢ each. I often find napkin rings at the thrift store, too.
Thanks!! Great post!!! I so appreciate it! I feel silly because I\’d NEVER considered not washing the napkins after each meal. Wow! Great idea! Loved the comments too!
Missy-It’s nice to hear from someone who is using the napkin color method.
Stephanie-The ring system works well, and even the young kids quickly learn which napkin ring is “theirs”. Little ones love having something that is specifically for them. . . I made sure in my case that Princess got the prettiest one
K-Bandanas are a great idea! As is using clothespins as a temp measure until you can find napkin rings inexpensively. . .
Knitsteel-Ha! I was being chic and french without even knowing it! Honestly though, Europeans are much better at being thrifty (or at least less disposable) and greener than we are! Well, western europeans on the enviromental aspects anyway. . . .
Maine Mama-Glad this tip works for you. That’s the best thing about blogging, giving folks good ideas, and getting good ideas from all of you.
Annette-The germ issue is something everyone is going to have to decide for themselves. Personally I’m not worried about it because:
#1-many times they are barely used, maybe a few rice grains or a couple of crumbs touched them and that’s all. I’m willing to live with the level of risk involved in that.
#2-My brother, a doctor, says that most germs and bacteria need moisture to live and grow. So as long as the napkin completely dries out between uses, all the germs and bacteria die. This is why I switched from a sponge to wash dishes to a hand knit washcloth-I can wring out the cloth and drape it over the sideboard to dry fully-thus killing any germs. The sponge never fully dries in the middle, promoting bacteria growth.
All that said, each person must do what feels right for themselves and their family. Thank you for pointing out that people should weigh the risks and make an informed decision.
Krista-Again, I can understand why you might feel that way about germs. I’m glad to know that cloth works out to be frugal for you, even with washing them daily.
Jimmie-Sorry it took so long
Don’t feel silly-it is amazing how we don’t even realize that certain things are assumptions to us that can be questioned. That is one of the biggest things about being frugal-changing your mindset and at least being able to consider other options, even if you ultimately decide they are not for you. That’s what reading the tighwad gazette did for me, made me think outside the box.
Where do you keep the napkins between meals? I use cloth; throw them all in the wash after each meal; and I even have several different napkin ring styles.
Jora
These are excellent ideas, Jenn! I love the napkin ring idea. I will have to try that in our house
We have a ton of mistmatched napkins that I have purchased from thrift and tag sales for a quarter each. I love using them and the added bonus is that they make the table look much more elegant and add a sense of class..even if we are eating macaroni and hot dogs 
Have you done a blog on how to cut energy expenses? That would be so great!!!
Jora-Those napkins in the picture are mine, and that metal basket is what I keep them in, right on top of the sideboard. I think they look fairly nice, and you can always roll them up so that the dirty spots dont show
You could also store them inside a drawer and just take them back out again.
Amy-I’m glad the napkin ring trick will work for you! Ha-I’m giving advice to a “TV Personality”
Anon-Saving money on electricity/energy is a great post topic, I’ll put it in the queue. In the meantime, if you really need assistance right now, you may want to browse through some of the other blogs on the frugal blogroll (in the right sidebar) and search some of them for tips.
I hope this isn’t a duplicate; I’ve tried twice to post it with no apparent success.
My mom uses “binder clips” (those large black paper clips), tied to the backs of her dining room chairs, to clip the napkins on. Since everyone sits in the same seats over and over, the napkins are right at hand when needed. (Unfortunately, this doesn’t work at our house due to the style of our chairs.)
I have used cloth napkins for years. I live with all boys – so usually they wipe their hands on their pants:) my napkins can stay literally clean for days. I leave the napkins on the table at each person’s seat. It also makes setting the table slightly faster when I come home from work. As far as uses when they are worn out, I use them for dust cloths because they are almost lint free and then I let the boys take them to garage for messes out there. (They look real tough with a pink floral shop rag!) I also have used them for a “mask” when weed eating or sanding un-treated wood. It helps with allergies. Wonderful blog! Thank you!
Hi, Jenn! I finally followed up on the napkins — in reality and on my blog. Thanks again for your help! The cloth napkins are working well for us. We also made some guest napkin rings for those frequent guests who always seem to stay for dinner.
Your blog IS helpful to me! I enjoy it.
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