If you have messy kids, you probably know just how many paper towels and paper napkins you go through just at a single mealtime. But you can save significant money – not to mention help save the trees – by using cloth napkins. And your kids will only use one absorbent napkins during meal times rather than three or four paper napkins that kids often use.
You can often find cloth napkins at dollar stores, so you can start off using cloth napkins for a low price, and eventually add more to your collection. Or you can buy fabric, especially fabric roll ends for very inexpensively and then hem the edges to prevent fraying. It is best to use darker colored fabrics so that those ketchup or spaghetti stains won’t show as easily, because it can be extremely difficult to keep white napkins clean!
You can also let each of your kids pick their own color of napkins, that way if they feel it is “theirs”, they might be more likely to use them. You can also make napkins yourself with fabric from the fabric or craft store. It can be more expensive depending on the fabric you choose, but you can also get fun fabric for kids (or yourself!) such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or Barbie, which will also make it easier for your kids to switch and reduce the temptation to grab a paper towel instead.
As your family uses napkins, just toss them in with the laundry whenever you do a load.
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