My husband and I have decided to go napkin and paper towel free in the kitchen as one of our approaches to going green. He broke out the sewing machine to make his own backpack last week, so I finally got the motivation to go to St. Vincent DePaul’s for the items I needed. I bought a twin flat sheet that was light colored with pretty yellow and pink flowers (it matches my kitchen yellow), and that will become the napkins. I have 10 cut and pinned but I need to buy a new sewing needle before I finish.
As for the paper towel, I will be cutting up a few old shirts that we never wear anymore and putting them in a drawer. They will be our rags that will replace our paper towel. Both of these will be easy to convert to – wash them, put them away, use them, put in hamper, repeat. 
I also bought a picnic table cloth (the vinyl kind), so I could make reusable sandwich bags. I got the idea from Michele, who shared this tutorial a few weeks ago. These are also cut and pinned waiting for the sewing machine to be functional.
Not only do I feel I am being frugal, but I’m also making less waste. That’s a good thing!
For more frugal ideas, visit Biblical Womanhood.
Hello,
I have been thinking about reusable sandwich bags and what I could use to make them, but I never thought about a table cloth. What a frugal idea! Thank you! That will give me a project for next weekend!
Great job!
I’m looking forward to seeing what you make.
I love those adorable baby clothes, too. You’ll use those washcloths for ages. They’re wonderful for diaper changes, too.
Blessings,
Michele
GREAT ideas! I am so impressed!!! It may not be the most frugal, but I LOVE the big pack of bar mop cloths you can buy at Sam’s Club to use as paper towels…you get a ton of them and they are super absorbent. I got some 1 1/2 years ago and they are all still going strong. I keep a small basket on top of my dryer for dirty cloths and wash them daily.
JC- I’m glad my post could be useful to you. Happy sewing and thanks for stopping by!
Michele- Thanks for sharing all of your wonderful tips. I sure have learned a lot from you. I’ll be sure to share pictures when they are finished.
Aimee- Oooh that’s a good idea too. Even if you didn’t make them yourself, at least you’re not using up rolls and rolls of paper towel. Thanks for sharing and stopping by!!
We use baby wipes for all our cloths and napkins (and then wash and re-use them). I tried making a sandwich bag out of an old vinyl bib, but now I’m going to check out that other tutorial. Thanks!
I love using old shirts in the kitchen. they are so much more absorbent than new dish towels. I have a mix of old and nice towels and I always grab these old shirt pieces first b/c they work best.
Great ideas! I have been wanting to go with cloths instead of paper towels for a while.
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