Toddlers make a mess when they eat. A big mess. Okay, so if I’m honest I can tell you that I also make a big mess myself. When I was little, mom used to make me eat ice cream in my underwear because I’d get it all over me. Thankfully my family doesn’t make me do that any more. Whew.If I tried to clean up Annie before, during, and after each meal with a paper towel, I might have to buy stock in Bounty. I would go through a HUGE amount of them…..and we really don’t buy many paper towels. When we first started feeding her, I got tired of using paper towels really fast. So, I came up with something better. |
I got about forty billion washcloths when Annie was born – the baby type. I could never use all of those on her, but I still had a pile of them in the bathroom. I brought about 7 downstairs, one for each day of the week. I stashed them in the cabinet with her cups.Now at each meal, I just wet down her washcloth and use that to clean her face, her hands, and sometimes her belly. Yep. I keep that stack of washcloths in the kitchen just for her – okay, sometimes I use them myself too. I can easily wash them out and reuse them if it’s a messy meal. I just launder them with my other kitchen towels and I’m good to go. After the meal, I wash it out and hang it up to dry for the next meal. It’s saved us a HUGE amount of paper towels. 🙂 |
 |
About Stacy
Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the content above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase an item, I may receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Comment Policy: I love reading your thoughts and input on what you read here. I'm sure we'll disagree sometimes and that's okay! In those cases, do what's right for you and yours. As with any form of communication, only post comments that move the discussion in a positive direction.
I bought a couple bundles of commercial white washcloths at Costco.
I roll them up neatly and put in a basket in each washroom. I keep a small wicker basket to toss them in after drying clean hands.
When the basket fills i simply pop them in the wash.
Guests love the upscale hotel feel when they visit and i save a ton of paper towels.
Well that’s just smart!
I have five children & the youngest four are 5, 4, 3 & 2 so I use this method all the time. Otherwise, I would be buying paper towels constantly. I know this saves us a ton of money!
Us too!!
We did this, too! We also use normal washcloths as his napkins (because we had so many extra that we had gotten as wedding presents and weren’t using!). We’ve been doing that since he was about 2.
Great tip! My kids are also messy. I used to do this more, but I need to start doing it again. Thanks for the reminder.
Cloth napkins are great too, especially when they get a little older. 😉
Yep! 🙂 See this post: http://www.stacymakescents.com/using-cloth-napkins
this is probably a silly question, but what do you do with your kitchen towels after you use them? They are usually wet, and it drives me crazy to leave them hanging on the sink because they just keep getting wet. We have been having to go all the way to the bathroom to hang them up to dry, and then you end up with towels all over your shower. I had thought about getting a wet bag to hang somewhere in the kitchen, but we don’t have a lot of space. Any tips?
I might hang mine on a chair right on the deck (the deck door is in my kitchen), then at night I get them and take them to the laundry when they are dry. For Annie’s washclothes, I just hang them on the side of my dish drainer to dry. If it’s raining outside, I hang them on a chair back in the kitchen to dry. 🙂