rags/kitchen towels
 

How many do you have?

I have, literally, 4 stuffed drawers full of various rags (washcloths, tea towels, old prefolds, etc...). We run out every 2 to 3 days since we grab a new rag for everything (tiny spills, hand wiping, nose blowing, wiping down counters /tables....these are used for everything!).
Probably 100 plus.

How do i convince myself to use them more than once?! Theres no reason to not use the same rag to wipe the counters 2 hours apart, except that a wet rag by the sink grosses me out, lol! I wash a full load of rags everyother day!

Re: rags/kitchen towels
 

Well, for starters, once you have wiped the counters, rinse the rag really well, wring it out, and hang it up to dry. We typically use the same dishcloth/rag all day. Kitchen towels are the same. Somewhat it depends on what it was used for. Once a rag/dishcloth is used on the floor, it goes in the hamper.

Re: rags/kitchen towels
 

You think of all the money you save on not washing so often. I have one drawer stuffed full. That includes our unpaper towels and dishrags. I definitely don't see why you only use a towel to wipe your hands once...or the counter or a kids nose. Even if it has something on it the rag can still be used again. I also ring (wring?) my dishrag out and lay it across the sink divider to dry.

Thus. Wet rags gross me out too. I have a few different kinds of towels to help new distinguish. Big hands towels don't get used for anything but drying clean hands, so they can last a while. smaller white bar towels are used to wipe everything else. Often times the girls use then as place mats under plates and bowls, then we wipe off the hands with them, wipe off faces and tables If need to. If they didn't need to wipe anything, then they stay on table until next meal. If we used the rags to wipe stuff and they are too dirty to use for another full meal, I will wet them and wipe off the fridge, counter, etc. then they go straight into laundry room. I also do towels/rags withdiaper or other loads so there's always a few clean and we never quite run out. Having a system eliminates putting a towel down then forgetting if its clean or used. I've also found that folding a rag makes me more likely to use it again (assuming its only slightly used to begin with) than leaving it bunched up. Hope you can figure something out!

Re: rags/kitchen towels
 

I have way too many towels for kitchen. I'm starting to make inserts for cding 2 kids as my pocket dipes don't take long to dry only inserts long time on rack. I have enough bath towels that all my kids soon to be 3 could take handful to college & my hubby & I would still be ok......

Not sure how to answer rest unless you sell or ift to others.

Re: rags/kitchen towels
 

Hmmm...my first thought was I don't have that many, maybe two dozen and they all fit in a small drawer. But those are the cleaning rags. I usually only have one really wet rag a day, the rest of the day I am just spritzing vinegar water and wiping up with a dry one. I also have three dozen cloth napkins we use at meals, and often I will take the ones after a meal to wipe up spills before I dump them in the dirty bin. All of these I wash in one load once a week.

Then in the kids' bathroom, I bought 3 or 4 dozen blue ones for the bathroom only, and they use those to wash up and to dry. Mainly because when I have left a big towel for them to reuse, then everyone kept catching each other's colds and such. In the main powder room there is one handtowel for drying, and I try to change it every day but often it is every other day. All these that are used, plus the bath towels, are washed in one load every week.

We still do paper tissues and toilet paper, so that does not factor in the wash/rag count.

Re: rags/kitchen towels
 

That grosses me out. I know its odd, but i just think about all the germs multiplying on the wet, dirty rag hanging in the sink.....and to be honest, my sink is never empty, lol!

I need to get over the ick factor.

Re: rags/kitchen towels
 

See, that's why I use the daily wet rag to wipe up the messes, then go back with the dry one with vinegar water to sanitize. Resolves the germ issue. ;)

Re: rags/kitchen towels
 

I hate wet used ones as well!

I have one drawer full of rags, cloth napkins, and cloths for cleaning (it is a large one).

I will reuse one if I am cleaning things in a group (like wiping down outside of fridge, counters, table, then top/outside of trash can)- but if put it down, I will usually grab another. New one for kids faces and hands, new one after breakfast, lunch/dinner, if I clean the floor it is different from counters... towels for hands I will use more than once, but DH will only use one from the drawer for this.

I do a load every other day of rags/towels or throw them in with whites to disinfect.

For me it is a germ/clean thing- I use a spray bottle and about 8-12 rags to clean the large kitchen floor we have because I can wipe until a clean rag comes up clean so I KNOW it is really clean (I do have a steam mop now, so I alternate with it).

I HATE smelly wet rags- I also have a very hard time putting my hands into sinks of cold soaking water... for me having a lot of rags and towels is totally worth it. It is a "quirk" of mine, and I have come to be ok with it.

Plus kids get to learn to fold and practice all the time!

Re: rags/kitchen towels
 

I have one drawer of rags used for floors, wiping, cleaning etc probably 20 or so. I have another one that has old microfibre boosters because they are excellent for cleaning the floor. Do a load every few days of rags with a little oxy action.