I also get mine from HomeGoods/TJ. Also estate sales. TBH, I have a couple of sets from estate sales that we near perfect condition that have lasted for years. And still look great! To me an important feature is to NOT get them white or two light so that any stains aren’t so obvious. But to be honest I have several sets (some 4, some higher quantities) and they wash so well they don’t retain stain.
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I have gotten my napkins at all of the places people have mentioned here as well as on sale at Anthropologie when they have 40% off sale items.
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And there’s an idea I had not thought of, so thank you!
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And don’t get them in superslick polyester fabrics, my son has some that look great, but you can’t wipe up anything with them. My mother used to get fabric remnants and make napkins. I have some which we use for Easter (and beyond) with bunnies - after 25 years of use they are are beginning to show their age.
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YES. I want mine to really feel cottony soft and pliable. I actually have a couple of sets that were vintage handkerchiefs from my aunt. They are smaller so I use them for small meals like breakfast. They are pretty light blue with blue floral - much too pretty to be used for a handkerchief or to wipe your hands on but I love that they are getting new life!
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I have tons of white cotton napkins from Williams Sonoma. A parent group at my younger daughter’s school did fundraising dinners in private homes every year. Parents volunteered to host a dinner (the parent’s organization provided the food and delivered it to the host homes). The hosts provided wine and had to serve/set up for 10. We probably did this dinner for 7 or 8 times and I would always buy a few more white napkins.
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Years ago we switched back from tub margarine (Brummell yogurt spread) to butter sticks. LOL - realized this morn that has reduced our plastic waste (though of course there is still waxed wrapper and box waste).
I still purchase whipped cream cheese though, even though it has plastic tub.
For holidays, I do buy Reddi Whip cans. Maybe next year I’ll go back to making my own whipped cream.
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You guys have inspired me re: what to do with a nice bedsheet that just tore. Cloth napkins! I’m one of those people who can’t eat without a napkin on lap, in hand, or nearby, unless I’m in snack or grazing mode (and even then…) I can cut and hem and have loads of plain cloth napkins (classier for guests too). Unless someone thinks the high thread count sateenish cotton won’t work well for absorption…
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Just curious, is this an aim - getting rid of plastic tubs for instance? Because sour cream, milk containers (unless you get glass or bagged milk like in Canada!), etc???
We always have cans of whipped cream in the refrig. I consider it a staple. If I were to make whipped cream (which I have before) then I would likely waste in another way - by not being able to consume it all before it goes bad.
I think you have to think about “waste” in lots of different ways.
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Here’s another tip I realized. When my Swiffer wet mop broke I bought this instead. I fill it with a cap of vinegar, a couple drops of Dawn and then the rest water. I clean especially my kitchen floors this way and then cheaply refill, don’t use those Swiffer bottles or pads and can wash the reusable “pad” it comes with.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B077MMJ39Y/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title
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Yea… I generate a lot of plastic tubs- that became obvious as I started keeping some for bulk food store but was soon overwhelmed. And it seems like plastic does not get recycled as much as I’d hoped (It stillgets collected here, which I think does help to have it separated from the trash. But it seems like not much market for it currently).
If cans of Reddi Whip work well for you, then it’s worth doing despite the can in the landfill. You cut back lots in other areas that have less impact to you. We all have a different mix.
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UPDATE- I checked our local Waste Diversion Wizard (online app to check what goes into recycle, compost, trash). And I learned something new - aerosol cans ARE accepted in our Recycled, as long as they are empty.
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At our house, yes, the goal is to avoid plastic wherever possible. Plastics are not being recycled on a scale that removes them from landfills and the ocean; microplastics (the broken down bits) have some compelling studies that at least imply (if not outright suggest) that microplastic is a biohazard.
By “not being recycled” I mean that I can (and do) put all sorts of plastic in our bin, which DH takes to our local recycling center. But they are not selling it to someone who converts it to something else – it is still entering the waste stream. Plastic milk bottles do tend to get sold to companies reusing them, but plastic laundry bottles? Just garbage. I use cloth bags for my vegetables at farmer’s market and grocery store, I buy spices in glass jars…but I still get yogurt in plastic. Probably should learn to make it!
We are lucky, we have a local dairy and I get my milk in returnable glass bottles. It is my town’s literal definition of who is “local”, or not.
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Our community has a big box in the business center labelled “Teacher Treasure” with a list of what to toss in:
- toilet/paper towel rolls
- plastic tubs/containers
- glass jars
- Gallon jugs (from milk, tea, etc.)
- Wire hangers
- Magazines
…etc.
Just about any kind of container can be used in the classroom or for art projects.
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Gosh, I wish our community has similar (and possibly it does, just not yet found by me).
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In theory I like the idea of buying items made with recycled materials. Have not seen many options, other than reusable shopping bags. Any recommendations to share?
Years ago we considered a picnic table made of recycled milk cartons. But wow, it was heavy (hundreds of pounds)… needed special delivery, and we would not have been able to move it around by ourselves. Of course now that the wood picnic table needs yet another application of stain/preserver, I wonder if the recycled table (which was pricey) would have held up.
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Here’s a list, including Allbirds.
Of course this is only a savings on resources if there is a need for new shoes. (Ok, bad example - I “need” new shoes more than I should.)
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