Make Reusable Napkins (Don't Buy New)

Tissue is a wasteful product. Wherever napkins (serviettes) are used, water is better but not always practical. Tissue though, is an easier and more popular option for serving guests, and for cleaning. 

*Tissue roll became near-extinct earlier this year because of desperate shoppers during the pandemic. Toilet tissue can't really be swapped 100% and it's actually a Sunnah, believe it or not, to use a compostable material to 'wipe' before using water for Istinja (look it up!).

We used to have a collection of napkins for guests and we still use them for family. But for ourselves, there's always been a new kitchen roll every few days that we depend on. I wasn't too happy for the waste and cost involved and since we began moved house a couple of years ago, we've tried something different. 

My son's baby muslin cloths were in a donation bag along with next-to-new towels that we just didn't use anymore. I thought, why not re-purpose them. And that is how we upgraded our reusable tissues.

MAKE YOURS

1. Wash and bleach any large cotton fabric pieces you have. They don't need to match and don't need ironing. 

EXAMPLES: Old t-shirts, baby muslin cloths, towels, anything with a majority cotton or terry-towelling content. 

2. Fold them individually into the size you're happy with and roughly cut to equally sized pieces. 

3. Use a sewing machine to hem any raw edges (below). I've stitched some of mine that I use when guests come or for larger surfaces. But personally I'm not too fussed with the edging appearance. 

My smaller rags are frayed a lot but I don't mind since they're mostly for cleaning and wiping. I have a kitchen pile, some I only us for tables and a few for the bathroom. 

Re-usable "tissues" can be added to your tea-towel or cleaning cloth pile. Use the larger pieces as table mats and make smaller squares for runny noses.

I've even taken it a step further by adding Velcro to thicker pieces that attach to my flat mop head. 

All of these can be thrown into the washing machine on a high wash and replace your tissue and kitchen roll collection.

Hope that helps! Anyone else already doing this?