I never, ever buy washcloths unless they are on sale. That is my rule! Since I like white ones and pale pink ones, I buy those colors. I own lots of washcloths. I even buy them secondhand.
One day, I noticed that a hemmed washcloth was coming unhemmed. So, I put it aside to re-hem and put something else on top of it and forgot it. Then, I did not have the right color of thread or could not find it. Finally, I bought the right color, and had the wayward washcloth, needle, and light to see. The washcloth has been hemmed and will live a much longer life than it would if I had just continued to use it unhemmed.
Speaking of washcloths and colors. I did find some soft lavender and palest green washcloths that were acceptable, not jarring colors. Since I use washcloths as a substitute for tp, I can dry wetness with these colors that were on sale. Lately, I have used tp for solid after eschewing tp for about ten years.
Do you hem or otherwise mend the edges of washcloths? Or, do you just let them die over time? Or, do you get rid of them or demote them to cleaning or outdoor cloths?
Old towels and washcloths get turned into cleaning rags. I don't have the space to store lots of tp, so I bought several yards of flannel, cut it into 8 inch squares and turned under a 1/4 inch hem, using my sewing machine to stitch. Works like a charm. I wonder how many others use washable tp. Saves me storage space and in the long run, money, as it is one less thing to have to buy and store.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, the wash cloth was almost new. I do have my rag bag. I originally started using cloth because 1)old growth forests in Canada are being cleared to give me something to wipe my bottom and 2) I hate paying for disposable things, chief among those is tp. I discovered a benefit--my lady parts are not irritated by cloth like they are by tp. Most of my friends think it is strange. I am convincing J, the young woman who has helped me. She took material to cut up when I wanted to get rid of it.
DeleteI've been looking on Amazon at portable travel bidets. Just a squeeze bottle with a special long arm nozzle. I had a portable bidet that hooked up to my bathroom faucet and it worked really well. You pulled up on it to get it to spray and pushed it down so you could wash your hands later. They have them on Amazon. I had a stack of thin washcloths to pat dry with. Many other countries don't use toilet paper but rinse themselves.
ReplyDeleteJanet,
DeleteAussie Mike at Damn the Matrix on my blog roll installed a bidet at his new house in AU. He said his wife and girls just used a towel and each had their own. It was put in the laundry everyday.
Some people use the bottle that women use after having a baby, putting water in it and squirting their bottoms and drying on cloth. I have meant to do that. We are a wasteful nation.
The old dishtowels, T-shirts, and underwear go to the 'rag pile' some used for minimal tidy up and others as sweat towels for gym. When they get bad enough the next decent to the next level of hell is the pile for grungy cleaning job.
ReplyDeleteUrspo,
DeleteThere is a "level" of uses here, too.