Over the past several years I have been making small eco-friendly swaps to minimize the amount of waste in our home. I am nowhere near perfect, but I am trying to do my part and make a difference where I can. I started in our bathroom with makeup remover wipes and cotton balls and then moved into our kitchen with paper towels and now napkins.
I’m not going to lie, I wasn’t sure I would actually be able to maintain any swap we made in the kitchen and I definitely didn’t think Larry would buy into it either. Boy was I wrong! The paper towels were actually a lot easier to swap out than I thought they would be. We now use basic microfiber cloths off of Amazon and they work great!
Once we had a few months of no paper towels, I thought we were ready for the napkin swap. I put off this swap for one main reason: we host people at our house a LOT! Seven years in the NFL means I have been presented with the opportunity to open our home to friends, family, and teammates. I love to entertain and cook for everyone and thought there was no way I could get people to use cloth napkins, especially those big football boys. And again I have to be honest, I haven’t tested this out with a lot of guests yet. However, I decided that at the end of the day these swaps are meant for our daily use and if I end up hosting a bunch of people at our house and need to use napkin for one party, so be it. Who knows, maybe I will end up getting people to use cloth napkins too? A girl can dream.
So when I started the search for a reusable napkin, I had a few important requirements: it must be soft, it must wash well, and it must be durable so it would actually stand the test of time. I mean, anyone can find a cute napkin but what is the point of a napkin that looks good if it scratches your face when you use it or comes out of the wash so wrinkled you have to iron it in order for it to look decent? I wasn’t having any of that.
I looked at my usually stores (Target, World Market, Crate and Barrel, William Sonoma) and wanted to find one at a lower price point and another that might be a splurge. It took me buying eight sets of cloth napkins to find the perfect one and I don’t think it will disappoint anyone. But enough of the introductions. Y’all must be ready to find out which napkins were the winners, so let’s get to it!
Best Affordable Cloth Napkin
World Market – Cotton Slub Napkins (Set of 4 – $7.95)
https://www.worldmarket.com/search.do?query=cotton+slub+napkins
First up is the best affordable option! This one pictured above is from World Market and passed the test in several areas. It washes well and is definitely soft. The durability is the only thing that disappointed me here. It is unfortunately very thin and would not, in my opinion, stand the test of time. However, it’s a great option at only $7.95 for four napkins. I have used them with our friend’s kids when they come over and they worked great! I definitely recommend these napkins if you want to dip your toe in the water of cloth napkins and aren’t quite ready for the investment.
Overall Best Cloth Napkin
Food52 – Everyday Soft Cotton Napkins (Set of 4 – $30)
https://food52.com/shop/products/7438-five-two-everyday-soft-cotton-napkins
This cloth napkin from Food52 is hands down my favorite out of all the ones I tested. It, honestly, blew every other option out of the water. No joke. This napkin is incredibly soft and it only gets better with each wash. I have not had any issues with stains or anything and we have used them consistently for about four months. It’s also much thicker than the World Market option and will definitely last us for years to come. It comes in a variety of colors but be aware that they sell out quick, so be sure to jump on it when they’re in stock.
I went through a variety of different options when writing this post and learned more than anyone should probably learn about napkins but if you are looking to make the switch and have any questions, feel free to ask me in the comments below.
Leave a Reply