Growing up, I thought cloth napkins were just for fancy occasions–though as a child, I couldn’t imagine why anyone would use them. If perfectly nice-looking disposables are available at any grocery store, why wash icky, used napkins?
My answer for today’s casual diner is: environmentalism! In my never-ending quest to be a less wasteful consumer, it’s finally come to my attention that cloth napkins can get nice and clean in the wash, just like any washrag. DUH! 🤦♀️
Once I realized that reusable napkins will also save me money in the long run, I went straight to the nearest thrift store in search of some. Unfortunately, the only ones I found were very light-colored. Lipstick would ruin those! So I went online to find cheap, cotton napkins in bulk.
At last, I found them! They were a good price on clearance, looked nice, were a dark color, and the website even showed a whole place setting with matching placemats and whatnot. I pounced!
When the package arrived in the mail, I eagerly opened it to bask in the glory of my new…
…
…
…cocktail napkins.
Turns out, the place setting photo had included a tiny little cocktail napkin under a glass of water. That’s why they were so inexpensive.
Oh well! I bought ’em, and I’m gonna use ’em. They’ll make a great conversation-starter when I have dinner guests.
And they look good with my bento boxes, right?
