I must confess about an addiction I have – I’m addicted to cloth napkins. It started out simple enough. We got a set of 4 cloth napkins as part of a wedding present. They are white with a yellow and green lemon pattern and we still have them. I felt very grown-up using them.
Fast forward almost 39 years and I have amassed such a collection that I could serve dinner to 166 people and use cloth (not paper) napkins. Well, I’d need more plates, but I think that would be fun!
Following my own organizing rules, I decided to tackle my collection. First I took stock of what I had. If I had napkins stored in different areas of the house, I would have collected them together. Since I had them all in the sideboard of our dining area, that part was already done. I sorted all of the napkins by color and made piles for each color. Patterned napkins were sorted by the main color.
Here is an example of what the drawers looked like before. They weren’t bad but they weren’t easily accessible and simplified like Rule #3 dictates.
My favorite napkins are the black and white check – followed by the solid red.
I went through each pile and pulled out any torn or stained napkins and those that didn’t have enough matching ones to fit our needs. Some were tossed and some were donated.
With the remaining napkins, I folded them 3 times – in half, in half again, then in half again. What I was left with were napkins that fit perfectly in my sideboard drawers and could lean up against each other.
I made sure that the napkins had plenty of room between them so I could pull out what I needed without pulling everything out at the same time.
I coordinated the colors that I use most together. I like to mix and match the napkins for a fun tablescape. I have a bunch of paper cocktail napkins that I like to use for dessert get-togethers or when serving snacks outside on the deck or back by the firepit.
We use only cloth napkins for everyday meals. Unlike 1-time-use paper napkins, cloth napkins can be used several times before needing to be washed. We use different napkin rings to differentiate each person’s individual napkin. Mine is the chicken. Hubs’ is the duck. When the grandlittles visit for a week or so, they get to pick their own napkin ring to use. I store them in a drawer until needed.
So, did I follow all of the Organizing rules?
- Purge – yes, I got rid of all of the napkins that I would not use in the future.
- Designate – yes, I organized a home for every set of napkins.
- Simplify – yes, I created a new folding system for the sets, making it easier to pull out what I need.
- Label – no. There was no need to label. All of the sets are in the same place they’ve always been – just neater.
- Maintain – to be determined! This system should be easy to maintain. I can put the washed napkins back easily and see what I have at a glance.
Let me know, in the comments, if you use cloth napkins and/or napkin rings. Which ones are your favorites and how do you store them?
