I have something super mundane to talk about with you guys. It’s a problem that I don’t know how to solve: the reusing of bath towels in my house. At first, my sons would use a towel to dry off with then throw it immediately into the laundry basket. While they did that, my husband and I used a towel to dry off with then hang it on a hook on the back of our door. We’ll use them a few times until they seem damp and then I’ll wash them. Isn’t that what much of the world does?
The Talk
Not the sex talk people, we’re talking about towels. Remember? Anyway super mundane, we sat the boys down and told them that this is too much laundry and that there is no reason to only use a bath towel once. Washcloths, I totally get. Those are normally a 1 use unless all you did was wash your face.
They looked at us as if we had just asked them to bathe in a bucket, in the garage, in lieu of the shower. God forbid we ask this of them. We then threatened them that if they continued to use the towels only once, they would have to start washing the towels.
Towels When I Was Growing Up
Growing up, I shared a house with my mom, dad and 2 younger sisters. We never used a bath towel more than once. This would explain why as a teenager, our bath towels resembled that of an archeology discovery of a primitive loincloth. The towels were frayed on the ends and almost see-through. It would also explain why my parents couldn’t keep up with our demand for a bath towel. More than once, I found myself drying off with a hand towel, unable to even get it around my left thigh. So yeah, perhaps my parents should have enforced a use more than once policy.
How Our Sons are Getting Around the Reuse a Towel Policy
It’s pretty sneaky to be honest with you but it’s been going on for far too long and it has to stop. We explained that once they use a towel, they have to hang it up and re-use it again. You know what those little ass holes are doing? And I mean “little ass holes” as a term of endearment, I really do. They’re using the towel, hanging it up but then getting a fresh towel. They then use that towel, then hang it up. Our towel hooks have gone from holding 2 towels to up to 8 at a time.
I haven’t addressed it yet because I don’t know if I have the fight left in me to do so. Like, there’s only so many ways you can say, “use a towel more than once.” I find it pretty pathetic I’m going to have to ground my children over not using a towel more than once. I’ve explained to them that if you’ve washed appropriately, the towel is just wet. Not dirty, just wet. I thought about putting towel hooks on each of their doors and explaining they’re responsible for those towels. I’ve thought about assigning a colored towel to each kid but most of our towels are cream or light peach. I’ve even thought about putting a lock on the cabinet under our sink holding the towels. I don’t want this place to turn into a prison where you’re assigned a color and a certain number of towels. I’ve never been to prison but have watched Orange is the New Black so that counts, right?
Are we the only parents dealing with this? Do your kids turn into divas at a hotel, demanding extra towels? Should I pursue this fight or keep washing the towels? Ugh…..
Okies, sit down I have something to say:
I used to be more annoying than your sons.
There I said it!! I would use THREE towels every time i took a shower when I was in high school. I only showered every other day though so it wasn’t as bad. lol I’d wrap a hand towel around my hair, and then have two body towels for some reason I can’t remember. I think I put one on the floor to stand on and then one around my body? No Idea.
My kidlets use only one towel per shower as well. But it’s not a problem for them because their mom doesn’t do the laundry. Their dad will get it into the machines but he doesn’t put it away so again, not really a problem. But they don’t put them into the hamper. They take a shower and the towel gets left on the counter. And then I would put them into the hamper. Even hand towels get one use basically – there isn’t a towel rack in the bathroom so hand towels get used and then just left in a heap on the counter. So you walk in and wonder “hmmms was that just used once to dry someone’s hands? Or did so and so use it to wipe up the dog’s footprints off the floor?” and just push all the towels into the hamper because you didn’t want to take the chance lol.
I’m not sure how to make them realize how insane it is to use that many towels. Maybe give them an experiment for the summer. Set out two full sets of towels for every family member for the week. Tell them that is more than enough to get them through the week and that if they run out before, they have to do a load of laundry to get themselves a clean towel. But that you’ll do laundry every Saturday (or whenever) and that you will take care of it then? Is that a little too prisony for you?
3 towels? Every time? OMG! I would go balistic! Ok, so I came up with a plan after writing this post. I told them they must take their towel to their room and hang it on a hook in their room. They then must use it for 3 days then throw it in their hamper. If they don’t want to do that, then the other option is to use as many towels as it takes but they have to do 1 load of towels a week, including folding and putting them away. I think that is completely fair, don’t you?
Yes I totally think that’s fair!
Totes T!
Our sons would do the same thing. I tried explaining you are drying your already clean body but no luck.
1. Hide the bath towels. Color code for each child and just leave out one for each. OR
2. After they hang up their damp towel, throw it in the dryer, fold and put back on shelf. You are using a bit of electricity but not gallons of water.
3. Hide all towels and leave a sign that says “air dry”. (Just kidding on that one).
OMG…..could you imagine if I did #3? Like I’d put the sign where the towels normally are but you know what they would do, I bet’cha? They’d go into the linen closet and get beach towels. I can see it now! I’m glad to see my children aren’t the only ones here.
Ummmm… let the 8 towels dry and fold them up and don’t tell them they are reusing ones out of the cupboard.
That’s exactly what Ann in the comments suggested too! I’ve been tempted to do this b/c I can’t keep up with the laundry. Like, laundry is bad with soccer uniforms but now that my son is lifting weights in the morning then practicing in the evening, he’s taking 2 showers a day and using 2 towels a day. Ain’t nobody got time for that!
If he has the ability to weight train, he also has the ability to wash laundry.
Preach!!! So true!!!
I feel like I can be honest with you so…. you need to tell them to stop being little pussies and reuse a God damn towel more than once. My parents would have given me a washclothe to dry off with if I had this problem when I was living with them. Your boys sound spoiled as hell. They’re gonna be smacked in the face with reality when they move out that their ‘habit’ is wasteful and expensive.
We are actualy on day 2 of reusing towels. It’s absolutely amazing how many towels I have back in my cabinet again! Amazing how that happens! Anyway, it would be a hard slap in the face but I think we FINALLY figured it out. They know they have to do their own towels if they insist on a new towel each time. 🙂
Good job momma!
I’m with you here, a bath towel has a life of several uses between washes if you dry them out. If they don’t get it get them to wash them and tell them it costs money to wash them and take that from them – they will either get it or do it for you and pay! 🙂
Exactly!
Let us know how you progress with this…