Comments on: Excerpt: How many bath linens do you need?

By: Rose

Rose — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:20:55 +0000

We are a big family — with an even larger extended family – who comes to visit us (the big city) from their small towns (across the Midwest) often — and in large numbers. Based on this calculation, we’d need something like 76 towels.
We have 1.5 towels for immediate family, and 2 sets of guest towels – and the rest are only beach towels, in a plastic container, stored in the guest room. If “real” guests visit, we use guest towels . When groups (4-10 people) arrive, they happily help themselves to a beach towel — which is theirs for the duration of the stay — for beach, showering, etc. — and they hang it to dry on a drying rack, set up in the bathroom (it can hold 5 beach towels). Those who drive to our house sometimes bring their own towels, but the fliers don’t want the extra baggage. Some of the towels get washed in between out of necessity, but most get washed only at the end of the visit.

By: Gayle

Gayle — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:10:47 +0000

To cut down on laundry, I keep a basket of colorful washcloths on the bath vanity. We use these as individual hand towels and guests can have their own fresh hand towel when they come to visit.

By: Rae

Rae — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 21:04:37 +0000

YESH to the animal shelter thoughts as I live in the middle of one – we always need linens for cleaning dogs, for crates and for covering couches. PLUS, having a crazy number of multiple dogs in the house means you never have too many linens as if they get one, it can be shredded either singly or by a pack in a matter of minutes. Love the blog – thanks.

By: Pammyfay

Pammyfay — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 16:42:57 +0000

Nana: Thanks for reminding me (and perhaps others) that not everyone has a washer/drier in his or home. For a number of years, I, too, had to lug stuff to the laundromat. That clearly helps determine how much stuff you’re willing to schlep to the laundromat. (Even if it’s just in the basement of your apartment/condo building!) And now that I think about it, my linen and towel collection certainly grew after I had an apartment with a stackable laundry unit and then after I bought my home.

By: Robert

Robert — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 03:50:13 +0000

That’s if you shower everyday, which some people do. When it starts to take up your life, then maybe it’s time for change.

http://www.clean-pool-and-spa......istry.html

By: Ruth Hansell

Ruth Hansell — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 02:38:35 +0000

Other places to donate towels:
Homeless family shelters
Group homes for children
Car wash fundraisers – give the cheerleaders, etc your oldest towels, and tell them to toss them afterwards.
Veterinary hospitals
Many animal rescue organizations will take them – Forgotten Felines, horse rescue, etc

Other places to keep old towels for your own use:
At least 2 in the car
Your Disaster Kit (1 med size towel for every family member)
One under the kitchen sink if you have room – a quick solution for big spills
Several in the garage for easy access

And for the sci fi lovers, remember The Hitchiker’s Guide – always have a towel!

Ruth

By: Lilliane P

Lilliane P — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 22:59:31 +0000

Finished reading this, commented, got offline and went and organized my towels. Done. Wheeeeeeeeee!

By: Morgana

Morgana — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 22:53:31 +0000

Apart from not having many more towels than strictly necessary, I also have got rid of my old bathing robe. I decided it took too much space hanging behind the bathroom door, in the washing machine or in the closet. It also took much longer to dry than a conventional towel. After the shower, I use a medium-sized towel and get immediately dressed or put on my pyjamas.

By: Renovation survivor

Renovation survivor — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 22:20:34 +0000

I’m glad people posted about the Star Trek synopsis being inaccurate! I thought it sounded wrong but was afraid I was just remembering the episode incorrectly.

Excellent advice on donating old towels to animal shelters, though! I had never even thought about that.

By: Lilliane P

Lilliane P — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 20:34:57 +0000

Glad to see everyone’s input. I was wondering how many I actually need as my linen closet is bulging and I want to pare it down. For two adults, I’m going to go with the 6 bath towels, 4 hand towels, and 4 washcloths. Thanks everyone. Great post.

By: Amy Smith

Amy Smith — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 17:03:46 +0000

Ok, someone has to do this. At the risk of inviting “Get a life!” comments, there are some glaring errors with the Star Trek episode description. As a Trekker old enough to see this episode the first time it aired, and as a technical writer who likes to get her facts straight:

- The grain was stored on a space station
- The grain was destined for a planet that the Federation wanted to claim
- The crew was never in danger of starvation.

The crew was, however, in danger of ending up neck-deep in tribbles. Which is really the point of that story.

Ok, I feel better now.

By: PrairieGal

PrairieGal — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:25:30 +0000

I love that there are over 30 comments on how many towels to have!

I just had a funny conversation wtih a colleague who accidently took a “good” towel to hockey practice and his wife will not be impressed.

By: Elaine

Elaine — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 12:47:22 +0000

Perhaps a better rule-of-thumb would account for the very young members of a household. The people to towel ratio could decline until children become teens, and then taper off at the number of towels you suggest. It makes a lot of sense to decrease towels, etc. when possible – I feel like I’m always laundering them!

BTW, that Star Trek episode – the tribbles were eating all of the quadrotriticale wheat that was scheduled for delivery to some agricultural planet… Cute, but a nuisance!

By: Another Deb

Another Deb — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 12:09:47 +0000

You definately have to take circumstances into account. In coastal Texas I could only use bath towels once. They’d become mildewed if you used them more. In Arizona I can use them all week.

By: dutchmarbel

dutchmarbel — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 09:22:44 +0000

Towels for sports & gym aren’t included in the formula, but many people shower after sports (and for kids it is obligatory in our schools). So I have three kids who have gym at school twice a week, gym club once a week, one of them has swimming lessons twice a week and I sport three times a week. That adds a lot of towels to the equation.

By: Mary

Mary — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 02:52:17 +0000

Furry animals aren’t the only household members who fly through towels…I find that aquarium maintenance goes through them like crazy, also. Weekly water changes with slops and spills is enough for a whole extra load.

By: Korta

Korta — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 02:19:20 +0000

Last year I was overwhelmed by towels, but I knew I used most of them…especially the few times my daughter was sick and I needed extras. But I decided to tuck most of my “extra” towels away out of sight (a high basket in a totally different cupboard). This post has reminded me they’re still there, completely untouched…so I suppose I didn’t need as many as I thought! Time to donate to the shelter, I think!

By: Dawn F.

Dawn F. — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 01:22:26 +0000

I like Laura’s idea of using one color for Mom only!

By: Gypsie

Gypsie — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 01:20:49 +0000

We are a household of two adults, two large dogs, and two small cats. We have two towels each for home use, two towels each for gym use, two (total) camping towels and two (total) beach/pool towels. The dogs each have their own bath towel (brown color). My DH uses a fresh wash cloth for each shower so we have about two dozen of those. Also, we have about a dozen hand towels for gym use (on the equipment).

But we are lucky to have the storage space…

By: Ms. Harmony

Ms. Harmony — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:22:08 +0000

This is timely. I just trimmed our collection a bit and wasn’t sure goodwill would want used towels. I’ll call the shelter.
Our apartment is so moldy our towels last two days at most before they need rewashing. Maybe when we move we can pair down our collection more. One thing I’ve learned living here though, from now on – only white towels. I know the perils of bleach but mold and mildew are worse!
Thanks.