When you consider that paper products comprise one-third of the municipal waste in the United States, it makes good sense to use cloth napkins. Sure you have to wash them but how hard is it to throw them in the washer with the other laundry? Just use cold water and if you like, air dry. Besides, dining with cloth is much more civilized, darling, and it makes for a pretty table-top too. 

D.I.Y. types might consider making their own custom napkins. I’ve made napkins and tea-towels out of old t-shirts. Cotton jersey is a surprisingly luxurious napkin fabric and I used embroidery and stitching techniques I learned when I wrote the Alabama Stitch Book: Projects and Stories Celebrating Hand-Sewing, Quilting and Embroidery for Contemporary Sustainable Style with Natalie Chanin. How’s that for upcycling?

If you’re not the hand sewing type, check out this machine-made napkin tutorial on the ever-chic Design*Sponge. 

What else are you doing to reduce your paper usage?