"Unpaper" Towels - or, as Grandma used to call them, "Rags"

It seems all the rage in homesteading blogs lately to post how-to articles about "Reusable Paper Towels" (aka "Unpaper" Towels).
(Don't believe me? Just go on Pinterest and type in "Reusable Paper Towels". See, Mom, these really are a thing!)

Instructions come complete with sewing directions and materials list - presumably you need to go out and buy all new, pretty fabrics - one kind for the front and another for the back. When I see these, I just laugh. I remember my post from back in 2011 about "Pancake Powered Kitchen Appliances", and the revelation that all of these new-fangled, factory produced "necessities" of our lives generally are just cheap (or sometimes not so cheap!) imitations of recipes or tools housewives have made and used for years. Paper towels are no exception. How did our grandmothers clean up spills before the invention of those handy, tear-off, disposable paper towels? (*gasp!*)

They used rags.

That's right - old, used-up, so-worn-out-they-can't-even-be-patched clothing was cut up and given one last use (or maybe more - if they're not too gross, you can wash them and re-use them indefinitely) before heading to the trash can.

A friend once bemoaned the fact that there was no use for her children's holey socks. I laughed and told her I always cut them in half and use them for rags (after washing them, of course). If you have toddlers making holey socks, I'm guessing you also have toddlers making messes that need wiping up!

That old t-shirt? You can get lots of rags out of that! Cut it up, and you have the perfect clean-up tool for when the dog drools all over the floor next to his water bowl. Or one of my favorites - spritz them with a little water mixed with liquid castile soap (here's the kind I make) and use them for baby wipes! Much more gentle for baby's sensitive skin than those who-knows-what-chemical doused paper ones (have you noticed that the "fancy" wipes claim to have a "cloth-like feel"? Why not just use cloth?)

Grossed out by re-using hankies? Blow your nose in an old scrap of sweatshirt, and feel no guilt about throwing it away!

My husband even claims his old T-shirts for use in the garage (do you know automotive stores sell boxes of "shop rags" (click here to see them on Amazon if you don't believe me!) - brand new, perfectly unused pieces of cloth! For rags! Grandma would be appalled!)

So instead of paying good money for something you're just going to throw away (don't even get me started on trash bags!!!), save your hard-earned dollars and give those old worn-out clothes one last good use before you say goodbye.