The question today is simple: how many towels do I need? What about dish towels? Hand towels? Napkins? I’m proud to say that the answer is probably less than you think. Or, maybe it’s more than you think. Because the truth is that it’s completely up to your lifestyle! Don’t worry, I have a pretty fool proof way to help you figure it out.

But first let’s do some inventory. Go look in your linen closet right now. How many bath towels are in there? (Ok, how many are on the floor? Or the hamper? Be honest, I won’t judge) Go ahead and count up your kitchen towels, cleaning towels, napkins, etc too while you’re in there. Does it feel like you have a lot?

I’m not really a minimalist, but I know that when it comes to things like towels I need less in order to have a more relaxed life. Jason and I have 2 sets of bath towels we share & Po has 2 bath towels herself. Before I figured this out, I used to have 6 sets of bath towels. Yes. Sets. I had a little teeny tiny Bay Area apartment too- it was madness!

So let’s figure out the exact number of towels you need so you don’t end up with towels taking over your whole life:
Bath towels - How many people are in your household? How often do you change towels? How often do you do laundry? (be honest) + 1 extra just-in-case set of towels for the family
Extra towels for cars/pets/etc - You probably don’t need 10 cleaning towels unless you have 4 cars that you wash multiple times a week and 6 dogs that you also wash multiple times a week. You most likely only need 1 car towel (total) and 1 pet towel per “washable” animal (for healthy pets who require standard care. It will of course depend on their breed and age).
Cloth napkins - Do you use cloth napkins every day or just holidays? Do you use them for more than meals? For every day, you most likely need 1 per person, per meal. In our house, breakfasts and lunches are rarely messy enough to warrant a napkin, we so don’t use them for those meals. But I do use them for covering rising dough, so I know I need a few extras. For holidays, all you need is 1 per place setting and keep them stored with the rest of your holiday dinnerware to preserve them. If you’re really fancy, get an extra set for the after-feast coffee & dessert.
Kitchen towels - How often do you switch kitchen towels? How many are in use at any given time?
Cleaning rags - Now this one is even more highly subjective than the others- do you use cloth rags or are you a disposables person? Do you have young kids who frequently spill? These are things to keep in mind when paring down your cleaning rag collection.

Ok, ok, that was a lot. And some of you are probably sitting here going, “So I need 16 bath towels?!?!!?” No. Don’t worry. Let me show you how you can figure it out without any math or thinking at all. Start by washing your laundry on the same one or two days every week. Yes, all of it. It sounds like a lot of work but trust me, doing a load every single day is actually causing you to do MORE work. When you wash laundry only once a week, you can be sure that you are only washing ONE week’s worth of clothes. When you wash a load every day, you’re never able to see how many you really need. Over a few weeks, you’ll see a pattern begin to emerge with how many towels you’re actually using. (This same principle applies to clothes as well, but that’s a whole different post!) Keep all the towels you’re using -plus just one extra for emergencies- and donate or discard the rest. Don’t worry if they’re ugly or slightly damaged- animal shelters go through a LOT of towels and will accept most used blankets/towels/etc.

Just try it for one week. You don’t need to commit to a laundry day if you feel like doing a load every day suits your lifestyle better. But do it for at least one week so that you can see how many towels you’re actually using. Realistically, you’d want to do it for a few weeks to get a more accurate picture, but oftentimes the shock of seeing how much or little you’re using can be enough to figure it out in one go.