Martha Stewart Living, December 2003
Give houseguests five-star treatment by setting out individual hand towels -- actually, fancy paper dinner napkins -- in the bathroom. Dressy napkins can be found at party-goods stores and at supermarkets. Tie a stack of them with ribbon in a merry color, and place it in a decorative tray, such as a large ceramic soap dish.
I think paper hand towels are so wasteful. I want my guests to feel like my home is welcoming and loving to them and the environment. Creating a bunch of needless trash to dump in a landfill is just tacky. Regular hand towels are only used when they are drying hands after they've been cleaned, so they should continue to be clean. You can also provide a stack of them if they would like to change their hand towels every day. Soft cloth towels feel better on the skin as well.
The holder that I use in my bathroom holds the square napkins. I look for the napkins on sale at the end of a holiday season (Xmas, Easter, etc.) and then purchase for the following year. I keep them stored in the linen closet so that I always know where to find them when the holiday arises. They are much more hygenic than having guests use the same cloth towel.
I always do this, I love that it's so sanitary and clean. I would also match decorative napkins to the appropriate holiday and season, just for some colour and fun.
This is one of my favorite things to do for the bathroom.
I don't like the look of this at all.