Missing option of I have never used them.
Oh, I dunno. There are probably some places in Texas where that would be fine.
In the olden days, a country gal might use the bottom of her slip to daintily blow her dainty nose.
I also ironed my dad’s hankies.
I do use cotton handkerchiefs. The old-timey flowered ladies’ cotton ones. I have lots of them, and I stash them everywhere I am likely to cry, which these days is at my desk, on the sofa in front of the TV, or in my bed. They are in pockets, purses, drawers, all over. Full disclosure: I only use them to dab at tears. If any serious nose-blowing is going to happen, I use a tissue.
Bonus story (you may need a hankie when you read this): a couple of years ago when my dear, dearest friend was in hospice (where he died), I took a couple of his well-worn, soft, often-washed bandanna handkerchiefs as keepsakes. He had lots of them, and I had seen him use them many times. They were almost a trademark of his. I keep one under my pillow as sort of a talisman/comfort object. Not to use, just to keep nearby.
Blowing your nose into something and then putting that into your pocket is disgusting. Always has been, always will be.
Can’t vote, as I’ve never used them. They seem like something lost by my generation (near the beginning of the Millennials, aka Xenials. I’m 36). Most of the time, the tissues around were sufficient. If I was having a snotty day, I might carry those little pocket tissue packs. And, if all else failed, you can always sniffle—though I was always taught such was rude and would try to do it discreetly.
My dad did have some handkerchiefs, but he hasn’t kept them in a long time. My sister, our friends, and I would occasionally play cowboy with them. And he did experiment with turning them into masks, but they were too small to have three folds.
Come to think of it, I did use them for one purpose: I would wear them as masks (folded only twice) when I was mowing to try and help with grass allergies. I was never sure if they actually helped. Sis has the worse allergies, but she only ever wore them in her hair (or to be a cowgirl, per above).
I have a memory of an Ian Fleming book in which James Bond visits Japan or otherwise interacts with a Japanese ally. The man tells Bond that Japanese culture would not abide capturing bodily waste and then carrying it around in your pocket. So, no handkerchiefs.
(…maybe You Only Live Twice)
I have several that I carry in my backpack/daypacks for general glasses-cleaning, spill-wiping,sweat-mopping, etc.
I carry two. When my allergies act up (although with age the tend to be less) I’d cut down half the Amazon jungle with all the paper I would need if I were using tissues, I need four or five for each blow.
One of my handkerchiefs is reserved for my nose. The other one is used for general cleaning and as backup when my starter get too wet.
Also, I always get them ironed. They occupy less space in my pockets and anywhere.
I always have a cotton handkerchief in my back pocket, opposite my wallet. Always have. Always will. They’re only ironed if after they come out of the wash there were other items to be ironed. I would never leave the house without a clean hanky in my back pocket.
So the idea is to blow a big snot rocket into a cotton/linen square & then put it back into my pocket? Dis. Gus. Ting! (though I will put a Kleenex back into my pocket rather than litter if I’m outside somewhere) Nope, never used them.
Yes, but only on those rare occasions when there aren’t any available alternatives that are even more dis. gust. ing.
So today I learned that what I call a paper handkerchief or a Tempo® (or a Kleenex™ in Spain and probably in the USA, I guess) is for you simply a tissue!
And that there is no consensus on how to separate the syllables of dis-gus-t-ing.
Nothing wrong with this, but one thing I love about the SDMB is the chance to marvel about how different people can be, even if part of the same general culture. I have never owned or used a cloth handkerchief.
I have always used them and always will. Unless I am in mid-cold, a couple of them lasts a week and then they go into the wash. Never ironed. My wife, on the other hand, uses at least a box of Kleenex a week and them I find dis-gus-ting, especially the ones left in the dirty dinner dishes for me to clear away.
I’ve blown my into a handkerchief that could probably be rung out, it was so full of snot. It was, and still is better than the alternatives. If you work outdoors all year round you are bound to spend a day out in the cold and wet with a nose that won’t stop running. I’ve torn the sleeves off my undershirt to make one.
I’d say that working in a busy office, even with paper tissues, is more disg-usti-ng. 
I got into the habit of carrying cotton handkerchiefs when I was living in Japan, where so many of the otherwise-pristine public bathrooms (e.g. in the ubiquitous underground shopping areas near commuter stations) would frequently be out of paper towels. Everyone carries cotton hankies in Japan to dry their hands in these situations (they never use them for nose blowing, they use tissues for that).
My ex used cotton handkerchiefs and bandannas and probably still does. If not left in the dryer, they needed no ironing. Certainly over the long run, they’re cheaper. But…gross…and definitely unsanitary:
First off, handkerchiefs are less hygienic than single-use tissues. When you blow your nose in a handkerchief, you’re providing a fresh influx of snot to any germs already there. If these germs are viruses, the protein in your snot can help protect them from drying out; if they’re bacteria, the extra moisture can help them to grow.
When you next use your handkerchief, any germs that survived from the previous use are transferred back to your hands, which will contaminate the next door handle you touch.
Of course, if you actually wash your hands each time you use a hankie, the contagiousness is less of an issue, but still, those germs are multiplying in your pocket. OTOH, a lot of people who use tissues stick them in a pocket to reuse, so…
This article says a 2012 study found that the CO2 emissions in the production of cotton hankies far outweighed that of paper tissues, even if you used the hankies for nine years. That surprised me, but it’s just one study.
I use tissues and throw them away after each use.
OP, if you toss the tissue-flecked clothes in the dryer with a softener sheet, almost all the shreds will end up in the lint filter. I use a damp rag to corral those left in the washer. (Dryer sheets aren’t particularly eco-friendly, but keeping an emergency stash is OK, I think, and you can reuse them.)
My goal. Not there yet. I have some cotton handkerchiefs, which are very convenient for hiking. My nose will run, but it’s not really snotty. Seems to be a waste of a paper tissue.
Tempo® at least has the advantage that it won’t shred into confetti when accidentally left in a pocket.
I wonder what the CO2 emissions would be for a cotton flannel bedsheet retired after 8 to 10 years, torn up into squares, and used as hankies for another 5 to 8 years before being relegated to the shop rag box. I estimate the lifespan of our flannel sheets before they are ready to be composted is around 20 years.
Good question. And hats off to you for re-purposing!
Ditto.
In Japan, where tissue paper was invented, they’ve been using them as nose-blows since at least the 17th century when Europeans reported it. They look askance at the western custom of carefully folding the result of a good clearing into a cloth like it some sort of treasure before stashing it in a pocket.
In shunga (erotic) art, discarded tissues would be shown around a couple to imply they’d been going at it for quite a while.