I use paper napkins on the table, but at the office, I have a roll of paper towels that I use for napkins/placemats/desk cleaning. Having rags at work isn’t practical.
Never use 'em. I have cloth napkins and hand-towels. Now, I admit, there are times when they would come in handy, but it’s just not a habit I ever got into so I figure why start now?
For icky messes, I use a dish cloth (I have several) and wash it.
Yeah, the disposable hand towels…if this goes well, they will introduce disposable BATH towels (well, why dry with a USED, germy towel? :eek:) 
I only use them for things that I’m unable to use a washcloth for - pet accidents, wet caulk cleanup, dead small animal pickup, etc. They are a huge waste of trees for most uses.
Hmm, then what do people here generally use for the general/large-scale cleaning I mentioned above? I suppose I could use a rag, but wouldn’t that spread dirt around and require constant cleaning itself? And wouldn’t you need many more than one?
I use t-shirt-like rags for dusting, old towels for scrubbing floors and bathrooms, washcloths for counters and cabinets. They just get tossed in the washer with the rest of the laundry. If my cleaning is so gross as to make my rags disgusting, I’ll toss them - like cleaning up after painting.
Um, towels and such which can then be laundered have always well for me. Even for nasty stuff like overflowing toilets (something no paper towel could tackle anyway!). For general housecleaning, I used rags or scrubbers and hot water with whatever (if any) cleaner fits the bill. Or the mop. Neither spreads anything around if rinsed well between uses/hung up to dry and laundered as needed.
If anything, seems the area would be CLEANER than just swiping it with a flimsey paper towel. 
For windows, newspaper and vinegar/water…only way to go.
FTR, I have cleaned professionally before, and the ONLY thing we ever used paper towels for were glass/mirrors (and I always preferred newspaper since it works so much better and leaves no lint behind). If I were paying someone to clean my house, I would want them using CLOTH with clean, soapy water (or polish or a scrubber with abrasive cleanser) NOT a spray of all purpose cleaner and a wipe with a paper towel. :dubious:
I used to use them very sparingly, but when I moved into an apartment, I found that the washing machine’s water only gets barely warm when I put it on “hot.” There also isn’t any option for a heavy-duty cycle. The result is that my rags don’t really get sanitized. I still use rags a lot, but my paper towel usage has gone up a lot.
Rags clean so much better. I definitely prefer them for most things.
One thing I’m scrupulous about is cutting old clothing, etc. that is too worn to go to the thrift shop into rags. But wait, you ask…what about the problem with washing them? The answer is this: I use them once and then throw them out! I get another use out of something that’s going into the garbage can anyway and each rag replaces several paper towels. So it’s eco-friendly AND luxurious!
I can not begin to imagine using paper towels to dry my hands in my own home. What an unbelievable waste.
I could see using $20 in paper towels a month if you bought them at full retail price and were a stay-at-home mom with 4 kids under the age of 3.
A bucket filled with hot water and Mr. Clean and a handful of clean rags or a mop if what I use for normal cleaning. The rags go in my bleach load of laundry.
I use them to clean mirrors/bathroom countertop/etc. but actually I’m not sure why, because when I’ve got dirty kitchen towels waiting to be washed, and I remember to use them instead of paper towels, I find them far more effective than even the best paper towels. (Which in my opinion are Viva brand.) Just one kitchen towel can clean/dust just about everything; if the job gets dirty, maybe two. Vs a dozen paper towels, if not more.
making mental note to use hand towels more often
Regarding the OP, I think the commercials are stupid and I’ve always thought so; paper towels aren’t built for scrubbing anything, I don’t care what the ads say. They shred and make a mess. Who doesn’t have a sponge/scrubby for dishes? Are there women out there who actually do dishes with paper towels? I don’t think so.
But like another Doper said, damp paper towels are the very best thing to use to heat/reheat tortillas without drying them out. Actually this works for any kind of bread that’s going stale.
Oh and by “dirty kitchen towels” I just mean towels that have been used to dry hands for several days and need to be washed to be fluffy again. I don’t mean I clean with dirty towels. 
socks. lots, wash them =]
If I need to use a surface I’ve just wiped clean with a sponge, I’ll use a paper towel. Also to mop up grease while I’m cooking.
But the #1 use is cleaning up cat vomit.
Maybe I should start my own thread, but what I meant was: Am I the only one who doesn’t use napkins or any napkin substitute?
And making bread kills wheat! Do you limit your bread usage?
This is such a specious argument. Paper towels are made from farmed trees (or, often, recycled paper), just like bread is made from farmed wheat. Trees are planted, cut down, used, and more trees are planted in their place.
I don’t use a huge amount of paper towels. I tend to use them to dry off the work surfaces after wiping them, so I don’t have to use the germy kitchen sponge. I also use them to mop up small spills. I’ve never tried wringing them out and reusing them like in the adverts.
Wasn’t it George Costanza that insisted that bath towels should be getting cleaner each time he used them?
As I mentioned in my earlier post, I use paper towels as napkins. The only time I have napkins in the house is when I have extras left over from take-out or delivery meals.
You don’t wipe your hands/face after eating?
Not so bad for me (cause my hands are generally clean after eating most things) but my kids? They already leave slimey handprints everywhere. It would be way worse if I didn’t make them use a napkin each time (and about every second time I have to pull out a wet cloth to boot).
Editted to answer original question: I use paper towels for anything disgusting enough I want to throw it out (cat puke, usually) for napkins, tortillas and cleaning glass (my severe newsprint allergy make using newspaper a bad idea, I did try it once, works great between sneezes).
For cleaning, I use rags and a bucket. I dust first with a cut up t-shirt (one that was worn out) and then wash with a wet rag. Covers most cleaning applications.
Wally, from Dilbert, reasoned that by drying off his freshly showered body his towels should be getting cleaner.
So…when you’re eating, say, a sandwich with mustard or whatever and get a little on you, what do you wipe it up with? Granted, I’ve been known to use my hand or tongue for such things, but only if it’s a tiny little bit of something and in a situation where I could feel good about sitting around in my underpants scratching myself. If either of those conditions isn’t met, I grab a napkin or paper towel or something.
I use paper towels for pretty much the common uses listed here–mirrors, critter hork, cast iron, napkin, that sort of thing.
Leaper, damp cloth picks up and holds dirt just as well as any paper towel ever made. If you’re using spray cleaner, you give your cloth a few spritzes to get it a touch wet before you start spraying your surfaces. If your cloth gets dirty on one side, flip it over. When that side is dirty, rinse it out in the sink, give it a wring, and keep going. Alternatively, fill a bucket with hot water and some sort of cleaning agent, dip your cloth, wring it out, and start scrubbing. As the cloth gets dirty, rinse it in the bucket. Change water and/or rags as needed, depending on how dirty a job you’re doing.
I use them for kitchen clean up (but not pot scrubbing) and bathroom cleaning. I like the multi-sizes. I’ll use the same sheet two or three times to wipe off the kitchen counter before I throw it away, so it might last half a day. I use them to dry my hands when I wash in the kitchen; it’s cleaner than the dish towels. I’m not worried about killing off trees. The loggers need jobs.
The best non-disposable kitchen rags are old diapers. We’re still using some of my son’s. He’s 17 now, and been out of diapers for a few years.