I just finished washing my dish towels and while busy with this chore, I recalled a few years ago, I hosted a Duke intern missionary from the US for a month.
He’s a super young man. What stood out to me was that he was so surprised that I use terry cloth dish towels which I wash and reuse.
He said that they just use paper towels for everything!
I found that to be such a waste.
What do you use for your dishes and to wipe hands?
My tea towels are all Irish linen, and I have good old fashioned roller towels in the kitchen for my hands - usually the 'phone rings or someone comes to the door the minute I put my hands in water. 
These are changed daily and washed on a ‘boil wash’ for hygiene.
To use paper for everything is, as you say, very wasteful.
Terry cotton tea towels in the kitchen, with a separate hand towel hanging on a peg. And, of course, towels in the bathroom. I’m amazed someone would use paper towels for everything, goodness that really is wasteful!
I’ve also made reusable make-up remover/cleansing cloths to avoid the waste of cotton wool pads and tissues. Soft cotton jersey one side, terry towelling on the other. One side for cleansing, the other side for applying toner. They go in a hot wash, along with towels and tea towels.
I use a mixture of paper towels and cloth towels. Paper towels for wiping down groceries (which I still do), putting on the bottom of the birdcage when I clean out the canary, and also for drying my hands. Regular towels for dishes, and other things that need drying.
Linen tea towels/glass cloths changed daily in the kitchen and the bathrooms have a mixture of cotton towels of varying sizes. The cloakroom has a hot air hand dryer fitted, but a cotton hand towel is also available for personal choice. When next buying towels, I might try a sample batch of the new bamboo types.
Yes ST I agree. When I said he used paper towels for everything, I meant wrt the kitchen 
I do a boil wash for my kitchen towels and paper towels to wipe your hands.
I do have hand and tea towels but admit to using paper kitchen rolls for wiping down surfaces and for spills. I loathe having J cloths hanging about.
I’m much the same PK
That sounds very interesting LD
I also use paper towels to wipe down spills etc Jazzi
That’s interesting I am just about to replace my towels and to be honest never heard of these before. Will do a little research why are you considering them please. I need to “feel” my towels so will be a hands on buyer.
Opps in response to the original question T towels here I like getting them when on holiday or as a gift when people away memories when on the line. Also paper towels for a quick wipe up of a spill. Hand towel as well for drying hands; only me here so all good.
Same with me here. I use most T towels for everyday use of drying dishes, drying my hands off, etc. The paper towels come in handy when spills happen or if I don’t want the debri on a cotton towel.
It is only myself in the home, so no cross bacteria on hand towels or bath towels.
I thought I might try a sample batch because the [U]bamboo[/U] is claimed to be more sustainable, but how to prove that, I have no idea. My bamboo based socks feel no different to my previous cotton-wool-elastane blend, so maybe underwear next as an idea.
My link explains 6 benefits of bamboo for towelling.
I use a hand towel for my hands,
a linen tea towel for glasses
and the best tea towels ever Lamont Poli-Dri for everything else 
You can buy them for less elsewhere…
I have a dishwasher and tea towels are kept to a minimum. I use paper towels for my hands and spills. Worktops - I go over every day with anti-bac cleaner and a damp cloth (cloth gets washed and dried). The tea towels I use are similar to Megs
Thank you for this advice… I noted that
I use tea towels for drying dishes, clothes for cleaning and wiping up but paper towels for unexpected spills or when I don’t have anything else available that’s washable.
Bamboo is basically rayon and is made from natural sources. It’s super soft material that is more odour resistant than most materials which is perfect for socks and underwear as well as dish towels and cloths. Bamboo sheets are lovely too.
I used to use a lot of paper towels. One day, I was balking about how expensive they were, and someone criticized me for it. I haven’t bought any paper towels since then. That was many years ago.
Now I use hand towels that I wash by hand with bleach.
