Curse of the Guest Towels

I must be doing something wrong. No matter how hard I try, I cannot get guests to use the guest towels.

It's not like they're that fancy. They have a nice little border and one appliqued rose as decoration.

People have come out of the bathroom with wet hands, others swipe a big wad of kleenex or bathroom tissue rather than use the guest towels.

Come on, guys! I put them out there for you. I bought them special just for Y-O-U. They're not made of spun sugar, yanno.

My mother, who was here on an extended stay, searched high and low for some old, thin towels that I keep hidden in a linen cabinet, the ones we use when we bathe the dogs.

Me: "Ma, use the guest towels."

Mom: "Oh, no, hija (daughter). Those are too nice."

Somebody just shoot me.

Do you have trouble with guests not using your towels? What should I do--Go out and buy plain ones?

***
Please, if you come to my house, use my towels. I don't mind. Really.

***
Spanish lesson
Ref: hija - pronounced ee-ha
My mother usually calls her daughters this. Or 'mija', a shortened version of mi hija. Means: My daughter.

Comments

broken biro said…
I hate staying in places with big fluffy towels - they're so difficult to fit into your suitcase. (Just kidding!)
Maria Zannini said…
ROTFL!

This is why I always pack light. You never know when you want to bring back souvenirs. :o)

You killed, Brokenbiro! You caught me off guard.
Dru said…
I remember when I had my first overnight guest (family) and put up fancy guest towels and they went to my linen closet and got out my every day towels.

I no longer use guest towels, despite them being pretty and cute.

So when I come to visit you, I'll make sure to use your guest towels ;)

Did you have a good visit with your mom?


hey, my word verification was "cookie."

Have a good Wednesday.
Angela James said…
I think your problem is twofold: you have decorative towels kept in a decorative arrangement. So your guests assume they're...decorative. I would be hesitant to use them as well, for that reason. You need to make them more user-friendly: less pretty and in a more accessible "use me" arrangement.
Like, Angela, I too would move them to a different locale. I think more people might use them if they were hung on a rack.

I still remember visiting someone's house long ago and being asked not to sit on a certain couch as it was "just for decoration." Good ol' decorative couch.
Maria Zannini said…
Ref: So when I come to visit you, I'll make sure to use your guest towels ;)

Thank you, Dru. That assures you an invite.
Maria Zannini said…
Angie:
That's what I get for channeling Martha Stewart.
Maria Zannini said…
Barbara:
Would you believe I have 3 bathrooms in the house. Two are guest baths. The smaller one only has room for a towel bar and that's where I hang the towels. Even then people are afraid to touch them.

I can't win.
Marian Perera said…
Some guests are way too polite.

For my birthday this year, I decided to give a tea party - yes, a proper English tea party with finger sandwiches and teacups and cloth napkins.

My friends were charmed, but they declined to actually use the napkins. And it wasn't like I'd folded those into the shapes of birds in flight or something. My friends took paper towels instead.
Maria Zannini said…
The tea party is such a cool idea!

Being too polite is probably the right reason.

Many of my friends are like that too.
Kaz Augustin said…
I must have really selfish guests. They take one look at the guest towels/napkins, coo and grab them with their huge, messy paws. LOL
Maria Zannini said…
Kaz:

Raises hand. That's me. :grin:

I've been in a lot of homes with all those Martha Stewart 'pretties'. I figure if they put those things out, they're for usin'.

I ain't shy. Especially if I have to dry my hands.
Unknown said…
Yeah, no one wants to use our hand towels either. People seem to think we don't "live" in our house just because there's not crap strewn all over the place.

Elaine Benese: I will never understand people.
Jerry Seinfeld: They're the worst.

:)

PS: Hey! I actually knew how to pronounce hija - even the whitest white girls pick up bits 'n' pieces of Spanish pronunciation if they grow up in SoCal.
Marianne Arkins said…
I stopped using guest towels for JUST that reason. Either no one used them, or conversely, my DH would use them when he came in with greasy hands after fixing the cars and use them.

*sigh*

And, all the hispanic-type girls I grew up with in CA were called mija by their moms (actually, occasionally I was, too -- guess it was a compliment?) ... never knew what it meant, lol. Now I do.
Maria Zannini said…
Catie:

All my things serve a dual purpose. It must be pretty and it must be practical.

Ref: hija
:grin: I would think so in SoCal.
Maria Zannini said…
Marianne: Greasy hands! The man would be banned from my house!

ROTFL!

Ref: hija
It means you were held in high regard. Part of the family.
Heather Moore said…
Whenever I put out "holiday" towels, they don't get used.
Maria Zannini said…
Heather: I have to admit--even I draw the line at holiday towels. LOL!

To me, those are decorative.

I know I shouldn't think like that, given all I've suffered with my guests, but holiday towels are too pretty to touch.

Oh, the ethical dilemmas of bathroom towels!