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Why you Need a Good, Old-Fashioned Flannel.

A small pink bathroom sink with folded flannels and a plant

Next to my basin is a stash of cotton flannels, the old-fashioned towelling flannels that your Grandparents would recognise. Soaked in warm water, they exfoliate your skin, they take off make up (I am totally devoted to the Aldi Lacura hot cloth cleanser) they are a mini-facial every evening.

You then wipe the basin with the flannel before putting it in the wash which keeps your dedicated cleaning time to a minimum! I have a constantly rotating stock of them doing my face, my basin, the wash, the drying rack and back to the basket.

These are old IKEA ones but you could cut up and old towel and make a load. You can match the colours to your bathroom.

No wet wipes, no waste, great skin care, low cost, reusable, natural materials, fits into the house routine of washing and drying with the other clothes - Get yourselves some flannels!

Anna Kilpatrick

About Anna

Anna Kilpatrick is the author of Not Needing New: A Practical Guide to Finding the Joy of Enough (Orion Spring, 2026) and the creator of @not.needing.new, followed by more than 220,000 people on Instagram. A former teacher of 23 years and a single mum, she shares how to live well, dress with style and find joy on a very limited income, mostly second-hand.

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