Home
These Machine Washable Placemats Work In All Settings
Like many people during the pandemic, the inability to go out to restaurants served as an impetus to start cooking. I had cooked sporadically throughout my life, but I never really got into it, and I certainly never featured it prominently in anything resembling a regular routine. This is no longer the case—now I cook dinner most nights, having turned it into a habit. As this became my pattern, something funny happened to me. I realized I did not own placemats!
I had been living the stereotypical millennial lifestyle. My dinners were prepared in restaurant kitchens, and I would usually eat them on the couch in front of my TV. The notion of consuming nightly food at a designated spot at the dining room table had become alien. Perversely, the “home-cooked meal” ideal was something that I associated with childhood rather than with an adult life. (I know I am not the only 20-something year old to feel this way.)
All of this is to say, I went on Amazon.com and bought placemats. I needed a set that fit in with the décor of my apartment, something both modern and timeless. I wanted a set that would be appropriate no matter what type of meal I was eating nor the company I was with. I landed on this four-set of blue placemats from a brand called Home Brilliant.
These were the perfect set for me. I love the material, a “faux linen burlap” that has an inherent weightiness to it. Although they were only $16, they feel like they are worth much more than that. I would not call them particularly fancy, but the Amazon listing shows them in use at high society events, and I do not think they would be out of place there:
My biggest concern was with washing them. The product description says,“Machine washable, (hand wash recommended), separately from other articles, gentle circle in low. No bleach.”
This made me nervous. For four placemats that I was to use casually, I did not want to deal with the whole rigmarole of special washing instructions. I wanted to be able to toss them into the washing machine like everything else that is dirty. The point of having four placemats, when I am just one person, is that I can rotate the placemats in and out of the wash throughout the week. Running a full load just for one or two placemats would be absolutely ridiculous!
I have good news then. It turns out that you can wash them normally. Several of the customer reviews on Amazon said this, but I was still unsure the first time I threw it in with a bunch of towels. Luckily, I had no problem. The placemat came out as clean as can be and no worse for wear. This “Home Brilliant” set turned out to be exactly what I needed.