Greg,
I don't know if they have them any more, but a couple years ago a big DIY store (Menards, I don't know if they have stores in your area) had a almost-for-free sale on a roll of real cotton t-shirt like material of many sizes all rolled up to use for painting.
I still have most of them and just wash when needed.
I love them because they are soft, can be pushed into corners with a screwdriver or a leftover set of bamboo chop sticks from our dining at such places, or just rolled up and stuffed in. I agree with you, all the fuss over micro cloths being so wonderful for wiping your car's windshield to dry it (they do actually clean well dry if the dogs' nose prints aren't too dried on) but they are horrible for really absorbing moisture.
I have also seen packs of 'kitchen towels' made from cotton that look like my mother's old feed sack material and do a great job of drying dishes, covering bread while it is rising, or holding rounds of freshly grilled lefse to take to the neighbors, and I think I got a dozen for less than ten bucks, but that was pre-inflation.
The green part of all these is they can be washed and are even better absorbers as time goes on as long as you don't put any fabric softener in the washer or drier.
Dale
