Why the washcloth crisis?

Are people not using washcloths anymore? This has me super confused.

I've done six house sits over the past few years, hosted in lovely homes by lovely people. I'm puzzled by the washcloth situation. Three of those six house sits had a washcloth shortage. I did one sit last summer with my two teenagers and there were four washcloths total (several of which I grabbed, with the owner's permission after I texted asking where to find washcloths, from the master bath.) This had me washing a small load of towels every day.

I get it, these little things can add up expense-wise and it's one of those small things that people might not think of for a while in the course of running a household. Maybe it's a purchase that's easy to put off?

I just know that when packing for this last trip, I thought about grabbing a handful of my own washcloths to bring, and thought, "Nah, I'm sure there's plenty." Well, I had to go through the home looking in bathrooms, and finally found a pile of towels in the laundry room waiting to be washed.

From now on, I'll bring my own, just in case.