The title pretty much says it all.
However, I will enlarge on the theme, and all of you who just can't believe that I could have a long post about sponges and dishcloths can come back later.
It's just that sometimes when I've gone to a place you've never even heard of and visited a random person whom none of you knows and I go to wipe their counter, I find myself wondering if the things (sponges, towels, rags) are clean enough.
They sometimes don't look clean (the sponges, not the people, although… And this is no one you know — I hardly know them myself). And it makes me remember how things were before I figured this all out at my house, and it further makes me wonder what my lovely good housekeeping friends thought when they visited me.
Honestly, they probably died a thousand deaths. They probably have whole blogs now, featuring examples on what not to do taken from their visits to me.
I had a couple of dubious dish towels and a sponge. I scrounged for a rag. I can't remember even wondering if my towels were clean. Once in a while my mother would delicately buy me a couple of new ones. As I can remember, I thought it was somewhat beneath me to worry about such things.
So this post is like when I did my shower post and my mom said, “I can't believe you would post about taking a shower.”
But some of us are just clueless like that. But we're on a learning curve, and this is it!
So here goes.
It all comes down to this: there is no point in cleaning something with something that isn't clean!
Think about it!
Just because it's your dirty sponge and you are intimately familiar with all the germs that fester there — I mean, they aren't strange germs or anything, you know them well — doesn't mean that it isn't gross!
It's gross!
If you use that sponge to wipe something off the floor, just because you know what was on the floor and your sponge is an old friend, doesn't mean that it's all okay!
And you can't take that sponge and use it to wipe a child's face!
Every magazine and shelves of books tell you how to keep house. Anyone who really knows me and my house knows I'm not a stellar housekeeper.
But I do know this: we need a system so that we are confident that not only are we cleaning with clean things, but other people will be able to step in and use them with confidence as well.
When you are going through hard times and pinching pennies until they beg for mercy, sometimes you don't give yourself permission to buy things you need.
Do you buy your feminine products one at a time? Is your toilet paper doled out by the square? Do you run out of soap? Then you know what I'm talking about.
Please get over this.
No matter how poor you are, you are going to have to buy those things in some form. Just stock up.
Find the lowest price and the quality you like and go for it. While you're at it, buy a supply of sponges and dishcloths.
These sponges are the kinds I like, above. Store brands are fine. Don't get the dumb kind that are covered with a nylon net. All that happens with those is that the food gets stuck in there!
Don't get the ones that don't have a scrubbing side. Everything needs to be scrubbed, honestly, and if it doesn't, turn the thing over and use the sponge side. (For your big pot that you burned potato soup in, you need that copper scrubber.)
This year I'd like to make dishcloths with my ever-increasing stash of yarn ends, but the dollar store has great cotton dishcloths.
Why dishcloths?
I remember just before we were married, Phil and I were talking about sponges vs. dishcloths in kitchen cleanup.
I know. The romance, it doesn't stop.
He said something like, “I know you'll keep house the way your mother does.” It sounded like something he had picked up — you know how you can tell when someone is repeating something they've heard? Let's just say it wasn't the kind of thing he usually said, somehow.
I thought then I was a sponge person (my mother is a dishcloths person — she doesn't really like sponges), so I had to laugh, about twenty years later, when I said, “I have to get some dishcloths!” I guess he — or whoever told him that– was right!
Dishcloths are useful because some things need to be wiped with something that's almost dry, and you can wring out a dishcloths in a way you can't wring out a sponge. As you are wiping something like the counter, you can refold it and have another clean side.
With a sponge, after a certain point you are just tracking the mess around unless you stop and wash it out. Too many steps!
Dishcloths have an open texture which helps pick up bits and pieces. And you can throw them in the wash with the towels. Of course, towels should be washed with at least warm water, plus a bit of bleach. Kitchen towels in particular get quite musty very easily, at least here where it's damp a lot of the time.
The sponge has to be kept clean too! I think we are all familiar with the studies that show that a kitchen sponge is dirtier than the toilet, ew.
That's why I say, get a supply, because we all know we hang on to things if we think there's no more left. When your sponge gets a little worn out and not clean enough for kitchen work, let it dry out and then use it in the bathroom to clean the toilet. It's okay to demote your cleaning tools! Let them seek their own level, and eventually, throw them away.
And while it's in the kitchen, throw it in the dishwasher at night or give it a mild bleach bath every couple of days (since I have to bleach my white formica anyway, it works out). An easy fix is to pop it in a bowl and pour boiling water over it while you are making your tea.
When we had babies around, we always had a stack of those nice thin baby face cloths for wiping faces and hands. Paper towels are harsh on a baby face and it's a bit wasteful to use them. At the first sign that baby was done and about to start clambering out of the high chair, we deployed the “crack clean-up team” — one person removed the tray and the other was ready with a warm clean facecloth to wipe down those greasy fingers and that messy face!
Your whole entire house will stay cleaner if you don't let that little stinker loose to grub things up.
Please understand this! I have no problem with small children getting a bit messy with their food (babies get a lot messy!).
But commit yourself to cleaning them up when they are done, and you will spare yourself that layer of grime and scent of faintly souring milk that settles on a house where the parents think it's too much trouble to form their own crack clean-up team. When you get down to it, the problem is they don't have a supply of clean cloths! So the whole house gets dirty. Wouldn't it be a good investment to lay in a supply of washcloths for the baby?
Also, a clean baby is a baby everyone wants to cuddle, whereas a gloppy baby gives babies a bad name!
As for rags, I favor old flannel that I've torn into the right sizes for dusting and wiping down. I have a sizable stack of them, and they are kept clean, no matter what they've been used for. If my husband needs one for wiping up hydraulic fluid after testing the plow, I give him a really raggedy rag and then I throw it away.
Just convince yourself that you can wash your rags separately in hot water if need be, although I just throw them in with the towels. Don't get into the habit of sort of designating a rag as “already dirty” — you just end up with nasty rags hanging off of pipes and shoved into corners.
Your life as a housekeeper becomes trying to assess just how dirty a rag is when you need one, which is too much of a drain on your already overtaxed mind. (And of course a really greasy toxic rag is a safety hazard, as it could spontaneously combust. I feel like now in the age of latex paint people don't talk about not leaving greasy rags around, but maybe they should!)
Just keep all the rags clean and that's one less thing to worry about. If it's too dirty to clean, throw it away. If it's not that dirty, put it in the hamper! Knowing you have a stack of clean rags to go to, you'll quickly get into the habit of not letting the dirty ones sit around.
Now, since your towel that's hanging on the hook is very clean, for wiping clean hands, and the dishcloth and sponge are pretty clean, for washing dishes and wiping counters, and the baby cloths are very clean, for cleaning baby's faces, what happens when something spills on the floor?
Here's another laundry point: Sometimes a towel is clean but it doesn't look clean, so on the one hand people (well, me) are reluctant to use it (and might grab a paper towel instead, which is wasteful), and on the other, they use it for something really dirty, like wiping dirty hands on it, or wiping up the floor.
So using a little bleach means that your towels look as clean as they are, and then are used properly. Use the towel that was for hands and is now drying on the drying rack (preparatory to being put in the wash) to wipe the floor! Or grab a rag and then hang it on that rack so it doesn't get used to wipe a counter.
These are my faded washcloths. Faded, but perfectly clean! Soon I will get new ones, but they are fine. I like the top ones better than those white and blue ones on the bottom, which are a little too “towel-ly” for me.
If the towel is hanging here, it's clean. I do use paper towels for draining bacon and the occasional wipe-up, especially when the dog barfs (because who wants to use a real towel on that, gross), but since I know my towels are really clean (are you getting the theme here?) I don't use very many paper ones at all.
Things on the drying rack = dirty. Things on a hook or at the sink = clean!
So I guess I'd say that the key here is to make sure the things you clean with are cleaner than the things you clean by cleaning the things you clean with!
Liz K says
Oh my! Washcloths, wonderful white washcloths that I can bleach the crud right out of! They are all I have ever used in my kitchen. I just bought a whole new set this fall because after 7 1/2 years of marriage, they were falling apart. But I still couldn't part with them, so they are my rags now and the new ones are in the the kitchen drawer. I even have a special hamper for just them so I don't get bleach on anything else.
Amy says
I am a fan of washcloths and towels as well. I use the following system: scrupulously clean flour sack towels for drying crystal; a huge stack of bar mops to wipe up the counters; terry washcloths for doing dishes; terry hand towels for hands. I replace them every evening before bed.
priests wife says
After the deacon blow-up discussions on other sites and discussing theology with my husband until 1:30- it is a joy to think about clean wash cloths!
Breanna says
Rag theory! 🙂
1. Washcloth person. I hate sponges. You can't get them clean of all the food bits in their crevices–at least I can't, and they wear out too fast. (Also, did you know bleach is chemically inactivated by organic matter, i.e. food bits? You have to remove organic material with soap and water first and then use bleach to disinfect. I cite Mendelson in “Home Comforts” and my chemical engineer hubby.) I honor sponge people, just can't join 'em.
2. There are washcloths and there are rags, kept in separate places for different things. For floor spills and cleaning, rags. For wiping counters and dishes and hands, washcloths and towels. I even have separate, color-coded rags that go in the bathrooms–I don't like to mix my kitchen and bathroom rags, because of the being a paranoid RN thing.
I'm so glad someone else cares about this… 🙂
_Leila says
Breanna –always good to hear from you.
1. True, which is why I don't like scrubbing things with sponges, just the scrubber side or a washcloth. If you make bread, you know that a sponge is useless on dough, for instance.
2. I use rags for dusting mostly. I use washcloths for all the things you mention. But I store them together. The bathroom things and kitchen things don't mix! Yuck. But I don't use rags in the bathroom (except to dust the blind;).
Breanna says
I said in my original post, “I believe some people can keep sponges clean” but the comment thingy makes me edit down or post twice. Ce la vie, to each her own. 🙂
I use rags to wipe up the sink in the bathroom and to wipe up the floor, because my bathroom is miniscule and it's silly to try to weild a mop in there, and it's harder to bleach the mop than the rags.
Isn't it odd how absorbing cleaning discussions can become? But I admit, my soul above housework is considerably nourished by my housework soul some days.
Katherine says
I have a theory (based on my growing up years) why rags/kitchen towels are used over and over again until they are gross: the dirty laundry hamper is in an inconvient place relative to the kitchen. It's either upstairs in the bathrooms or down in the basement or garage with the washing machine. You keep meaning to put those rags and towels in the laundry, but haven't gotten there yet, so you use it “one more time” while it's waiting for the laundry. I really have a pet peeve about how most houses are designed regarding the laundry area. Obviously designed by a men who do not do laundry. Our house is quirky, but well designed in the laundry department – the washing machine is in within tossing distance of the kitchen (the washing machine was on a porch off the kitchen, but the porch was enclosed at some point, making a nice, convenient laundry room).
Josie says
I bought a little pretty rectangular (so I would not hate the sight of it) bucket from Target like one of those fabric covered ones that cost more than should be spent on a bucket) and put it in the hallway right next to the kitchen so I have a place to put kitchen rags and towels when they are dirty (and baby spit up cloths too)…so when one is dirty I let it dry next to the sink, or lay it just over the edge of the bucket until it dries and then it goes into the bucket. When it's full it can go to the laundry and it's also great to have it for the socks you find in the hallway or dining room..you don't have to go up or downstairs, but it's small and pretty enough that it doesn't really look like I have laundry in the hallway. If company comes I can move it real quick. It's the little things that make such a difference.
Pippajo says
Oh dear. Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. I am a sponge girl, you see. It's a texture thing. My mother always used dishrags only and I HATED the feel of them when they got wet! I must have vowed that I would never use them in my housekeeping because I have always used sponges!
I hear you on the icky, trapped particles of food and trapping bacteria factor of sponges! But hear me out: I only use the O-Cel-O Scrub & Wipe because the scrubbie side does not trap food (not even eggs or cheese as the adverts say) and it wrings out just as well as a dishrag. And I always use it with the white vinegar/water mix I keep in a spray bottle next to the sink. I run it through the dishwasher frequently and when I give my sink its bi-weekly bleach soak, I throw the sponge in there, too. I never use it to clean up after preparing meat or chicken, I don't use it on the floor and I never use it to wash people. For those jobs, I use rags or the occasional paper towel. I do, however, keep a large supply of clean and bleached dish towels handy in a drawer in the center of the kitchen.
I don't think I could ever bring myself to use dishrags. It makes me shudder just thinking about it. But we can still be blogfriends, right?
_Leila says
Yes, just give me your stove.
Deirdre says
Pippajo, I'm with you. Maybe my mom has switched over to washcloths of late to mimic her mother, but this daughter is sticking to what she was originally raised with: sponges!
I also don't like how the washcloths feel in my hand when they're wet. Also, when you're wiping down a counter, the edge of the sponge can lift the crud that you've wiped right into the sink and you can be confident you've caught everything. When I use a washcloth I feel like I'm missing bits and not picking everything up with the wipe. Arg.
However, I do vouch for my mom and Habou leaving the countertops clean. Not sure how they do it… 🙂
Jeannie says
Thank you, Leila. Now a question: we use cloth napkins and have a 6, 4, and 2 year old using them and eventually our newborn too. However, when we have spaghetti or chili I always feel like the napkins permanently look dirty after that no matter how much bleach and forget about butter smeared lips or cheeks leaving marks that never seem to come out or olive oil from salad! I feel like I am always battling our cloth napkins to look as clean as they actually are!
By the way your grandson is just beautiful!
Jeannie
_Leila says
Jeannie, bleach doesn't do a thing for grease — see my laundry posts!
Soak your cloth napkins in warm or hot water with the detergent before actually washing. Bad cases can use some Lestoil or ammonia, not bleach!
For tomato stains, use oxyclean-type bleachers, not chlorine.
Joy says
I have three boys and have found that patterns and dark colors work best for cloth napkins. They still get stained but the stains aren't so easy to see. I also try to have one or two sets (I make most of my napkins from remnants) for when company comes so they don't get the stained ones from my children.
Milehimama says
We don't use cloth napkins everyday- but I do have two sets. White, and navy blue (for those spaghetti nights!)
margo says
We only use cloth napkins. If they're very bad, I soak them in Oxiclean. I always line dry my laundry, and I know the sun bleaches out stains too. In the winter, a freeze is extra bleaching power.
hope says
Ahhh–I love kitchen towels! We actually have no paper towels here. It is rare that I buy them, and if I find a good sale, I will buy some and keep them stashed away for an emergency–like a stomach virus or something. Or a really messy paint day. Thus, we go through a lot of towels. Several hand towels a day and probably two wash cloths. My downfall is the hamper. They go to the hamper, sometimes too wet, and when someone falls behind on that particular chore–you end up with mildew. sigh. If really really awful they go to rags. If in dire need of towels.. they still get used. All of them get bleached, of course. THAT is the one thing I've learned in my grown-up life, BLEACH. Towels, sheets, washcloths, underwear. I don't think I really ever thought about bleach until I had kids! 🙂 It's good stuff.
Christine says
I have a new love for towels in the kitchen, like tea towels.. I buy them cheap online. Well.. except for the ones that I bought at William Sonoma for Christmas as gifts for other and ended up keeping them myself (I couldn't help it)! Great post by the way. I have just found that Walgreens sells sponges for really cheap, so I don't mind throwing them out wen they get questionable!
Milehimama says
We use washcloths here. I have piles of white ones I bought (probably 30-50, total, they're 18/$5 at WalMart). We probably go through 4-5 a day – one that is the “kitchen cloth” for tables, then the miscellaneous ones for spills, faces/hands, etc. We usually end up with a “floor” cloth by the end of the day. I have a sponge for dishwashing but we always use the cloths for wiping. I just throw them in my load with whites (socks, t-shirts) with bleach and run through a hot dryer.
I always always always try to have PLENTY around because growing up, my mom used dishcloths- but she'd put one out per WEEK and by day 2 or 3 it smelled bad and held it's shape when dry. I like having a brand new one at the beginning of each day.
tarynkay says
I am thoroughly a dishcloth person, but I will offer this caution- do not put sponges in the dishwasher. Or the washing machine. Little spongey bits come off and can ruin the machine. A close friend of mine ruined a dishwasher this way. It is much cheaper to replace your sponges frequently than to replace your dishwasher. The safe way to clean sponges is to put the wet sponge in the microwave on high for 2 minutes. A dry sponge will catch fire, so make sure it's wet. Microwaving the wet sponge kills the germs and saves your dishwasher. If you have no microwave, you can boil the sponges on the stovetop.
Joy says
Love this post! I so, so agree with you. I do at least four loads of linens a week and am always throwing cleaning rags into the warm water. It is hard to use chlorine bleach though since many of my linens are colored. I use vinegar as a rinse though which I think helps. I have rags for cleaning the house and bathrooms, different rags for cleaning the kitchen, washcloths for dishes, a scrubbing sponge for dishes, and dishcloths for drying. I like using old diapers for cleaning because they are absorbent, wring out well, can be bleached, and I have TONS of them to use up. I knit washcloths for the kitchen and change out my washcloth/kitchen towel at least once a day. I have a little basket in the corner of my dining room for dirty table linens (we use cloth napkins and tablecloths) and dirty kitchen linens. I also have a towel hanging off the refrigerator door for those times I get something on my hands while in the frig and need a quick wipe. I love having clean kitchen linens. I buy new towels when I see a really good deal and put them away for when my old ones go in the rag bag. The really old kitchen towels are great for outside messes and cleaning cars. I'm not sure how I'll cope when I finally run out of old diapers but I have enough for at least another decade. 🙂
Becka says
I love bar mops for cleaning most things. I often give large packs of them to new brides as shower gifts. I also buy large packs of white wash cloths for the bathrooms and recycle them into rags when they become frayed or dingy (mainly from daughters removing make up!) We have an expandable peg-type rack on the wall of the garage just off the kitchen where we hang wet rags and clothing to prevent mildew in our humid climate here in SC.
Patty says
Akin to your point that you should clean things with things that are cleaner that what you are cleaning is the point I've been realizing recently: something is not clean unless it actually looks clean. Ie., wiping down the toilet (or the sink, or the counter) with (insert cleaning fabric or paper item here) does not mean it's clean until there is actually no dirt (hair, smudge, whatever) on it. I used to wipe something down and since I'd wiped it and didn't really know how (huh?) to get the dirt out of the crevices, I'd think “Well, I wiped it so I can check the 'clean the toilet' box now.” For the record, all it takes is a little elbow grease and the honesty to admit that there is still dirt on the thing and that the thing is still in need of cleaning. Oh the things we college-educated people have to learn!
Sarah says
Thanks for the tip – I would never have thought of using flannels (what we call face cloths here in AUstralia) for a dish rag but it would be so much stronger than the chux cloths that have to be thrown out all the time. I think I might pop into the cheap shop on the way home from Mother's group this morning and stock up.
Meredith_in_Aus says
Sarah, I'm a fellow Australian. I buy dishcloths (just like the ones in Leila's picture) at Big W in packs of 10 (5 different colours – so you can put a different one out each day!). The bumpy texture helps in getting food off plates without food getting stuck in towelling.
Leila, I'm with you. I used to HATE the dishcloths my mum used and vowed that I would be a sponge person just like the oh-so-modern lady next door but, after using them for several years and realising how dirty they got, I converted to dishcloths that I could just throw in the wash.
I also use cut up old towels (they all happen to be pink) for 'floor cloths.' We keep a whole stack in the bottom drawer. I hate the thought of someone slipping over on the water spillage that seems to happen so frequently around here, so there's usually one of those lurking in a corner of the kitchen floor for quick mop ups.
I'm sure my mum would be cracking up hearing me say all this if she could hear it!
GinnySheller says
Hi Leila! I have switched over to reading everything in google reader, so I have become an even poorer commenter, so first have to say congratulations on your new grandbaby! He is incredibly adorable!
Regarding this post, I want you to know that I was just cleaning out my fridge, using a fresh sponge, and thinking to myself that Leila would so approve which prompted me to come over here and tell you.
My kitchen towels and rags, you would not approve of, and I think I am going to do something about that!
I also don't know if I ever wrote to tell you that my boys now load the dishwasher thanks to your advice!!!
Serena in WI says
Growing up different towels meant different tasks- ex. the white flour bag towels were for CLEAN dishes only, no wiping your hand or counter and then a clean dish-no, no, no! Fortunately/unfortunately our kitchen is right by the staircase to the basement (laundry room) so towels tend to get flung down the staircase until the next time I go down…
Your cabinets look fine! Besides, I have seen so many tips on how to make your cabinets look that way using hammers, chains, and rasps… So you are au courant!
briana says
One thing I do to make sure my towels and washcloths are clean is to take whatever is out in the sink or on the counter to the laundry basket first thing in the morning. I can't stand anything that smells musty so I make sure we don't use them for more than one day no matter how clean they look. I also get extremely cranky is someone uses the hand towel that is already out to set the drying dishes on, gross!
Magda says
For cleaning rags, I put the dirty rags in the washing machine each month, with a bleach-only load, which also cleans the washing machine itself, getting rid of extra soap/detergent build-up. (This was advised when the machine was bought.)
And I use Dobie pads (sponges with plastic covers), but they go in the dishwasher when they're dirty, and eventually retire to lesser duties like cleaning the sinks and bathtubs. (I had to teach my husband that, yes, there's a definite hierarchy, and, no, they're not for use on the toilets.)
Emily says
I have to admit that I need work in this area. I'm definitely guilty of wondering “is this clean enough to use…hmm…” And I don't have enough washcloths or towels, for sure. Need to do something about that.
But I have to ask…what is wrong with used t-shirts for rags? I LOVE using t-shirt rags! I cut them up first, and sew them into squares (double thickness). Easy to do while watching a show with my husband in the evening, and I like them so much I hardly mind cleaning. 🙂 So I'm really curious why you don't like them!
_Leila says
Emily, I find that by the time a t-shirt is rag-worthy, it's also so impregnated with oils that it's useless. Also, I like a bit of nap on my rags — toweling is too much, t-shirt fabric too little. Flannel just right.
Also, I recoil from knit fabric for some reason for this purpose.
But I wouldn't say that your method is wrong. It's just not right for me. How's that for relativism? 😉
JaneC says
My husband seems to wear holes in his t-shirts or spill something on them before they are too impregnated with oils to be useless. But I don't use the old t-shirt cloths for cleaning the house or the dishes–I cut them up so he can use them for cleaning his guns. I noticed that the patches he bought at the store for that purpose were almost exactly the same material, so using old shirts saves buying the cleaning patches, or (heaven forbid) stealing my nice tea-towels.
I used to be a sponge person, like my mother, but have recently converted to wash cloths. Since my mother has recently moved to a smaller house with a smaller kitchen, she sent me a bunch of her old tea towels with cute little designs stitched on the corners. My own tea-towels were all plain, but the decorated ones make drying dishes, which I hate, just a little bit easier.
Emily says
Oh, and I was also wondering if you have a favorite brand of washcloth? I haven't seen ones like those in your photos, and I'd love to find a place to get them.
RubberChickenGirl says
I dunno about Leila, but I love Clorox brand cloths found at Wal*Mart. They can be bleached and don't get immediately nasty smelling in hot weather.
_Leila says
Emily, I just get mine at the dollar store or in the grocery store. Don't know the brand! But towards the end of the comments here, Colleen directs us to fabric.com where they are selling what looks like similar fabric for very cheap right now. Thanks, Colleen!
margo says
I adore talking about details like this! No homemaking detail too abstruse for me!
I knit my own dishcloths (and sell them in my etsy shop) and I also have separate handtowels from dishtowels (sell those too!). I like a kitchen to LOOK kitchen-y, so I love making my own dishcloths. My grandma taught me to knit using the dishcloth pattern and I just love thinking of her as I make them.
I keep a roll of paper towels tucked away in a cupboard, but I keep the rags handier in the little foldout in front of my sink. That way, we grab rags for spills. And then I wash the rags. And then everything is clean. I keep rags in most rooms of the house and almost every load of laundry I do has some matching rags thrown in.
My best friend and I were talking about your post today and marveling that both our mothers used the same dustcloth over and over and over. NEver washed it. Ever. Ewwwwwwww. I learned to dust from reading Home Comforts – use a clean rag and change it often.
Jeanine says
I cannot bring myself to wash dishes at my mom's house ; I think she keeps sponges forever! I always politely pick a different job.
As for our house, everything is WHITE so I can bleach them. Towels, dishcloths, hand towels. And Pampered Chef makes a great scrub brush that has a lifetime guarantee. I have a few and label them for food, dishes, laundry room. Great investment! And I've never needed a sponge since buying them.
Katherine says
The Homemaking Learning Curve, from Clueless to Reasonably Clean. You should write a book (think how you could finance more trips to CA). I'm a few years behind you age-wise, so I think I can say that women of our generation and younger are by and large floundering in homemaking. My mother worked and so my sisters and I were left to oursleves to figure out how to manage in the home. We survived, but our home never ran smoothly, causing much stress. The more bookish (ahem) didn't figure out what was lacking til we had our own homes. Now I see my mother herself was somewhat deficient in the homemaking skills. She is an immigrant from a country with a definite class system and grew up with domestic help. She had some homemaking knowledge, but it was far from thorough, especially for raising a large family. I think I'm preparing my girls better, but II still have “”Aha, so that's how it should be done” moments and I'm pushing 50! Maybe I'll just direct them to your blog for the pre-Cana preparation.
JaneC says
During my whole childhood, my mother worked and had a lady who came to clean once a week. I learned how to do a few routine things, but when I had my first apartment, I had no idea, for instance, that the ceiling fan blades needed periodic dusting. My first two roommates were even more clueless than I was. One needed complete, start-from-the-beginning instructions on cleaning the bathroom (she also couldn't cook anything with more complicated instructions than “add hot water” or “microwave X minutes”).
Bring back Home Economics classes, for children with working mothers or no mothers or mothers who forget that children need to be taught these things before being sent into the world. Or Leila could write a book: cheaper for the school system, and probably with better advice!
Christie says
Ever since I found out that the Army doesn't allow sponges in their kitchens because of germs I got rid of mine. When I have to use someone else's sponge at their house, I microwave it first. I try to do this discreetly but pulling a steaming hot sponge out of a microwave isn't always subtle.
I love dishrags. I throw them in the wash pile at the end of each day (I do wash Mon, Wed, Fri and ONLY on those days…barring viruses or really gross messes. I have five children 11 yrs and under so it is possible to do this and not drown in laundry.) and put out a clean one for the next morning. Dish towels are rotated so quickly through the drawer and laundry it might make one dizzy.
Must remember bleach. Use it when I use cloth diapers but never remember it otherwise. Might have something to do with the number of clothes I have lost to bleach stains over the years.
_Leila says
Christie, make sure you use your bleach dispenser in your washer, or do the water and bleach first, let the machine agitate, and then add clothes. Rinse the bleach dispenser and the cup with the water that's filling the washer. Wear an apron (I too have lost many clothes to rogue splashes). Remember — “do as you oughter and add the bleach to the water” — not vice versa. Bleach is heavier than water and will splash right out if you are not careful.
Also, don't leave clothes to soak for long in bleach water. Again, the bleach is heavier and will sink to the bottom, making the concentration too strong for some clothes. Keep the water agitating!
Elzbieta says
My sister got me started on using wash cloths – I so dislike sponges. I obsess (a bit) at others' homes sometimes if I see a sponge…or a questionable dish rag – lol. That is one thing I never am done with – soaking or washing towels…as they must be clean for my use – and then a cloth left for someone else (trailing behind me) must be CLEAN to use. I KNOW for me there was a huge learning curve in so may things that often seem to come naturally for others. Yet, at the same time – I am amazed at how little some people obsess over the important things – like I do. I love these type of topics! They pop up in my everyday life and aren;t things I have many people local to speak with them about…
Congratulations on the birth of your grandchild!!
Dawn says
I'm stuck on giggling over “I know, the romance it doesn't stop!”
Anna says
Ok, Leila. First of all, I finally succeeded with this when I bought plenty. I tried to get away with five, or whatever. Not good. I found some at Kohl's 10/$2 or something, and now I have enough and they all get washed and I'm not trying to make a washcloth last longer than it should. But I'm also a sponge user, and I'm picky about it only being for the dirty dishes and NOT THE FLOOR. Have you seen that clip of Home Improvement where Jill is trying to explain the demotion system to Tim? Very funny. Anyway, I should probably improve my sponge cleaning a little more. I'll work on it, thanks so much.
Second, ICK. My mother is a terrible housekeeper and everything is musty. The shower towels, the rags, the one- ONE!- washcloth she uses for her dishwashing…. ew, ew, ew.
Third, I have a few that attach to the oven handle. These are for handwashing/drying and gets changed every other day. The others hang around and get changed ASAP. The kids go through these pretty quick, but I'm okay with that because I have my hand towel. 🙂
Anna says
Oh, yes. I was going to ask you if you thought it was enough to change the baby-face washing cloth every day? I suppose it doesn't hurt to use a new one every time.
_Leila says
Just change the baby cloth when it's dirty. Wash it out well when you are done with cleanup, using warm water and soap, wring well, and leave to air dry. You should be able to get through the day unless the weather is hot, I would think. But maybe by now my standards have improved 🙂
Anna says
Good, thank you.
Puffin Hen says
Here's a tip I picked up somewhere. If you steam iron your tea/kitchen towels (I know – you really don't want to. Just do a few then.) the interior surfaces when folded are practically sterile so if you have a need for a clean dressing in a first aid emergency at home, there is always something good enough to hand without having to search for an out of date item in the back of a cupboard that will probably be too small for the injury anyway.
I must admit, I do not bleach, but such items so get a hot wash in my house.
God bless.
sibyl says
I didn't have time to read all the cool comments, although I will later. But I have actually a burning question that directly relates:
Being a dishcloth/rag person, I have a ton. But my dishcloths so quickly get frayed and ragged on the edges. I've tried zigzagging around the edges but it almost seems like a waste of time. Is there a way to prolong the life of perfectly good otherwise cloths, so that they don't turn into stringy rags within a month or so? (I only use one dishcloth per day, and they all get washed on hot water, occasionally with bleach.)
Also, my bath towels are ragged on the ends. Any help?
Love the post.
_Leila says
Sibyl, I'm not sure why your things get frayed. Are you using too tough of a cycle? Would a gentler cycle work just as well? Maybe they are just old! Demote to rags 😉
As to bath towels, I do think that quality matters. Mine are pretty old and have held up well. Don't have any other ideas, sorry…
Mary says
Sam's Club has bath towels for a very reasonable price that are nice and thick and last forever. I've had people give me towels as a gift from some very upscale catalogs and stores and none of them came near the quality of Sam's towels. Since they are so reasonably priced, I can afford to buy as many as I really need and then have enough to have spares at the ready for company. I've had people comment on how nice my towels are.
Lillian says
Loved this post! Thank you for giving me permission to go buy new washcloths. Could you do me a tiny favor? Could you show a picture of your kitchen? I've been wanting to paint my cabinets black for some time. I would love to see how your kitchen looks with black cabinets.
_Leila says
Lillian, check the categories on the sidebar and click on “kitchen”!
Colleen says
Thought everyone might like to know that fabric.com has really great dish cloth and all-purpose flannel on sale right now. I just ordered some, but haven't received it yet, so I don't know if it's as wonderful if it looks, but the price is better than going and replacing my dish cloths / kitchen towels at the store. Search for “Garvanza Home” on fabric.com to see several choices for 1.99/yard.
Maria says
hahaha! I have purple flannel sheets! That made me laugh out loud!
I'm pretty good on the clean towel rotation. I never thought about having the pile of baby rags ready-to-go, as I've always used the homemade wipes, but I like the rag idea better…less wasteful, as you mentioned. I throw my sponges in the dishwasher every night and “demote” them, too.
Thanks for this : ) It was fun : )
Congratulations on that new, beautiful baby!
Maria
Aunt Sue says
I am a dishcloth person. I finally crocheted some that I like and they are keepers. I throw them in the wash every night, the dish towels are just for the dishes. I have a stack of white terry cloth towels (like bar mops) from the automotive dept. (Target? Costco?) which I use for everything else cleaning, wiping up spills -everything. when I did have a baby, I got a bunch of inexpensive face cloths that were all the same color and I kept them in a stack in close proximity to the kitchen. The crack clean up is the only way. The baby usually cries at first but then I think they get to like the clean feeling over the sticky feeling.
I have had sponges in the past and when I did, I color coded them. One color for the floor, one for the sink and another for the bathroom. But gee in my house the lines have to be clearly drawn or we could all come down with e-coli in seconds.
I will have to make you a couple of dishcloths.
_Leila says
Auntie Sue, I would be honored…
Ela says
Is that a dog nosing around the clean washcloths? Are they still clean?
Veronica Greear says
My my how I love your blog! Have passed it on to sister bc she readily admits she needs HELP in these areas (as we all do, eh?) And I feel ridiculous that I could have so much interest in dishcloths and sponges, but I can't help it and your blog gives me a way to indulge without annoying anyone else in my real life:) I have slowly learned things from this and that friend/family member, the baby face washcloth was a pleasant shock a few years back, and I hang my dishcloth and towels on top of the hamper every night (which is just around the corner from the kitchen) and then in the am get out new ones. It just makes me happy to do it:) One of my proudest moments was this Christmas when my MOM had all new cloths and towels and was on the same change every night system after seeing me do so! I felt so worthwhile:)
Pam says
I use microfibre cloths for everything- different colours for different jobs. The changing of them isn't as regular as I would like as it relies on boys whose jobs are kitchen-related. Doesn't anyone else use a brush for washing up?
Pam
Amydelle says
I can't believe I'm up until midnight reading a blog post about dishcloths!
I love your blog!
I have three kids. When my middle was born, I went to the discount dept store and bought hundreds of washcloths. Sturdy, expensive ones that are folded over and sewn on the edge. We used them instead of throw away baby wipes and paper towels or napkins. We had a color code for all the different uses.
But now, color coding is out the window… Those washcloths are wiping butts during a diaper change, swiping a dirty counter, a napkin under the fork on the table, washing dishes, and wiping the floor under the high chairs. They are single use. Unless I wash a babyface… Then use it on the floor.
I LOVE MY WASHCLOTHS! You probably wouldn't approve of my stack of wet cloths piled up at the back door, though.
meghan says
oh my, we have a very similar system and I loved reading your description of it….if only I could get my partner to read through your wonderful post so he could understand 'the system' haha. He finally started to ask for a rag to clean the woodstove window (after staining some dish cloths!) Our house isn't overly clean but I'm very particular about the washing cloths and we have many! There's dish and tea towels, hankies, cloths for wiping up the babe after meals, cloths for cleaning, cloths we use for bum wips witht the cloth diapers, and finally rags which yes, sometimes I just throw out! One of my biggest pet peeves is seeing a sopping wet dish cloth sitting in the bottom of the sink…ick.
Jen says
I have a system that makes sense to me, but probably not to anyone coming into my kitchen. Thankfully, my children are learning…husband not so much. Of couse, only the kids get corrected for using the wrong washcloth/rag.
I have hand towels just for clean hands, hand towels for drying dishes, wash cloths for the counters, wash cloths for kids' hands and faces…then old towels/washcloths for wiping up yucky stuff and using on the floor. Each type has it's designated drawer or basket. Of course, I have to be the one to put them all away after doing the laundry. I'm really not a super organized or clean person, but I'm anal in this area!
Laura Jeanne says
I love this post. And honestly, these concepts I was clueless about until pretty recently. I used to regularly be using a stinky, dirty dishcloth to wipe down the counters. Ick!
NOW I have a morning routine. Every day when I am making breakfast, I take yesterday's dish cloth, pop it into a small saucepan with some water, and boil it for a few minutes on the stove. Let me tell you, the colour of water that comes off it is pretty gross sometimes. After I know it is fully sterilized I put it in the laundry. I started doing this when I noticed that even after laundering, dish cloths often still got a funky smell when wetted. Since I started boiling them, they always smell fresh and I'm rather pleased with myself. 🙂
Mrs. Mobunny says
I JUST looked through my dish-towels and brought out one that I've had in a zipper bag. It has a bird and *Monday* embroidered on it. I think I need to bring the whole week out and enjoy them! There is only one thing I like to wash dishes with…….the thinner rag with the scrubby thing on the opposite side. It can't be too thick or too thin. I love your little drying rods, too. It is a horrible thing to put a wet rag in a basket……
Debbie says
I use washcloths . When a washcloth becomes old and ratty, it is replaced with a new one. The old one is demoted to a cleaning rag and gets used and washed over and over. When it is time to clean a bathroom, I take in 2 rags, 1 rag goes in the toilet, cleans it, and then I throw the rag away
Megan says
I realize that this post hasn’t received any new comments in over 4 years, so my question may go unanswered, but I’m wondering if anyone has a good system for quickly and efficiently hand washing all the dishes? In the 8 years I’ve been married, I’ve never had a dish washer. I grew up with one, so I think I never really learned a good system for hand washing dishes when all of them have to be done that way.
My cousin said that she always washes the dishes on one side and then stacks them in the other and rinses a bunch at a time before putting them on the dish rack, because she finds this to be the quickest, most efficient way. I’ve been trying that and I can’t figure out if it’s actually quicker or not, but I keep wondering, is it sanitary? You know, the bit about the kitchen sink being more dirty than a toilet.
I just thought this community might have some tips since you all seem to be very thoughtful homemakers. I cook almost everything from scratch so I feel like the dish washing never ends!
Leila says
Megan, I keep meaning to do a post about handwashing dishes. Have you read this post? http://www.likemotherlikedaughter.org/2010/12/flow-in-kitchen/
It’s essential first of all to establish good “flow” in the kitchen.
If you have a double sink, go towards the dish drainer and put the soapy dishes in the sink nearest it.
Your kitchen sink won’t be dirty if you take care to clean it out well after you finish the dishes. Scrub it, including the drain. If you have strainers (we don’t have a disposer), every few days put them in a bowl and pour boiling water on them.
Always start every meal with a dishpan (or one of your sinks) full of hot soapy water, having put away all the clean dishes. The worst is being backed up in your work flow because the last step hasn’t been taken care of!
Megan says
Thanks for your quick reply! I have read that post, and keep trying to figure out the best flow for my own kitchen. I do have a double sink – so you mean to wash the dishes in the sink furthest from the drainer and then set them in the sink closest to the drainer until I have a bunch to rinse? (Sorry to be so daft!) I don’t have a disposer either and have never heard the advice to pour boiling water over the strainers, so thank you! They kind of gross me out and I haven’t found a good way to deal with them.
Beginning the meal with an empty dish drainer is something I’m still working on. Even though I only have one child (he’s 2), I still feel like I’m struggling to keep up with everything.
I love your blog. I love to knit, sew, cook, and tend (as well as read about tending!) my home, and I often feel that these things are dying arts among my peers (I’m in my early thirties). I’ve had a lot of fun reading about all of these things that, unfortunately, I didn’t take enough interest in when I was growing up and could have been observing my own mother doing them. Thank you for sharing your wisdom!
Leila says
I was going to say to put the drainers in the dishwasher! That’s what I do, but you can’t!
If you have the room, try to stage the dirty dishes on the counter (let’s say you are going from left to right, because that’s what I do, but it doesn’t matter). So the dishes are scraped and stacked on the left. You can put the utensils right into the soapy sink full of hot water ( the left sink). (Don’t put sharp knives in there, of course — they lurk under the suds and that’s dangerous.) If you don’t have room on the counter, put the dishes right into the sink — you will end up doing that anyway, but it is helpful to stage them first so you can assess what you’ve got. If you can wear rubber gloves, your water can be very hot indeed and will last longer. Don’t worry about the water getting dirty — the detergent is designed, chemically, to bond the water to the soil — not the dishes. Using your sponge or dishcloth, wash things and put them in the sink on the right. When you have a good stack, rinse them (cool water is probably fine, but don’t get your dishwater cold!) and put them on the dishrack. Then do another batch… stopping to dry and put away if you need to. Hopefully you will have a sweet companion who will keep you company and dry for you 🙂
It all goes a lot easier if you can just get the dish rack and sinks completely cleared out before you start serving the meal — preferably as part of your cleanup of your dinner prep. Some day you will have a passel of children to help you with all this!
Megan says
Thank you again! I confess that I usually just leave the dishes in the dish rack overnight and put them away in the morning, because drying them and putting them away at night after I finish the clean up feels like it takes “too long”. (Though I’m sure it really only takes a few minutes, and would probably go quicker to dry and put them away in batches than to carefully take down the precarious stack the next morning.)
I look forward to continuing to read your blog 🙂
Christina A says
I think I love this post a little too much! My fave dishcloth I ever found was from a yard sale, Tag brand and it said “DISHCLOTH” right across the middle. Perfect size and texture! For scrubbing, I buy the green ScotchBrite pads that have no sponge attached; they’re about 4″x6″, so I cut them into fourths (perfect size for my hand), and can demote them or toss them frequently. I detest sponges, but these scrubbers are essential. For baby faces, I love the multicolor 12-pk by Neat Solutions on Amazon. For cleaning bathrooms, floors, and wiping up spills, I buy the 40-pk of large, square, white terry towels in the automotive section at Costco; they soak up so much! They’re about the size and thickness of barmops, but much cheaper.
It took me awhile to figure out that detergent alone was not getting the musty smell out of my dishcloths/cleaning cloths/hand towels. I don’t use bleach, but I do wash all those types of towels separate from other laundry, add a scoop of oxiclean and a hefty glug of white vinegar, use hot water, and set my machine to give a presoak and an extra rinse (love my SpeedQueen!).
Thanks for laying out all your cloth wisdom for us!
Christina A says
P.S. For dusting, I bought these awesome Scotch Brite microfiber cleaning cloths years ago, and they just happen to fit on Swiffers so you don’t have to buy those expensive disposable cloths.
And (hopefully?) finally, have you heard of Norwex cloths? I don’t own any myself, but my cousin has a cleaning business and says they are like gold, which is funny because they actually have silver (a natural anti-bacterial substance) woven into the fabric.