Did you know you can sanatize your kitchen sponge by zapping a moist sponge in the microwave for approx 2 minutes?
Don’t know if you’d call it a tip on frugality, but it doesn’t cost anything to do (well, ok, there is an electricy cost but that is minor). The moist enviroment of the sponge with little particles of food left on it is a perfect breeding ground for germs, so keeping your sponges sanitized is important and can help keep your family healthy.
Hi Jenn,
I don’t know how frugal this is, but we use tea towels and dish cloths instead of paper towel. Use it a few times, and then it goes into the laundry. So we probably do have an extra load of laundry a week, but rarely buy paper towel (which is an accomplishment for a house with a baby). Love this blog.
Great tip! I microwave my sponge here and there, but I’ll have to add it to my routine.
Re: Dishtowels and rags- I bougth a huge 30 pack of dishrags at Family Dollar. We use and toss in the laundry basket every day. We wash them with our whites and add bleach or vinegar.
Towels we bought at Home Deopt. I got a huge pack of white terry cloth towels there for about 15 dollars three years ago. Since they are white, we can bleach the heck out of them if they get gross. I change those neary every day as well.
Total cost: 20 dollars. I add it to our normal laundry,and we hang it dry, so I don’t think it costs much more in laundry fees.
It also cut out paper towel use drastically.
Again, great blog!
Actually I don’t use much paper towel either. I’ve got dh trained to use washcloths for the kids, counters etc.
We probably go through about 2 or 3 washcloths a day-my 2 1/2 year old still has to be thoroughly wiped down after each meal!
I used old clothes to clean the house instead of paper towels. Mirrors, counters, even floors. My friend showed me how to attach an old cloth to a swiffer mop (the kind that usually have the disposable pre-packaged towles with them).
Frugal and GREEN!!
Amanda-I recently started using those microfiber cloths (I get mine at the dollar store) on the bottom of my swiffer. That way they pick up the dust really well and I can just wash them later.
I have been rinsing that stupid sponge out with the hottest water I could, knowing that it was a breeding ground. I never considered putting it into the microwave, I am off to santize it. Thank you for passing this along.
I have a fantastic product. My husband is from Sweden and ever since I lived there for a year back in 1998, I import these incredible cloths. It is a sort of sponge cloth – but unlike anything you have ever seen. I also put it in the microwave every morning for 1 minute. It truly kills most if not all bacteria. You can throw it in the washer and dryer or the dishwasher, too. Anyway, a friend of mine and I are thinking of trying to sell them in the US. If anyone wants a sample, send me an email at lundqvist@adelphia.net and I will send you one! You can be a bit of a test market for me. I also think that paper towels are such a waste to our environment and you can’t believe how many people use paper towels with a spray like Windex – don’t get me started on the chemical thing… For me, this is an amazing product – hope you think so, too.