4 Cleaning "Essentials" You Can Ditch for Good

1. Kitchen Sponge: These kitchen standbys provide the perfect environment for germs and bacteria to thrive. In fact, kitchen sponges are among the biggest germ magnets in the entire house -- even sponges that claim to be anti-microbial. So I'm a dishcloth convert -- particularly cotton dishcloths with a highly absorbent waffle weave. Unlike sponges, dishcloths are easy to wash and sanitize.
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Kitchen Sponges (continued)
I have a few on hand and just toss them in the wash weekly with my tea towels and microfiber cloths, so I never need to replace them. (Contrary to some published reports, dishwashers are not designed to clean and sanitize soft, spongy objects like kitchen sponges.)

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I love not needing to plunk down a few dollars on a replacement sponge every couple weeks. Aside from the sanitary factor, dishcloths allow you to feel the dirt with your fingers and apply more pressure to remove it.

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2. Dryer Sheets
Standard dryer sheets coat fabric with a thin layer of a chemical softening agent, which helps them feel soft to the touch and reduces static cling. I now use wool dryer balls, which are completely natural and chemical-free. Four wool dryer balls tossed in the dryer with a load gives my clothes that nice bounce.

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Plus, they're reusable, so I don't have to spend money on boxes of disposable dryer sheets anymore. Granted, dryer balls are not cheap, but they pay for themselves over time. (Or you can make your own dryer balls!) As a bonus, wool dryer balls actually help my clothes dry about 30% faster (a benefit that dryer sheets don't offer). So I'm saving money at the laundromat, and I'm saving energy.
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3. Paper Towels
Of all the cleaning products I ditched for good, I was most skeptical about getting rid of paper towels. What about spills?, I thought. I'm a klutzy person so it seemed unfathomable to make it through even one week without a roll of Bounty. But I stocked up on a half-dozen reusable, non-linting cleaning cloths instead.
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With the first spill, I found they are much more absorbent than a paper towel. This little cloth cleaned up a big soda spill. At first, I had my last roll of paper towels around just in case I encountered a sticky situation -- like peanut butter. But I've found that I always seem to have some paper napkins around from a take-out delivery (if you just toss these napkins out with the trash, stop!
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Hang on to them for emergencies). For liquid spills, reusable cloths work even better than paper towels and can be tossed into the laundry with the towels. I love knowing that I'm saving so much paper and waste by using these cloths. I'm definitely saving money, too.

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4. Glass Cleaner Once upon a time, I thought that specialty cleaner -- you know, that ubiquitous blue stuff -- was a must-have for your cleaning caddy. Years ago, I learned that many cleaning experts don't opt for a window or glass cleaner to make their windows and glass shine. It turns out that a simple few squirts of dishsoap in a bucket of warm water makes the best solution for cleaning windows and glass.
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(Others swear by white vinegar.) And, since you've ditched your paper towels, use newspaper to buff glass to a shiny finish -- it won't leave lint or streaks behind.

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Trust me, I was a doubter at first. But using the green alternatives exclusively for just a few months made me a believer. Give it a shot; you've got nothing to lose -- except, perhaps, part of your carbon footprint.

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