…”To Swiffer or not to Swiffer?”
That is the question.
Years ago, Josh and I moved into a duplex that had beautiful hardwood floors. We adopted two cats. And then one glorious day, someone (who I’ve said on numerous occasions should receive the Nobel Prize), invented the Swiffer. Best. Invention. Ever.
Cut to now – and we are in a new home, also with hardwood floors, and still two fuzzy (shedding) cats.
But times have changed, haven’t they? One day you’re happily Swiffering away, and the next you think to yourself; “I keep buying these Swiffer cloths, using them, and then throwing them away. Hm. That can’t be good for the environment.” Dang. Once you’ve had that thought, there’s no going back. Swiffering was now tinged with just the littlest bit of guilt.
What to do?
A-ha! There are plenty of online tutorials for making your own, REUSEABLE cloths for your Swiffer! You don’t even need to buy anything. An old flannel shirt, t-shirt or sweater would work just fine. In our case, we discovered that a cloth baby diaper, with a little creative folding, was just right, and picked up as many cat hair tumbleweeds as the disposable cloths. Perfect…
…until the first time they needed to be washed. I stood for a moment, scratching my head. These things were covered with cat hair, people hair and misc. gunk. I couldn’t just toss all that into my machine. But, do I stand there for 20 minutes and pull all this stuff off of each of these clothes before I put them into the wash? That would significantly decrease the “ease” factor of the Swiffer process.
I ended up removing as much of the gunk as I could and then throwing the cloths into the wash.
Done and done…
…until a few days later when Josh said something along the lines of: “What was that big wad of hair and stuff I pulled out of the washing machine filter?” Ugh. Apparently, homemade Swiffer cloths have their own pros and cons. And standing around cleaning cleaning cloths is not something I have time for. And clogging up a good washing machine is not something we have the money for. Now what do we do? Go back to disposable, un-earth friendly cloths? Spend ridiculous amounts of time cleaning the homemade cloths before putting them in the wash?
???
Oh, yeah.
Problem solved.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I’ve discovered over the years that in many situations our Grandmothers and Grandfathers had some things figured out. We should think about how they did things and see if we can learn from them. Our generation is trying to re-invent the wheel. We make up problems so that we can buy things to solve them. We make up reasons to consume. Our grandparents figured out ways to conserve.
Today is Earth Day. Consider giving your Swiffer, vacuum cleaner, washing machine, etc., a break today. Get out the broom. Expend a little elbow grease. Do something good for your home, without consuming more resources.
Or consider checking out MadeInTheRedBarn, a family owned business on Etsy. They make and sell “UnPaper Towels”. These are fabric sheets that you can use just like paper towels. You don’t throw them away, instead you wash them and either throw them in the dryer, or (better yet) hang them out on the line or on a drying rack in the sun. They also sell very well made, attractive wooden dispensers. I have one myself – Josh and I are using up the last of our paper towels and don’t plan on buying anymore. I was just thinking this morning that these would make nice Christmas gifts.
“Talking isn’t doing. It is a kind of good deed to say well; and yet words are not deeds.” – Bill S.
Keepin’ it cute!
Hot pink/magenta seems to be finding me alot lately.
Lots of ribbon goodness!
Even a pretty card, little wooly goodies and pretty hearts.
