Monday Stuff

[arguchik]

Once again I am sick with intestinal badness. Do not want!

I feel oddly alert and energetic, though. I cleaned our bathroom--seriously, like a lot. I even soaked the shower curtain in vinegar to remove its soap scum (which mostly worked), scrubbed the tub, toilet, and sink, and cleaned the floor (it was already pretty clean, since glaucon mopped it the other day). I'm also washing all of the rugs in the house, and I swept and mopped the kitchen floor.

My stomach (by which I mean my actual stomach, as distinct from my intestines) is starting to hurt, though, so I think I'm going to lie low for the rest of the afternoon. I don't know what I ate but my body didn't like it. Fortunately, I don't have to be anywhere today, and I've accomplished something, so I can feel good and right about doing quiet, stationary tasks for the rest of the afternoon.

There is something about a good bout of fixture and floor scrubbing to make one think about things. Like chemicals and paper products. We ran out of paper towels the other day, and I am very much inclined to just let this state of affairs ride. I have been thinking for awhile about using cloth napkins instead of paper towels, and maybe now is the time to make the switch. I am also starting to lean toward using more basic household chemicals (vinegar, baking soda, ammonia, borax, bleach and plain old soap) for cleaning rather than commercially prepared over-scented crap with its mysterious "proprietary" ingredients, and its overly task-specific marketing. I mean...do we really need a spray-on mildew remover, a spray-on soap scum remover, and a spray-on "daily freshener," all for the shower? I might even knit a few dish cloths out of some cotton yarn I have, and stop buying cellulose sponges. I want things to be washable and re-usable, with minimal packaging and no fillers. I don't want to waste things or to throw things in the trash.

P.S. DUDE! I just read a comment on a discussion forum I belong to (it's on ravelry.com)...reminding me that thrift store sweaters can be unraveled, their yarn recycled. Ugly cotton sweaters could be mined for dish cloth yarn! (I have already been thinking about recycling wool sweaters for sweater yarn--I don't particularly like wearing cotton sweaters, so all they'd be good for, IMO, is dish cloths.)

:::sigh::: I have to confess that I have been known to make fun of dish cloth knitters, but I am starting to see the wisdom of it. Dish cloths are quick to knit and super cheap. It depends what yarn you use, of course--but you can get a full pound of coned, worsted-weight cotton yarn for like $10 (from Lion, Lily, or Pisgah), or even cheaper if you buy mill ends; plus there's that whole cotton sweater recycling thing. They'd make for good bus knitting.

Comments

[kirinqueen.livejournal.com]

I'm totally converting to vinegar as a household cleaner as soon as I get through our Costco jug of Clorox Clean-Up. I use more paper towels than I'd like, but not so much for cleaning anymore. I have a housecleaning-dedicated rag pile.

I have a bunch of cotton that I've been intending to knit into dishcloths for ages now, but I think I get a lot more satisfaction out of the destashing of large projects than I've been willing to admit. I knitted a Swiffer cover that I use all the time, and I've made washcloths for other people, I just haven't managed to get around to making more for myself.

I've had a hard time finding sweaters that I've actually wanted to reclaim the yarn from; I guess that's one of the downsides of living in San Diego. Wool is rare, re-knittable wool even rarer.

[arguchik.livejournal.com]

i've been wondering about those swiffer covers. i don't have a swiffer currently, but with a washable and reusable knitted cover i would consider it because it would be way more hygienic--and better environmentally--than those cheap sponge mops.
can i buy a swiffer assembly without the disposable thingamajigs they make for it?

i can imagine that wool would be rare in SD! sweaters in general, probably... a lot of cotton sweaters are knit with pretty fine-gauge yarn, too, which i wouldn't relish knitting into dish cloths at all. i already dislike knitting with cotton as it is.

[kirinqueen.livejournal.com]

I think the Swiffer comes with a couple of the disposable things, but not too many. I had my Swiffer for a million years but never used it after I ran out of that first pack, so the knitted cover was the perfect solution, and of course environment- and wallet-friendlier.

[malafrena.livejournal.com]

We've been using cloth napkins for a while now, with paper towels being more the emergency sort of thing. I haven't made the leap toward using cloth for the uckiest types of household cleaning, though, because I'm unclear on the sanitation aspect. At co-op we do that, then throw it in the laundry with bleach -- which I'd rather not use. I suppose I don't have to wash everything all together, but then I'd have a pile of mildewing stuff somewhere, and that raises allergy concerns.

Oh, the tradeoffs!

So vinegar is a sanitizing thing, right?

[arguchik.livejournal.com]

yep. it also cuts soap scum, and freshens. i've read that it's really good mixed with baking soda for cleaning the tub: sprinkle on baking soda, follow with vinegar from a spray bottle, let it do its fizzy acid-base reaction thing, and then scrub.

i don't mind using bleach in the laundry. i don't use it that often, but it really works to freshen smelly towels (i use white bath towels for this reason).