"Mama, what happened to the kitchen sponge?"
Miss Ploi @nabithecat, my 14 year old daughter had just returned from 5 weeks away in Korea, and was about to wash the dishes.
"We don't have one anymore!" I yelled back. "Still too much toxic plastic in our world - I made some more changes while you were away."
And so it was. I had been looking at the grubby kitchen sponge some weeks back and was about to add buying a new one to the shopping list, when it struck me that I am a part of the problem in the world with all this unnecessary plastic. Mostly it's just habit.
And so I bought a pack of 3 cotton cloths and changed up the grubby, bacteria infested kitchen sponge to a washable, cotton facecloth. And we have the recyclable steel wool on standby for heavy duty cleaning.
We also have 2 little eco-friendly brushes for our reusable bamboo, metal and glass straws, and for getting into tricky corners of the juicer etc.
The upfront investment was negligible - just over USD $1 for 3 cloths.
The cloths get washed and hung out in the sun very regularly, so we're talking a lot more hygienic too. I want to say it was a pleasure to throw our disgusting sponge in the trash:
But it was tinged with some sadness at how long it will take for this sponge to break down (if ever) and how many of these I have bought and used in my 55 years on planet earth.
Are YOU still using plastic sponges in your kitchen or bathroom?
Time to make a change?
BlissednBlessed as my awareness grows. Making changes. Grateful.
Contributing to the @earthtribe. Cos it MATTERS.
@artemislives, this is an awesome #EarthDeeds. Seriously, there a lot of little changes we need to make that will create a big difference and getting rid of plastic sponges is one of them.
Sooooo much focus on plastic bottles and straws, AND YET plastic sponges, plastic pet food pouches, plastic toothbrushes, plastic wrap in the kitchen, plastic gadgets in the kitchen, plastic mops.... it goes ON and ON. Awareness is everything. Just yesterday I ha to replace the nailbrush in our bathroom - completely worn out after 4 years - and I chose a wooden one. Step by step, drip by drip.
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This is a perfect and simple way to make a difference! I love washing the dishes, and just zoning out for a bit (is dish meditation a thing?) We have always used cotton cloths, super economical, easy to clean and long lasting. When they get threadbare they get used as dusting and cleaning rags and then out to the garage for their final days cleaning messy icky stuff.
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We've always used cotton cloths for cleaning and everything else, just not the dishes. Just a habit, I guess. And yes, dusting-polishing cloths get downgraded to floor cloths... LOL... and then used ot clean the bins at the end. I also compost them when they're on their last legs.
nice job, I have been using natural grass to clean my dishes for about 3 years now, I wrote about them as part of an earth deeds post a few months back. It is crazy the amount of sponges that we all must have used in our life time, it is definitely time to make a change xx
here's a photo of what I use
Oh that's very cool! I didn't see that post. I'm also thinking natural loofahs (which are abundant and uber cheap here) would be handy. We HAVE collectively consumed a crazy amount of shitty plastic sponges, haven't we?! Urgh. No more.
Hi @artemislives. Your sponge eco history is very nice. Environmental details like the one you´re telling really make the difference, the world is a better place due to people like you!!!
Here in Colombia we use a vegetal sponge that is very usable to different aims:
This sponge is called estropajo, and is extracted from a cucurbitaceae plant, related to the cucumber:
WE have those in abundance in Thailand too - and VERY cheap - we use them for body scrubbing. Had not ever occurred to me to use them in the kitchen. My bad.
In fact, I hate sponge. 😊
Cotton cloth is the good thing. Then I have steel wool too.
Thanks for sharing this goodness
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Next time I won't buy NEW cloths, but repurpose the good bits of old towels. :) Thanks for stopping by. :)
Oh thats quite innovative, I will tell my mother about this.
Haha... please tell me your mother doesn't still wash your dishes....???!!! LOL. I hope YOU enjoy this tiny innovation in your own kitchen.
hehe no,
I live outside in a hostel facility so cannot control how they wash my dish. But I can pass this suggestion to my mom to make my parent's lives better.
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