something old, something new

i'm really jonesing for a new car. i want a car with better mileage. i want new car smell that doesn't come in a plastic package.

the problem is, my car runs just fine. and buying even the most fuel-efficient hybrid car does not offset the environmental impact from the production process. at the end of the day, the best thing for the environment and your wallet is to just keep driving the car you have, no matter what the price at the pump is.

when i'm really feeling sorry for myself, i detail my car. something about having a sparkling clean smelling car makes you feel a lot better about what you're driving. especially when there are so often goldfish crackers smashed into the floor mats these days, and dried up wet wipes in the cupholders.

yesterday i gave my blog a facelift, and i'm hoping it will have the same effect. my blog posts have been scarce this year, and i want to regain some of the enjoyment that i used to get from posting. so i cleaned up the old blog and gave it a new paint job.

we'll see if it has the desired effect.

skoy cloths

i hate kitchen sponges. they're bacteria amusement parks, and they start smelling bad after two days and never recover no matter how many times you run them through the dishwasher.

a few years ago i swore off sponges and started using plain washcloths in the kitchen. they're thinner so they dry faster, and i could run them through the washer.

even so, after using them for a few months, the mildewy smell started to linger, which required bleaching. and the bleaching broke down the fabric and led to their quick demise.

i contemplated a solution for a few months until i saw my friend maria mention skoy cloths on her blog. or maybe she mentioned it here. or here. maria is a busy woman.

i checked for them at whole foods to no avail, so i opted to go the online route and bought two packages (four cloths per package) for $6.99 each on amazon.com. they're made of mixed cotton and cellulose (wood) pulp. when dry, they're stiff, like extremely thinly sliced sponges. based upon the amazon.com reviews, i wasn't really clear whether i would get 2 or 20 or 200 uses out of them.

when you wet them under the faucet, they become like a super-thick paper towel. i love them! they dry out lightening fast and it takes several days for them to get smelly. then i just throw them into the washer and run them through with the rest of the laundry - including the dryer cycle as well. admittedly, they would probably last longer if i let them air dry, but who has time to sort their wet laundry for dishrags?

i have been circulating four of them for the last month or so and they are holding strong. they're fading a little, but they have plenty of life left in them. and they don't stink. i'm sold.