@hector7g:
it makes the life of the sponge last longer. cutting down on waste and reducing avoidable expenses. another $3-5 in your pocket.

sponges at my house go dishes->counter tops->bathroom

Darth Fadar

I don't get it. Are sponges terribly expensive in some parts of the world? Keep on in the kitchen, one in the bathroom, etc. Toss & replace when gross. How hard is that?

hector7g

I love this website.

malificusx

Great idea. Another tip: boil your sponges for 10 minutes, once a week. It makes even the nasty sponge fresh and extends its life.

robogobo

I got a new sponge one time and wrote in big, bold permanent ink BATHROOM on it before I used it to clean the bathroom. Never had any confusion about which one was a bathroom cleaning sponge.

tom2133

? Our kitchen sponge doesn't leave the sink area.
We have another one in the bathroom that would never ever make it to the kitchen area.

Maulleigh

This is a good one! My mom also figured out that if you cut these in half, they last twice as long. I'm sure they didn't ACTUALLY double the time, but it kept all of us kids more enthusiastic about watching dishes.

Khuluna

When I am elected, I will put an end to this earmarking sponges. The first sponge that comes across my desk with an earmark, I will throw it away! And you will know the brand name of that sponge!

happinessiseasy

That just mutates them into monsters.

cliffordthered

My mom puts her sponges in the microwave to kill germs. :)

Ortzinator

Um, we just place them in the the area of use. Dish sponge on the left side under the sink, stove/table sponge on the right side under the sink, bathroom sponge under the vanity. Usually if an area needs good cleaning, no way we can salvage the sponge after that (yes, I'm that messy) and it goes from right side kitchen sink to trash.

goodywitch

@robogobo: or just let the sponge air-dry for a few days, thereby killing the microbes (need two sponges for this rotation). requires less power and is less toxic than microwaving plastic.

LesterGaze

Ahhhh! Lifehacker used the annoying E-word that McCain found it necessary to repeat every few seconds of the debate.

jonworld

My mom actually cuts them in 4's...but not because they'll last 4 times longer. She puts them in 4's because bacteria grows on the sponges so throwing them out every 3-4 days is a good idea...for health purposes any.

icehouseyo

@happinessiseasy: Hahaha, yeah, that's the first thing I thought of too =D

topspinserve

It's a nice idea, though it would never work for us. Like goodwitch, our sponges tend to go from "brand new" to "toxic waste" after one or two uses. I'll keep it in mind, though, for when we stop being messy.

drekadair

Sponges are gross and wasteful; Just use cloths. I keep one at the sink for dishes, which also gets used to wipe down counters daily. I also keep one in the bathroom. When they get dirty they go in the next load of laundry, and I pull a clean one out of the cupboard. No confusing identification methods, no waste. Easy.

saffyre9

@malificusx: And we love you! <3

RickS

@Maulleigh: I think the point is that there are various levels of cleaning in the kitchen. Dishes, then counters, then any other stuff. You don't want to use the sponge you use to clean the gunk off the cabinet doors to clean your dishes.

RickS

As I mentioned on Unclutterer, I just buy packages of sponges that come in assorted colors. When the dishwashing sponge gets too beat-up, I downgrade it to a counter-wiping sponge and replace it with a sponge of a different color. It sits on top of an unglazed clay flowerpot beside the sink when not in use.

infmom

I end sponge use by using a handy-dandy IKEA dish brush with a suction cup on the end, and a Mr.Clean Magic Eraser (off brand, of course!), that I slice in two thinner halves with an electric kitchen knife. That way, I get a nice thin sponge that wears out too quickly to harbor many germs, and I get a sterile brush every time I run my dishwasher (yes, those IKEA brushes are dishwasher safe!)

unbwogable

@cliffordthered: I smell a David Cronenberg movie.

tgrantt

@witeowl: Weird. Why didn't that nest?

witeowl

@saffyre9: Me too! I actually have completely fallen in love with microfiber.

witeowl

@hector7g: Not hard at all, I guess. Perhaps some people don't see the allure in throwing away money and filling up our landfills as quickly as humanly possible?

witeowl

Ick, sponges. I use cloths, launder often, and toss when they become too ratty.

adventurat

For me, a sponge usually goes kitchen > bathroom > garage.

Washcloths go a different route. Bathroom > exercise area > kitchen > garage. These are naturally washable and the whole circuit is usually several years.

mpantone

@witeowl: I do not try to waste money or fill landfills, this has simply never crossed my mind! A great idea that I will start today.

chadbailey

I guess while I'm at it, I might as well share my (probably duh-worthy) system for using microfiber cloths in the kitchen.

I loathe wet cloths sitting around the kitchen. Yech! Also, you're supposed to follow up a wet cloth with a dry cloth when using microfiber. So, it's simple. After use, the day's wrung-out wet cloth goes into the kitchen hamper (with other microfiber cloths and fabric napkins, so nothing gets mildewy). The dry cloth, after following-up the wet cloth, remains on the counter and is used for quick and small wipe-ups for 24 hours. The dry cloth then becomes the wet cloth for the thorough cleaning of the evening. The wet cloth goes into the hamper, and a new dry cloth gets pulled out for the follow-up and next 24 hours worth of quick cleaning.

That's about seven cloths a week. Adding in cloths used in various other parts of the house, it makes a small laundry load every two weeks. Because the cloths are being regularly laundered, there's no need to designate different cloths to different areas.

witeowl

@chadbailey: See, that's the difference between you and hector. You see a good idea and embrace it. He sees a good idea and insists that waste is better. :)

witeowl

Or, you could just look at the sponge and say "that's too icky for dishes".

Why make things more complicated then they need to be?

jupiterthunder

I've done this for years. Wonder what else I'm doing that deserves an article.

My progression, though, is kitchen sink > spills on floors > trash. The countertops get wiped with either a Lysol disposable wipe or cleaner and paper towel. I'm a sloppy chopper and food frequently lands on the counter. And the nasty parts of the bathroom always get cleaned with something disposable. (Bathtub and sink get cleaned with a brush.)

The sponge regularly goes into the microwave here. Kills the smells and also the suds.

nsv

@jupiterthunder: Because my e-coli vision is on the fritz again.

Piaculum

@witeowl: Whatever dude. I don't see how tossing a 50 cent sponge gets nasty is wasteful or even a bad idea, but if judging my character from one comment makes you feel superior, good for you I guess.

hector7g

@saffyre9: cloths may have been determined to be more susceptible to spreading fungi, bacteria, etc and cross-contaminating other areas and equipment if they aren't regularly cleaned themselves. better be washing them often.

global_dev

Yeah, who uses sponges to wipe the counter top? All it does is wipe the dirt and crap on the floor. At least with a rag, you can wipe the crumbs up.

paqman

dishes -> bathroom

/I use paper towels to clean my countertops, not scratchy sponges.

lordargent

We used this when I was living on a sail boat a few years back. Something oddly enjoyable about demoting the sponges

rmullins

I learned this method when I was living on a sailboat a few years back. It was always fun to get to demote sponges

rmullins

Guys, this isn't a trick that somebody discovered, this is common practice on large sailing ships.

AstraThersites

The system that at least some ships use is: Whole = Cooking Surfaces & Washing, 1 corner off = eating surfaces, 2 off = bulkheads (walls), 3 = soles (floors), 4 = head (bathroom).

BriceBogdan

These seemed to be frightfully good ideas and I consulted my butler on their efficacy. He seemed sceptical but conceded they might possibly have application in the country house and agreed to raise the matter with the housekeeper. Cook however got wind of the whole caper and was nothing less than incandescent...threatening to resign her position. I suspect badger bristle brushes and bleach will remain the order of the day for some time to come. Hey ho!

muddypaws

Right,

I work at Intel, my wife works at NASA, and my granny works down the sewers. So, our sponges go:

chip fabrication room > satellite construction room > kitchen > exercise room > bathroom > garage > septic tank > sewers.

If there is anything left of the plucky little blighters, they get boiled for a couple of days and start over.

do I win?

jiminylumox

@jiminylumox: Kids these days have it so easy.

witeowl