It’s hard to save money when you go around wasting food. I just dropped my dinner on my feet. It had a sauce on it that went everywhere. It splashed Thai peanut sauce all over the cabinet door, kitchen door, the rug, the floor, my socks.

Luckily, I keep a dishcloth around. I used 2 paper towels because they were closest, and almost reached for more, but got the cloth instead. I rinsed it out in the sink. I did feel weird that I was just smearing stuff around, but thought better of it since it would be worse if I did it with a dry paper towel and no subsequent wipe with hot water. The trick to this is to wash the cloths frequently. I only keep them around for 2-3 days as long as I don’t get them soaking wet. You can be sure the one I used tonight will be hung overnight to dry and go straight into my hamper tomorrow.

I’ve been meaning to write about this for a while because I’ve noticed at my friends’ houses that few of them keep dishcloths in the kitchen. I’m a bit of a tree-hugger so I really don’t like using paper towels. Since I’m trying to live more frugally, I’m trying to make my last multi-pack of paper towels last me forever.

When I was a kid, my mom took my dad’s old white T-shirts and cut them up into rags. We used to scrub the floor on our hands and knees with a brush and then dry with a clean T-shirt rag. Wringing them out is actually a good hand grip exercise and works your forearms too. They make good dusting rags too.

Lately, my ratty T-shirts are getting the same treatment. I cut off the ribbed neck binding and the sleeves, saving the scraps for crafting if they’re worth saving. Because T-shirts have a single body piece, I cut it into a front piece and a back piece. Voila! 2 rags! I recommend only doing this with 100% cotton shirts since it’s easier to bleach them clean if you are so inclined.