Thrifty Tips #1

Inspired by Jenn Fowler at Frugal Upstate, I have decided to post ways we save money in our home. Hopefully we will have many of them by the end of 2009. Jenn sets a pretty high bar and I aim to reach it. I will tag my Thrifty Tips and put them all into one post at the end of the year.
We all love those Swiffer floor cleaners, especially the mops. It is so convenient to just throw away the dirty mop and dusting pads, but this unneeded trash disturbs me as much as the price. Since I have hardwood floors, don't get excited, they are in poor shape, I have to use something that won't damage them any further. I will not spend 7 or 8 dollars on a box of mop pads or dusting pads, I use them too often, so I have cut down my shammies that I get from our local gas station every year to fit the Swiffer mop.
I just put a new hem on them so they don't fall apart. I sometimes use some scraps of elastic for the sides. I have lots of scrap sewing supplies laying around and I always keep my eeys peeled at yard sales for ribbon and notions. These things are indestructible, I have some from 15 years ago and they are still going strong. They are like bar towels, they have a bit of texture, but get really soft in the wash over time. Obviously, the money I save on mop and dusting rags goes to my gel nails. I have my standards after all. Here is the finished product. I just take the used ones off the mop or duster and throw them in the wash with the rag load. The shammies do a good job at getting the dust off the walls too. With window air units and ceiling fans in my house we get an extraordinary amount of dust, so they are invaluable and so easy to use on the walls.
I do not use paper towels much anymore, One to one and a half rolls of Viva a month is good for us. My friend Deb brought over a roll one day for me when the dog was getting sick and I loved them better than Brawny. They are more expensive though, so we have cut way down on our usage. It is amazing how if you HIDE the paper towels, people start using the rags. And guess what? Rags fit in those cute little cloth dispensers we use for the disposable shopping bags. I am going to make one just for the rags today. I will post the pic when I am done in the update.
UPDATE:
Ok here it is...