I've always been a paper towel kind of girl. But that adds up, I know. I want to trim the budget in any way possible, so I'm definitely leaning towards using rags. I'm already using the cloth diapers that were once burp-cloths to clean DS with after meals, and I feel good about that. I also use cloth wipes with him a lot of the time.

OK, so...

Is it worth it to buy microfiber rags? I know the cheaper way to go would definitely be using old clothes, but I don't really have any quite ready for a rag bin. But if I were to have some old t-shirts... do you all cut them up, or use them whole? If you cut them up, do you have to hem the edges so they don't fall apart? And do you have preferred fabrics for different jobs (cleaning the floor vs. windows, or whatever)?

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Trust God. Whatever risk there is in doing so, the risk of not trusting in him is far greater. - Spurgeon

I just use old adult t-shirts and cut them up to the size I need them. The only ones I've not cut up were dd's and that's because they were smaller than the adult t-shirts. I've never had to hem the edges. I've never used the microfiber rags so I don't have any advice about those.

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If you can find a cheap microfiber rag, I highly recommend it!! They are super for dusting!!!

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~Happiness is a large family~

i use microfiber dusting clothes to dust and rags for general cleaning like wiping up stuff washing hands ect.. i bought plain white wash rags and then just bleach in the washer but t-shirt old ripped towels work great to i just don't have any right now to use..

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'The will of God will never take you where the
Grace of God will not protect you.'

HAVE A BOOTIFUL HALLOWEEN

I classify rags differently than cloth towels. Towels, like kitchen towels, are something I'm going to wash over and over again. Rags are pretty much a one-use item.

I am slowly replacing all my kitchen towels with microfiber cloths. They are just so much better at cleaning. One word of caution, however, microfiber can be really hard on skin, especially a baby's delicate face. Don't use microfiber for scrubbing on skin. I know a woman who thought a microfiber cloth would do a wonderful job at removing her makeup. It did. She ended up with a painful rash.

I cut up the clothes and towels for the rag bag simply to make sure they don't get re-cycled back into the usable clothes / towels bin. I don't bother hemming or anything. Like I said, it is very rare for me to wash a rag.

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"I've been rich and I've been poor but independently wealthy is where it is at."

I use rags- like cut up t-shirts as a one time use thing- so to clean up cat puke or something like that.

I don't like to use t-shirt material for cleaning because I don't think they are as absorbant or as "scrubby" as I'd like.
I use old washcloths and hand towels for all my kitchen towels. I think they are bigger, and thicker than the traditional kitchen style you buy in the store. I use all the colors I'm no longer using in my bathroom, because they are faded, or the edges are frayed. We end up using them for napkins too if the dinner is epsecially messy- like if we have pizza or rib or something.

for cleaning I bought a pack of white washclothes- the cheapy kind that are really rough- from wal-mart. I use these to scrub the bathrooms, ect. Then I can bleach them if I want to .

I use the micro-fibre cloths and really like them. I bought a pack of 25 at Sam's Club for $12.50. They come in 1/2 white and 1/2 blue. The blue I use for the kitchen, the white I use for floors and bathrooms. I throw them in the wash at the end of every night. They wash beautifully. They are great for dusting, cleaning mirrors, wiping off spots, tables, cleaning sinks, toilets, showers, everything. I like them so much I could host an informercial on them.. Perhaps I missed my calling ...

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LOL! I'm a microfiber cloth maven. I also use washable dust & mop pads from Fuller. I have 1 duster pad and 2 mop pads. The cost of the pads was the same price as a box of swiffer pads. They all wash up great!

I use rags (old socks and t-shirts) for VERY dirty jobs. I don't wash rags, they are a one use item for me.

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I use old t-shirts for dusting and old kitchen towels for just about everything else.

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~Jeweled

I also had a problem with using so many paper towels. My kids can use almost a whole roll just to dry their hands.

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