Reusbale "Swiffer" Dusters

Tired of buying those Swiffer Dusters?  Man, they're expensive!  A box of ten refills, which includes a new handle and some dusting spray, runs for $9.49 at Costco.  All you need for this project is some fleece fabric, which you can get on sale or clearance usually.  Probably a half yard would do, which might cost $3.  Thus, you'll SAVE about SEVEN DOLLARS after using your reusable dusters just ten times.

I put Swiffer in quotes because these aren't really by Swiffer now, they're made by you and me!  However, they do fit the Swiffer Duster handle, or you can make them to fit any other similar duster handle.  Also, I can't take credit for this idea; I saw it on Pinterest.  If you don't have access to a sewing machine or refuse to sew, you can purchase reusable Swiffer dusters from Mitsuyo Day's Etsy shop.  I also just noticed that she sells reusable sweeper covers which could be used for your Swiffer Sweeper or similar sweeper.

If you have a sewing machine though, you can make some reusable "Swiffer" dusters, like I did.  These could also be great as part of a housewarming gift or wedding shower present, along with some other household cleaning necessities like dish soap, detergent, glass cleaner, surface cleaner, dusting spray, and bathroom cleaner.

What you'll need:
21" x 9" piece of microfleece fabric for one three-layer duster or 14" x 9" for a two-layer duster
A Swiffer Duster handle
Your usual sewing needs: scissors, thread, measuring tape, marking pen or chalk (I prefer chalk)

From the edge of the fabric, measure in 2.5" and place your duster there.

Measure about 1/2" from the bottom of the fabric to the bottom of the center tab of the duster.  Make a horizontal mark at this spot.

Now, trace around the inner and outer edges of the duster--free hand or with a measuring tape is fine.

If you didn't cut a 9" high piece of fabric already: Move the duster out of the way and measure 2.5" up from the top of your trace marks.  Put a horizontal mark here.

Measure 2.5" from the side of your trace marks.  Put a vertical line here, then mark a dashed line along this spot.

Now, fold your fabric under your trace marks to the point where it meets your side trace marks and repeat (if you're layering your duster with three pieces of fabric).  When I did this the first time, I actually did four layers, which proved to be a little much for my machine.

Cut along the folded edges to make two (or three) pieces of the same size.

If you're making a three-layer duster, set aside one layer.  Leave two layers on top of each other, and pull the top layer down a half inch.

Continuing with the three-layer duster instructions: Turn over the two layers and pin the half inch of fabric you pulled down on to the back of the other layer. You may also want to create a half-inch seam on the third piece of fabric, but you don't have to.

If you're doing a two-layer duster, you may want to create a half-inch seam at the bottom anyways.  It will make the duster look nicer and maybe even last longer.  However, you will have to create SEPARATE seams on EACH piece of cloth, not layered on top of each other.

Sew the bottom seam (for each piece of fabric, if you choose), pulling the fabric as flat as you can while you sew. 

Now you should have two pieces of fabric ready to be sewn together; pin them together.  You may want to make sure your duster handle still matches the marks you made earlier on the fabric before you begin sewing.  Only sew the outer edges first.

Once you've sewn the outer edges, insert the duster completely in to the pocket you've created.  Pull the pocket back so you can see where the end of the center tab rests and mark it.  Now, sew down the middle up to the mark you just created.

Last, make cuts around the edges of the fabric in order to create the little "dusting fingers," and you can choose to round the corners at the top if you want to.  Here's the finished product:

For the most effective dusting, pull the top layers of the "dusting fingers" toward the center so that there are more exposed layers of the duster to reach those crevices and corners.


BEFORE YOU WASH, I suggest running a lint roller over the duster to pick off any large dust bunnies you picked up so those don't end up on your clothes or towels.  Otherwise, just throw in your duster with a regular load of laundry as often as you need to!

The purpose of this blog

The more options that have become available to not waste, the more I have loved it.  We have tons of reusable grocery bags.  I have recently purchased reusable sandwich and snack bags (see previous post) and will never go back to plastic baggies.  I'm committed to cloth diapering my baby, and I've recently thought of other things I want to change so I can waste less, such as:

• Napkins
• Facial tissue (e.g., Kleenex), although I'm not a fan of old-fashioned handkerchiefs
• Paper plates
• Food containers that can be reused and/or repurposed
• Paper towels: I'm really not sure how to replace these yet as they're useful for so many purposes and don't spread germs since they're thrown away.
• and I'm sure we'll come up with other things!

Why do I want to do this?  Well, not only will I waste less, but I'll SPEND LESS.  Yes, isn't that great?!  Think about it: I spend around $15 on a giant pack of paper plates every few months at Costco.  What if I didn't spend that money?  I'll wash a few more dishes, sure, but the soap and water I use to wash those dishes won't amount to $15 in a few months!  Just think if we didn't buy paper towels, paper napkins, and facial tissue, too!

Second, it's good for the planet.  I'm not a super-crazy "go green" person, but as a Christian, I believe that part of the mission God gave to humanity is to take care of the earth.  In Genesis 1:26, "Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.'"  We were given authority by God over all the earth!  What an amazing opportunity that is for us.  Why do we then take, take, take from the earth without giving back?  Just because we have "dominion" over the earth doesn't mean we should take advantage of it.

Now, understand that since I believe humanity has dominion over the earth (including animals), I'm not an animal rights activist.  God set humanity above animals, so animals shouldn't have equal rights as humans.  However, I believe humans should care for animals, meaning I don't believe it's right to kill animals only for their fur or to make into a sort of trophy.  When it comes down to it, humans are more important than animals, so I'm more of a social justice (e.g., anti-trafficking) advocate.

If you want to join me on this journey, follow my blog or subscribe to it!  Send me your ideas and suggestions!  Tell others about this!  And please leave your comments on blog posts.

Reusable Lunch/Snack Bags

A couple weeks ago we ran out of sandwich bags and Costco was out of them too when I went to buy them.  I have long been aggravated by the idea that I'm throwing away so many plastic bags after just one or two uses, so then I remembered that there are companies that make reusable lunch/snack bags!  I remembered seeing some Planet Wise ones at Grow Natural in Fullerton.  At this point I decided I would do some Amazon research on reusable bags.  I bought three different brands of top-rated bags, and all have very different features.  Here's a photo of them all:

First, on the far left is a set of three Lunch Skins bags.  They feature tough Velcro all the way across the bag and flap.  The fabric is used by professional bakers, though I'm not sure what for, perhaps also for storage.  They're toxin free.  They're supposed to be dishwasher safe, but I ran them through and the Velco is a little crumpled, so I will probably rarely do that.  I will likely just turn them inside-out to wash like the other bags we got.  What makes these even more awesome is they're sewn by a local family business in the US!  I purchased the set of three off Amazon for $25.

Second, the black bags with the green monster flaps are Re-Usies.  They're cloth on the outside, so if that gets wet while washing, they'll take longer to dry than the other two sets I got.  The flap has the Velcro running vertical across it and the bag, so there's less closure to the bag than the Lunch Skins.  The flap can wrap around to the back where there's another piece of vertical Velcro, which is helpful for wrapping up very small snacks.  These are also free of toxins, but aren't dishwasher safe.  The label says you can throw them in the washing machine, but the fabric may fade, it warns.  These bags also come in an abundance of different fabrics!  I got the set off Amazon for $16.

Third, I wanted to try a wrap, well, I want Joseph and Sarah to try a wrap because I rarely take any food to go right now.  Anyways, on the far right is the Food Kozy by Kids Konserve.  As you can see it's circular and has vertical strips of Velcro on it for closing the wrap.  It can double as a place mat, which is pretty cool.  It's also toxin free, and is easy to wash, rinse, and dry.  It seems like this would be best to use with sandwiches and not snacks, though.  I got this set of two (because they're orange) for only $8.01 off Amazon.

Now, I'm also wishing I got zippered snack bags because Joseph likes to take oats, granola, and craisins to put in his yogurt, which wouldn't stay in one of these bags well.  I'm going to look into those for my next Amazon purchase.  I'll update you the verdict of these three reusable options in a few weeks.

Of course, another alternative to this is plasticware, commonly known as Tupperware.  If you have a lot of it already, use it for your lunches and snacks!  We don't have a ton of plasticware, so I decided to get some of these bags.  The bags are also less bulky too.