Household Tools - Cleaning

The tools I use around the house for cleaning have not changed tremendously over the past 40 years. Scrub brushes are the constants. What I use with the scrub brush has changed more than the tool itself; I’m all for the ‘greener’ cleaners like soda and vinegar - always relying on the brush to get the cleaner to the scum on the shower base or the worn-in dirt from heavy traffic areas of the carpet. My favorite brush is one that has a handle that allows a comfortable grip and keeps my hand well above the fray of dirt and cleaner.

I have another brush with a long handle made out of recycled plastic that I use for scrubbing vegetables or getting the larger clumps of food off dishes going into the dishwasher. The brush itself goes through the dishwasher cycle as well.

I remember using steel wool and soap-filled pads in the past but I don’t seem to need them as much these days. We do our grilling on a gas grill and burn off the mess rather than scrubbing it off. Soaking and the dishwasher handles most of the other kitchen messes.

I’ve tried various kinds of mops for non-carpeted floors. I have an old sponge mop which I haven’t used in years. It’s been so long that the sponge is probably rotten. The bucket sees more action than the old mop. The Swiffer is my current choice although I do not like the idea of creating trash with the pads. On the plus side, I find that I don’t need to mop all that frequently since we take our shoes off at the door if they are messy.

And what about brooms? I found one that has a dust pan attached in my basement that I don’t remember having. Did my daughter leave it here when she moved cross country? I tend to use a vacuum cleaner - and this series of posts is steering clear of electronic tools - rather than a broom. The brooms we use are relegated to outdoor jobs like sweeping leaves from the garage or deck.

Household Tools - Office

I took a look around my office this morning and realized that many of the tools have to do with paper - staplers, binder clips, scissors, letter opener. Having those tools around has not changed in decades. But my use of them has declined considerably over the past 10 years because I am using less paper - keeping things electronically rather than printing them. 

• My grocery lists are done with the OurGroceries app. I check things off on my Kindle as I shop.
• I decided to not print things I write for proofreading or backup. Those activities can be done electronically - with no paper involved at all.
• More of what I read is online to begin with so I have links on a ‘favorites’ list (usually associated with my web browser) rather than pages torn from a magazine to file away.
  

I do still sometimes jot down something on a post-it note. I’ve noticed that my office paper recycle bag is mostly small pieces of colored paper these days rather than the 8.5x11 inches that used to spew out of the printer pretty frequently. Do I need these paper related tools….and others like rulers and highlighters? I do use them occasionally but I am approaching a time when I might decide to freecycle them all!

Household Tools - Kitchen (Part 2)

Yesterday I posted about knives and wooden spoons being the most frequently used tools in my kitchen. The whisk, potato peeler and can opener are not used every day - but frequently enough.

I find that I use the whisk when I previously used an egg beater or electric mixer or a fork. It does a better job of combining milk with eggs for scrambling or omelets. And it is a lot less mess and faster that an egg beater or electric mixer for creaming sugar, eggs, and butter for cookies or mixing the pancake ingredients. It’s appealing in its simplicity. The one I use most frequently is an inexpensive one that has lasted for years.

The same can be said of the potato peeler. It is over 30 years old. I don’t use it as frequently as I once did since we no longer are making homemade French fries every week (French fries are infrequent components of our meals now). The most frequent use is to peel sweet potatoes before I cut wedges to roast sprinkled with cinnamon.

The can opener is used much less frequently than when it was originally purchased. We don’t eat as many canned goods as we used to and some of the few that we still buy have flip tops. I still have the can opener in the drawer; its sharpness will last for years and years at the rate it gets used.

Household Tools - Kitchen (Part 1)

I have collected a large number of tools for cooking over the years. Some of them I use infrequently while there are a few that I use every day. Knives and wooden spoons are at the top of the list.

The knives that work best for me are those that are all one piece (i.e. the knife and handle are all one piece of metal). I’ve had too many wooden knife handles split over the years and recently I had a plastic handle crack. There are still some knives in the drawer with wooden and plastic handles - and I still have a butcher block knife set on the counter - but I will continue to put them in the dishwasher when I use them and not replace them when they break.

Wooden spoons last for a very long time. Some I am using are over 20 years old and have weathered the almost daily scrubbing in the dishwasher. I use them virtually every time I cook - on the stove top or in a mixing bowl. For a long time they were in a drawer, but now I have them in a tall tin next to the stove where I can grab one quickly when I cook.

What are your top kitchen tools?