Top Thirteen Uses for a Microfiber Cloth

I first encountered microfiber cloths in the Solutions Catalog. I'd get the promo emails and I'd drool, then I'd delete the email and go about my day. They were cloths. We had cloths. I didn't need any more.

Oh, if only I'd known.

I can't remember what pushed me to finally order a set from Amazon. (I'm pretty sure it was the Active Ion demonstration.) My 36 Zipes Microfiber Cloths arrived and our lives changed.

OK. Maybe that's a bit extreme. But still! Do you know how awesome these things are? Even M is a convert and he didn't even complain too much when I bought another set of 36 from Costco. (What? They were bigger. And on sale. And. And. I needed more. Plus, I've been giving them as gifts. So there.)

Don't believe me? Well, maybe this list of top thirteen things you can do with microfiber cloths will convince you! (It started as a top ten list, but I couldn't stop...)

1. Best dust cloths ever. They trap dust like nobody's business.
2. Best window washing cloths ever. They don't leave any little lint streaks behind. Seriously.
3. Replacement for Swiffer wet AND dry cloths. Save the environment and never run out! Squeee!
4. Best dishcloths ever. One swipe of a microfiber cloth over a plate and it's instantly dry. Even better, one microfiber cloth will dry a mountain of dishes!
5. Best hand towel ever. Dry your hands and they're instantly dry. Say goodbye to that clammy not quite dry feeling you get from dishcloths.
6. Burp cloths! Do you have a baby who seems to spit up more than he drinks? Large microfiber cloths will be your saving grace. Super soft and super absorbent. Need I say more?
7. Cloth diaper liner. I'm not a cloth diaperer, but I know a mom who swears by these. It makes sense, they absorb a ton of liquid and they're super soft.
8. Sop up spills. Kids spill something on a rug, bed, or carpet? Use a microfiber cloth to mop up the spill. You'll get more out of that carpet than you would with a regular towel or dishcloth. (Even works on toddler pee! Don't ask me how I know.)
9. Car multipurpose cloth. Use it to dust the dash, mop up spills, clean messy kids, whatever comes up. And you know it does.
10. Screen cleaner. A tiny bit of moisture and some gentle elbowgrease and all those fingerprints, smudges, and whatever else is clouding up your computer screen, TV screen, or phone screen will be history.
11. Jewelry and silver polish. Gentle enough for all your most valuable valuables, tough enough for the grime covering them.
12. Baby and kid wipes. A damp microfiber cloth will wipe a chocolatey face clean faster than any paper towel. And if you're trying to be a greener parent you could do worse than use a stack of these instead of disposable wipes. A little spray bottle of water and you're set to handle the most foul of diapers!
13. CD/DVD cleaner. In a house filled with children there are few CDs that aren't covered in fingerprints and unidentifiable sticky substances. These cloths can make them shine like new again.

Have I convinced you yet? Buy a set, if you're not an instant convert you can send them to me. I bet I can find a thing or ten to do with them.

Just try it.

Every decision I make always seems momentous, like it's the be all end all way things are going to end up. The stress this causes is paralyzing, what if I make the wrong choice? What if I choose the wrong path?

For years I was convinced that there was no such thing as a "wrong choice". I told myself that once a decision was made the only option was to make sure that it was the right one. I made sure to head down my chosen path with a sure step, no looking back, no second guessing. Pick something and then commit.

To be fair, when you are a teenager or a young adult, waffling is not really an option. There are huge life changing decisions waiting around each corner and indecision can be disastrous. To make things worse you have a skewed notion of time and it feels as though each choice you make will affect the rest of your life. Then you grow up and you realize that what you thought was a long time is really just a hiccup along the road of your life.

I think I've finally grown up. While I still believe in making any choice be the right one, I no longer believe that every decision is set in stone. One of the great things about life is that it's long, definitely long enough to try new things just for the sake of seeing how they work for you.

Want a new hobby? Take a class or two. If it turns out to not be your thing, all you've wasted is a little money and a little time. The knowledge you've gained, both about the subject and about yourself, is well worth it.
Bored with your career? Life is long, maybe it's time to start researching a new field. It's a win win situation. Either you'll discover that you are in the right job, or you'll find something that's better suited to your strengths.
Itching to spread your wings? Go! If you hate the place you're headed, you can always go back.
Next time you are faced with a fork in the road, don't torture yourself, chose the road that feels right to you, then give yourself a deadline. When that time is up, if you're miserable, you'll know it's time to try something else, and if you're happy, then you'll know you made the right choice.

Seize the moment

This question arrived in my inbox a few days ago, but it's taken me a while to come up with a great answer.

"I recently hurt myself and I've since learned to appreciate the feeling of being pain free. When everything is fine how do you remember to appreciate what you have?"

If this were an easy question to answer countless poets wouldn't have waxed and wained about it endlessly. When everything is going along perfectly it's all too easy to take your blessings for granted; the health of your loved ones, the relative soundness of your home, even the simple things like a morning kiss. Sometimes it takes an accident or an injury to remind you of what you have and how it should be treasured. OK, maybe treasured is too strong, how about simply appreciated? In truth though, it shouldn't take a catastrophe to make you aware of the world that surrounds you.

All you need is a subtle mind shift, and maybe the creation of a habit or two. When you stand in the shower in the morning, instead of going over your list of to-dos, take a minute to make a mental list of 5 things for which you are grateful. Don't have five minutes in the shower? Make your list just before you fall asleep, or in the moment before you finally have to open your eyes, or whenever you are doing a mindless task. If you have a ton of spare time, feel free to write this short list down, maybe on days when you are feeling under the weather it can help make you feel more positive.

Thinking positively is just the first step. Being aware is the second. When you drive down the street, take a moment to notice a pretty yard or a nice house. When your child yammers on non-stop in the car, appreciate the fact that he is yammering, one day he'll be a teen and you won't hear more than grunts out of him. When a friend wears a nice shirt, tell her! Taking a minute to notice and making a note, mental or verbal, is what is going to help you appreciate the minutia of daily life. It's what makes living life a million miles an hour bearable, and, dare I say it, pleasurable.

How do you make sure to take notice of your world? What do you do to make sure you don't take things for granted?

Just say NO!

Just in time for the weekend I'm going to share a secret with all of you.
Listen carefully now!
All of those soul sucking events that people keep guilting you into attending? You know, the bbq at the cousin's friend's house, the little neighbor's recital, the millionth birthday party your child has been invited to this year, your room-mate's boyfriend's housewarming party? All of those events that drain you of your energy and clutter your weekends to the point of rendering them more exhausting than your work week? You can, I promise it's ok, just shout NO!

OK. Maybe screaming NO! is a little harsh. But just the same, I guarantee that if you politely decline, the world will not stop spinning, the sun will not stop shinning, and the person doing the inviting will not stop speaking to you. I know this because I've been practicing for years now.

The first few times you decline an invitation, just because you don't want to go, are pretty nerve wracking. A part of you huddles in the corner of your brain, convinced that the invitor will know that you have nothing else planned and that you are just brushing them off. You crouch there just waiting for them to jump up and down pointing at you screaming accusations. But then they just say "Oh well. That's too bad.", or something to that effect, and they drop the subject. And the only thing that happens? You have an evening to yourself. It's amazing, and so incredibly freeing!

Now before you get all carried away, let me say one more thing. The key to this whole system is to make sure you don't give a reason. If you start giving reasons the person will undoubtedly try to convince you to choose between what you have "planned" and what they are offering. Going for an excuse no one can argue with is dangerous. Seriously, how many times can you bury your grandma? So you stay as vague as possible; "Wow, that sounds like an amazing talent show. I wish I could come, but I just can't make it. I'm sorry." The other person won't dare ask why, clearly if you had been comfortable mentioning why you would have, and you are in the clear. The best part about being that vague is that you are free to change your mind if it turns out that the event becomes enticing. "You know, it turns out I am free after all! I'm so glad I can come!"

Go out into the world and reclaim your free time! Only attend the events that truly make your heart sing! You will be a much happier person in the long run, and you'll feel that much better about yourself.

Plan to conquer!

How many times have you started the day overwhelmed and stressed even before you roll out of bed? Too many things to do, not enough time. Sometimes it's not the sheer number of things that are paralyzing, sometimes it's just one monster task that is pinning your tush in the bed. I've been there too, and to make things worse I'm the queen of procrastination.
I get to work, check my email, check a few blogs, chat with a coworker or two, get some water, open the mail, check another blog or three, and eventually turn my attention to my to-do list. Sadly most of the time that's when I realize that I didn't make a list before leaving the night before and all of my positive resolve flies out the window. On days that an unpleasant task is staring me down not having a to-do list can easily paralyze me for a few more hours.
The sad thing about my terrible work habits is that making a plan would save me hours of anxiety. If I leave work without having made a dent in the monster I end up agonizing about it all night and by the next morning my monster has grown, making it even more impossible to conquer.
I once learned the Weight Watchers motto "if you fail to plan, you plan to fail." It's true for weight loss, and it's true for everything else in life. No problem or situation can't be broken down into small portions, and once the portions are bite size, there's no situation that can't be handled head on. A big project at work, a hard piece of music, a huge party to plan, even dinner or an evening routine, all of it seems more manageable if you consider it piece by piece instead of as a whole.
So go out there and beat all of those monsters into submission, start with a plan and plan to succeed!

Second Chance

I truly believe that everyone and every situation deserves a second chance, but it's not always easy to let that happen. If you think hard for a minute I bet that you can come up with at least one person or situation that could have benefited from being revisited; a friendship that you gave up on too quickly, a coworker that you wrote off after just one altercation, a job that you could have scored if you'd tried just a little bit harder to wow the interviewer.
Some days we are just not at our best. In some situations we don't shine, and when we go home we spend days beating ourselves up about what we did, or didn't, do. All of that wasted time could be put to much better use. You can be sure that the other party isn't agonizing over the details like you. And in the end it's much more efficient to pick up the phone or send an email than to torture yourself. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be so blunt." "I don't think we started off on the right foot, how about we get some coffee and get better acquainted." "I'm afraid I didn't present myself in the best light. Would you have a moment to chat with me some more?" These are just a few examples. There are many other ways that a slight can be repaired or a bridge can be mended. Very few situations can't be improved if you are willing to swallow your pride and make the first move. It's not easy, but there's no doubt that it's worth the trouble.
So who, or what, in your life deserves a second chance? What are you going to do about it?

This post was inspired by the Sunday Scribblings prompt Second Chance.