Next time you need to stock up on pricey microfiber rags or disposable electrostatic dust cloths, opt for flour sack towels instead. Flour sack towels outperform microfiber and disposable dust cloths for cleaning and dusting all areas of your home. They're large, absorbent, durable, and (perhaps most importantly) cheap.

What in the World are Flour Sack Towels?

They're called "flour sack towels" because the tightly woven cotton used to hold flour from the mid-1800s through the 1950s was repurposed into towels, bedding, and clothing by the resourceful women of days gone by. 

Read:

• Feedsack Quilt History for an interesting history lesson.
• Funny poem The Flour Sack, by Colleen B. Hubert.

Where to Buy

Flour sacks are widely available at most drug, discount, and dollar stores.  Find them with the dish towels; look for the label "flour sack towels."  Perhaps in an effort to sound a bit more genteel, flour sack towels are sometimes marketed as "tea towels."  Traditional tea towels are made from linen–neither cheap nor useful for the cleaning tips listed below.  To make sure you're buying a flour sack towel no matter what the label says, run through this checklist:

• 100% cotton
• Soft to the touch
• Thin (not like a cloth diaper)
• Appears to be lint-free
• Approximate size:  21×32 inches
• Costs about $1 per towel

OK, So They're Cheap.  But Do They Clean?

Boy Howdy! I've been using a set of flour sack towels my grandma hand-embroidered for me for about 3 years. I use up the whole darn stash just about every day as I do general cleaning and trail after my messy kiddos.  I've been meaning to buy more, but they still look great after several hundred washings–and I use chlorine bleach, people!

I'm sure you all can think of many more super ideas for using flour sack towels.  Here are a few of my favorite uses:

• Dusting:
  • Flour sack towels are lint-free, making them ideal for dry-dusting TV and computer screens. 
  • Use them with furniture polish or lemon oil for dusting wood furniture. 
  • They hold onto dirt better than any microfiber/Swiffer-style cloth I've used, so they're great for dusting ceiling fans and blinds.
• Baby: 
  • Bib: tie the short end around your baby's neck to cover her body from chin to knees, or fold the towel in half for cup practice or messy foods for double-layer absorbency.
  • Burp Cloth: lip one over your shoulder to burp a gassy baby–supersized flour sack towels cover more of you (always a good thing when you're in the line of upchuck fire). I did this so many times when the baby started screaming just as I started prepping dinner. Saved me 30 seconds from trekking to her room in search of a burp cloth–in screamtime, that's 4 perceived hours.
• Kitchen: 
  • Lint-free flour sack towels are fantastic for drying dishes, particularly glassware, without streaking.
  • Wipe up messy kitchen spills: coffee, marinara, grease–I use them on everything, because the stains come out easily in the wash with a scoop of Biz or cup of Clorox, no problem.
  • Cover dough to keep it from drying out as it rises, or cover baked goods to keep insects and dust out while they cool without trapping steam inside as foil or plastic wrap can.
  • Weird but true point on sanitary cleaning: flour sack towels don't trap hair (like cloth napkins and terry cloth towels do),so you won't have to pore over your towels looking for icky stray hairs before you use them around food.
  • Dry lettuce and veggies after washing–just wrap the food in a clean flour sack towel and gently squeeze.
  • Note:  Don't use fabric softener if you use flour sack towels for food prep–nobody wants their brownies to smell April Fresh!
  • Shine your faucet with the damp flour sack towel after you finish drying dishes, then use it to spot-mop the kitchen floor–3 cleaning tasks quickly done with 1 towel.
• Windows and Mirrors:  Have I mentioned that flour sack towels are lint-free? 

Pretty 'Em Up!

If you just can't hang with plain ol' white, grab some embroidery floss when it hits 5 for $1 at Joann Fabrics.  Miss the sale?  Expect to pay a whopping 33 cents per skein.  You'll also need a needle and scissors. An embroidery hoop is nice, but not mandatory.  Get a basic wooden embroidery hoop for under $2 at any fabric or craft store.

• Check out Sublime Stitching (tagline:  This ain't your gramma's embroidery!) for embroidery tutorials, kits, and patterns.   
  • Instructions are free online here, and also included with kits and patterns.
  • Reusable embroidery patterns are $3.50-$4.50 for sheets of retro-cool designs.  My faves:  Krazy Kitchen and Mermaids.
• Needlecrafter.com has a huge, searchable, and free embroidery pattern library–love the designs in the Geometric category.
• If you're lazy, pay someone else to do the work for you.  Vintage Lucy's has kitschy photos overlayed with subversive jokes on housewifery, like "Make Yourself at Home–Clean My Kitchen."  $8.50 each, plus $4.75 shipping on orders up to $40 makes these not cheap at all, but I thought they were so cool, I couldn't leave them out!

Clean on the Cheap:  Get hundreds, potentially thousands, of uses out of multi-tasking flour sack towels for about $1 each, or as little as $2 all gussied up.

Paper towels, flour sack towels, microfiber, Swiffer–what do you use to clean and dust?  Join the discussion in the forum!

I stumbled upon a display for SPINLASH™ in the beauty section of Target last week and decided to give this whirling mascara wand, well, a whirl.  Spinlash is a battery-operated mascara wand that rotates 360 degrees as you apply it to your lashes.  The patent-pending motion claims to eliminate clumps and maximize each and every little hair on your eyelid. 

Does it work?  Is it worth $14.99? 

Yes! The Spinlash spinning motion did not clump my lashes even when I applied the second-and-a-half coat, and it did succeed in grabbing each little teensy lash that my normal wand would miss.  My eyelashes looked more professional and less haphazardly clumped than usual.  I have compared it over the last week and I can say that I'm a believer.
   
Although Spinlash comes with mascara, I prefer using it with my old standard favorite brand.  It is a beauty tool, rather than a disposable beauty product, for you can keep using the wand (replacing the battery) and purchasing whatever mascara you already dig when you run out.  It is not tested on animals and is safe for contact lens wearers.

(OK, I AM almost to the giveaway part now.) 

Being the blogging weirdo that I am, my first thought when I liked the product was, "This will be cool for a Blissfully Domestic…heeeeey, I wonder if Spinlash will give some to readers?"  So I shamelessly asked.  They were into it.  Not only is Akasha a cutting edge new beauty company, they're generous too! 

FIVE lucky commenters, randomly chosen, will receive their very own SPINLASH set including the super cool spinning wand and black mascara.  Just leave a little love by midnight Thursday June 5 and we'll announce the winners next Friday!

Just in time for you to bat your perfectly coiffed eyelashes all summer long.

Jessica also writes about parenting at her personal blog A Parent in Silver Spring.

Have you been working on chopping away at you debt but feel that you need some more info? Here are a few links for more specific information.

Snowballing is all about paying your debts in the correct order.
Generally speaking you should attempt to pay off the debts with the
highest interest rate first. Use the Snowball Debt Calculator here.

Total Money Makeover

Financial Peace for the Next Generation - A financial management curriculum for high-school students.

Junior’s Clubhouse (Dave Ramsey for kids) - Products and advice for teaching kids about money.

Dave Says Newspaper Column - Includes archives.

Whether you are tall and love to wear flats or you just prefer the
comfort that a flat shoe provides, here's some more foot candy for your
closet.

Q: I
wear flats to work - but i was wondering if it would look OK to wear a
skirt with flats (like a pencil or a-line skirt.) Would you mind
suggesting other skirts that might look good with flats, if any!?

Wardrobe 911's Solution:
Lots of flat shoes can work with skirts — you just need to keep the skirt style in mind when selecting the right shoe. 

Because pencil skirts are more narrow at the knee, you don't want to
wear a round-toe flat or it will visually shorten the length of your
legs.  Wearing a pointy-toe flat like the one shown is perfect and creates a longer line.

If the skirt is straight like this tan one, pointy toe and square-toe styles look best. 

For a skirt like the a-line style
that our reader likes, you can get away with wearing shoes that have
varying toe styles: from pointy, to round to peep-toe.  We're coveting
this peep-toe Origami shoe by Sergio Rossi that is perfect with bare legs and a great pedicure.  For colder weather, pair gray tights with this burgundy suede flat.

Whether you're wearing a pencil, straight, or A-line skirt, the key
is in the length, or where the skirt hits your leg.  Generally, flats
do not provide the elongating effect that heels tend to give (unless of
course you're a 5'10" supermodel), so keep the length of your skirt
right at the knee to avoid looking stumpy or dowdy.  There are always
exceptions to the rules, so before you run out of the house, take a
step back and look at the proportions of your outfit.

[courtesy of wardrobe911.com]

Do you like the idea of making your own baby shower, wedding, graduation or birthday gifts but just don't know what to make?  Here are some links to get you started!

Sure a hand-written note in a blank card is nicer than a Hallmark, but have you ever wanted to make a beautiful greeting card?  Check out this website to get started making your own lovely and personal cards.

Associated Content has some great homemade wedding gift ideas for any budget. 

Making handmade baby gifts has never been easier with these great ideas!

Living a Better Life has a master  list of handmade gift ideas for every single holiday and special occasion.