Growing up, whenever we had to apply elbow grease to anything from pots and pans to grills and golf clubs, we reached for these. They are essentially a non toxic terry cloth that has been treated with some kind of abrasive. They manage to scrub without scratching. They last a long, long time and don’t start to smell like regular sponges, We would hang them out on the clothes line and re-use them endlessly.
They have been produced in Georgia for over 85 years. Originally known as Chore Girls, they rebranded and expanded their line to include sponges and copper scrubbers, but we just stick with the cloths. The name change wasn’t fooling anyone, as UNICEF studies show that world wide Girls spend an estimated 160 million more hours per day than boys doing chores, world wide, but I digress.
We kept one for scrubbing vegetables and cutting boards. We used them on stove tops and cast iron skillets, In the garage, in the potting shed. We used them on windows, windshields, counters, stove tops, dog bowls, anywhere you find stuck on gunk or mildew. If you grab one with a set of tongs, you can clean out bottles, bird feeders and other hard to reach places. I pulled out a new one this week to scrub the outdoor grill for a new season.
We bought them at our local market in two packs. When we went out into the real world, we discovered they were not so readily available elsewhere and so we became hoarders. Stocking up whenever we returned home. My sister had moved to the Midwest and her first stop as she drove off the boat was to the local store to purchase 4 boxes to bring home with her to carry her over until the next summer.
We weren’t the only ones. One winter, a local seasonal home owner vanished into thin air. As police investigated her final movements it was found that she had bought 3 packs of chore boys at the local market before her disappearance. I’m not sure if this anecdote makes us more or less crazy:)
Now they are more readily available thanks to the online outlets, but I still buy them in bulk. Once you have used them, there is no going back. I hope they keep making them for another 85 years.