Mini-Ep 456: Towels, Rags, and Wipes, Oh My!
Elise meets a listener in the wild, and Doree’s clean couch hates to see her dog coming! Plus, listeners turn out en masse with dish towel (and/or kitchen rag) recs and we wrap up with some listener microjoys.
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Transcript
This episode transcript is AI generated.
Doree (00:10):
Hello and welcome to Forever 35, a podcast about the things we do to take care of ourselves. I'm Doris Frier.
Elise (00:16):
And I'm Elise Hugh. And we're just two friends who like to talk a lot about serums,
Doree (00:20):
And this is a mini episode where we hear from you, we share your comments and your thoughts, and we answer your questions to the best of our ability. But please do remember, we are not experts. We are podcast hosts and we do always encourage you to seek support first and foremost from a medical and or mental health professional as needed.
Elise (00:40):
I think this is officially the last mini episode taping in which my kids are still home from school for summer. Yay. By the next time we release a mini app, they will be back in school and I will be less harried and interrupted.
Doree (00:56):
Oh man. Yeah, we were just talking on the full length episode on Monday about how all of a sudden summer's
Elise (01:03):
Over,
Doree (01:04):
At
Elise (01:04):
Least
Doree (01:04):
You look like it could
Elise (01:05):
End a day earlier
Doree (01:06):
And not a moment too soon.
Elise (01:08):
That's exactly what I just said. I was like, it could not end a day sooner. I want to shout out one of our listeners, by the way, I think her name is Kristen, if I remember correctly, I was sitting at lunch or actually, so when I was in Aspen during lunchtime, they don't do assigned seats. It's like a cafeteria and it's just round tables and then you go and sit down wherever there's an empty seat. And I didn't really have a crew to hang with and so I just went and sat next to a woman who was by herself at one of the round tables and we started chatting and she works for a preschool, a network of preschools, and she was formerly in state government and has also worked for the federal government in childcare policy. And at one point I mentioned there's that podcast the longest shortest time because she has very young children. Hers are like one and three. And I was like, yeah, man, that really is illustrated by that idea that it's the longest shortest time it goes by in a blink, and yet when you're actually trying to get through a Sunday, it's like, why is there another hour to this day?
Doree (02:20):
Totally.
Elise (02:22):
Why must I fill another hour? And when we started talking about podcasts, she's like, oh wait, are you Elise Elise from Forever 35?
Doree (02:33):
Oh my gosh.
Elise (02:35):
And she's one of our longtime listeners and it was so rad that we were both like, no way. Yes. And we met just because That's so funny. She was at an empty lunch table in Aspen, so shout out to our listener and it was so much fun just to get to meet somebody out in the wild like that and up there at 8,000 feet above sea level.
Doree (02:58):
So cool.
Elise (03:00):
Yeah, I forgot to tell you about that. It was so nice. It was a nice little moment.
Doree (03:04):
That is awesome. Well, I just got home yesterday from our trip and I was just watching our dog tried to navigate the throw pillows on my office couch because we had the house cleaned before we left and he's like, what are all these pillows? And he's trying to Wait, where were these pillows before they were just around maybe somewhere on the floor, somewhere above the couch. They were just kind of, because he likes to sleep on that couch, so he does not excessive throw pillows on the couch.
Elise (03:51):
Most men, he doesn't like all the throw pillows like most men. Exactly, exactly. Every time we get into bed, Rob's like, why are there so many pillows? And I'm like, there's not that many pillows. There's one decorative pillow, but then there's the other pillows that are part of the whole bed thing.
Doree (04:08):
Wow.
Elise (04:09):
He wants his one floppy pillow that's basically as thick as two sheets put together. I don't understand.
Doree (04:15):
But he
Elise (04:16):
Can't sleep unless he has a very, very flat pillow. So whatever.
Doree (04:20):
Matt also likes a very, very flat pillow. I find this very strange.
Elise (04:27):
I know I'll get postnasal drip if I'm too. My head isn't lifted enough because sexy, I'm stuffed up all the time, so hot. I'm just stuffed up. I have various allergies and sinus problems, and so if I'm sleeping too flat, then it'll end up getting in the back of my throat. So it's a whole problem,
Doree (04:55):
Man.
Elise (04:56):
Which is why I have more pillows. Right? Such are the problems of my sleeping life in middle age.
Doree (05:03):
Oh boy. I hear you. I hear you. Elise. We got a text from a listener that said, is that Elise? I hear reading ads on Adam Grant's podcast. I was listening today and saw I know that voice. Then I thought, Hey, I can just text and ask. But we both have great
Elise (05:25):
Weekends. Yes, you can just text and ask and yes, it is me. I do all of the ads for the Ted Audio collective, so I am just a revenue promiscuous, girly.
Doree (05:41):
Love this for you.
Elise (05:44):
It's funny because I feel like my voice is on more ads than it's on content now. So back in the day people would be like, oh yeah, that was a great report about the missiles on NPR on Morning Edition this morning. And like, oh yeah, I really understood the geopolitical ramifications of that better thanks to that explainer. And now it's like, wait, were you on that ad on the daily? And yeah, there was a long time. I had a show that was promoted on the Daily a lot. So when people listened to the Daily, they didn't hear me deliver any journalism or report anything. They were hearing me do ads in the middle of the daily,
Doree (06:27):
So whatever. That is so funny.
Elise (06:28):
You know what I'm, I am honored just to be nominated. So
Doree (06:34):
I mean, look, wherever people can hear you is good, is a positive. So we also got a voicemail for you that I just want to quickly play before we take a break.
Listener Voicemail (06:51):
Hi, do, I'm calling from Texas. I was listening to one of the latest episodes of the 28th
Listener Voicemail (07:01):
And Elise had shared that she had a little bit of an abnormal mammogram, had to go back for a diagnostic mammogram and ultrasound and now she has to have a biopsy biopsy. I just wanted to share solidarity. I had my first mammogram this year and had to go through the same process, regular mammogram, they saw something second, mammogram, ultrasound, they weren't sure. Got a biopsy and everything turned out to be fine. But yeah, obviously a plug for everyone going to get their checkup that they need, but also just solidarity and machine. Is it. I to say good luck with your biopsy for Julie's it. Love the pod. Love you guys. Bye.
Elise (07:44):
Oh, we love y'all too. And yeah, this was totally just discovered on a routine mammogram, so it's a real reminder to do those preventative screens, whether it's mammogram, whether it's colonoscopy, whatever you need to get at various life stages, just go in and get 'em. Preventative screening is really great. Or even just getting the blood draws at your annual physical, I feel like that can often point to various things.
Doree (08:13):
Totally.
Elise (08:14):
Yeah. But thank you. Thank you for the call and we'll know soon enough one way or the other, whatever's going on. Yeah.
Doree (08:22):
Alright, well Elise, before we take a break, I just want to remind people they can call or text us at (781) 591-0390. You can also email us voice memos, which we love at Forever 35 podcast@gmail.com. The quality is always better when you email us a voice memo. You can also visit our website forever 35 podcast.com. We have links there to everything we mentioned on the show. We're on Instagram at five podcast. You can sign up for our newsletter at five podcast com slash newsletter and shop our favorite products at shop my us slash forever three five. And after the break we have many dish towel wrecks. In fact, we've got so many dish towel wrecks that some of them are going in next week's episode.
Elise (09:05):
Dish towels. So popular towels. Such a popular topic
Doree (09:08):
Here. I know people have strong opinions and you know what, I respect that.
Elise (09:12):
Alright, we'll be right back.
Doree (09:21):
Okay, we are back. We got a text that said during Elise, I was laughing out loud by the spoiler alert, warning for the little mermaid for the listener asking about dish towels slash rags. They're right on about quantity over quality. I have two big stacks of towels on a shelf in the stairways down to the basement right off the kitchen and grab those for exactly what the listener described. Basic cotton ones work. Well, one other suggestion that helped us move away from using so much paper towel is getting cloth napkins. I purchased them from Etsy and they are bright kid friendly prints. My only complaint about the ones I purchased is that they're a little bit on the small side at six inches by seven inches. I keep them in a basket on the table.
Elise (10:06):
That's a great idea. I should put my old cloth napkins to use as more of a kind of rag situation. I have old ones that I don't use for dinner anymore and so we're hosting or anything and so why don't I use those? They're just sitting. There's just a stack of them in a closet somewhere. So good idea.
Doree (10:26):
All right. Next for the person looking for kitchen towels, I have two packs of these and love them. I use them for everything. Cleaning the kitchen, dusting, wiping the counter, drying my hands, wiping my kids. I have so many that I don't need the same one for my kids' face and the ones that I use on the counters and they have a link to these dish towels on Amazon that are called Zeppole Classic dish towels. They're kind of the ones that you'd see in a restaurant. Restaurant kitchen I should say.
Elise (10:59):
Okay. Yep.
Doree (11:00):
Like white with the light blue stripe they sell for, looks like they're 15 for $20 on Amazon.
Elise (11:08):
Nice.
Doree (11:09):
And then this person goes on to say these a hundred percent cotton dish towels are super absorbent, quick drying and built to last. Get a pack of 15 for all your kitchen cleaning needs. You don't want to miss it. I found them on wire cutter. I also always have a pile of microfiber towels that I use to clean slash dust everything. I also keep an extra laundry basket in my powder room far from the bedroom for kitchen towels and random clothes. My family leaves all over the house. I'm surprised at how passionate I feel about these towels.
Elise (11:40):
Sometimes we surprise ourselves.
Doree (11:42):
It's so true. Love this suggestion. And going back to the first listener's text, I do think that in this situation it is you do want to find that perfect balance of quantity and quality for this purpose. You don't want the fancy dish towels that cost like $20 a piece.
Elise (12:03):
Yes.
Doree (12:03):
You know what I mean? Exactly. You don't want something that's like a total piece of crap, but you also need something that is going to be not that expensive.
Elise (12:14):
Exactly.
Doree (12:14):
It sounds like these are good. The perfect Venn diagram. Someone else also recommended as a paper towel alternative, the Dresh brand cloths. And we'll link to all of these as
Elise (12:29):
Well. So these dura fresh brand cloths we use when I'm having a party sometimes and there's a lot of folks that are going to be, yeah, I was recommended these by Adella, who works my parties a lot and she really likes these just for a way for folks to dry their hands or a way for her to clean and kind of dry, but also be sustainable. Cut the cost of all the paper towels.
Doree (13:02):
I had never heard of these.
Elise (13:04):
I hadn't either until Adela. Yeah,
Doree (13:07):
Love this. Someone else recommended these members. Mark microfiber towels. You can get them at Sam's Club. I think they're also sold other places, but this person linked to ones at Sam's Club. This person says, I got this pack of microfiber rags at Sam's Club during COVID has 36 in a pack, still going strong. Not those beautiful colors. So we keep them under the sink so folks don't need to see them. Not a replacement for a decorative dish towel. That's kind of like what we were just talking about, the decorative dish towel versus the kitchen rag. These absorb way better than paper towels and we keep a separate laundry bin for them in case there are food bits in them and wash them as needed. They're amazing for replacing paper towels, cleaning tasks, and keeping the kitchen and bathroom clean. We also use them to dust multipurpose.
Elise (13:54):
Amazing. Okay, that's good that it's useful for dusting.
Doree (13:57):
Yes. Okay. All right. Now we have a voicemail, and this isn't so much about replacing paper towels with reusable things, but it's more of like a life hack, especially I think if you have kids.
Listener Voicemail (14:15):
Hey Dorie and Elise, this message is for the listener that was looking for some type of rag to clean up after her kids and on surfaces and clean her kids' mouth or hands. I have found I buy wet wipes, like wipes that you would buy to wipe the kid's butt, but just like water from Costco by the carton, by the box. And I'll get them delivered through Instacart and I'll get four huge boxes and I thought those in little OXO popup things around the house so you can just pop it off, grab one, the kids grab 'em, they wipe their hands or their mouth. I use them to wipe. I'm in a constant state of wiping counters, wiping the floor. I really wish I was the person that could have something reusable and I've tried all the rags and they just get moldy or dirty or smelly or I haven't washed them and I need one. So anyway, for this stage in my life with a three-year old and a 6-year-old and in a constant state of wiping all the things, those are what's working for us now. I love it. It makes my life easier. I have a little O that pop up in every room. Hope they work for you.
Elise (15:31):
Now I'm looking up these OXO popups. Oh those Yes, yes. I have many of those. Yes.
Doree (15:36):
Okay. Yes. I was going to say if you have kids, you almost definitely have one of these.
Elise (15:41):
Okay. We will link to these.
Doree (15:44):
You can get a full-size one. But then we also had one that we would take with us in the stroller that is called the OXO TT on the go wipes dispenser that holds maybe, I don't know, a hundred wipes or something. Awesome. So that's also also an option. And we have one more dish towel voice memo voicemail. And again, this is not even all of the ones that we received. There are more that will be on next week. So here we go.
Listener Voicemail (16:13):
Hi, this is Bethany calling from New Hampshire. I had a pause the pod moment while I was listening to Mini-Ep 454 and the listeners request for dishcloth to wipe off counters and children. This is one area where I feel like I've got a system that is really working for me and maybe it'll work for your lifter as well. We use cloth bar mop towels. It's basically, it's basically just a washcloth. I bought mine at Target probably 10 years ago. I must have bought two packs of six. I have gray ones that I use in my kitchen for the countertop. And then for my kids, I just buy bulk washcloths from PJ Maxx or Marshalls. I have my kids color coded. So the older kid, everything of his is blue, his washcloth, his bath towel, his toothbrush, his backpack. If it belongs to him, it's blue.
(17:11):
My second kid, if it belongs to him, it's green. So we have blue and green washcloth in our kitchen. We have a little rack where we hang up the towel for wiping the counters, the wash cloth for kid one, the wash cloth for kid two. We use them for the day a few times a day whenever we need to wipe off children or counters. And because they're color coded, we know what goes to what and at the end of the day we just put 'em all in the wash and set out a fresh be. It's been working really well for us for a few years now. So I highly recommend color coded regular old washcloth for all of the purposes. I hope that helps. Have a great day.
Elise (17:48):
I love color coding your kids' stuff. I wish I would've thought of this since I have three of them.
Doree (17:55):
Yeah, I guess for me it's not as much of an issue, but yeah, if you have more than one child,
Elise (17:59):
I am writing this down because I'm making a list of hacks that are listeners have shared over the summer. There've been lots of good hacks when it comes to charging cables and how to clean a tutu and how to recycle stuffies. And so I feel like we have one big omnibus hack newsletter that we can easily put
Doree (18:21):
Together. Totally. Alright, well again, we'll have more of these next week. So if you have dish towel or hacks
Elise (18:32):
Rag. Yeah.
Doree (18:33):
Color coded hacks, write in, call in, let us know. Okay. We're going to take another short break and then after the break we have a request for a skincare wreck and we also have a couple of micro joys.
Elise (18:47):
Yay. Okay, we'll be right back.
Doree (18:56):
Okay, we are back. The skincare request was a text that we got that said, do you have a great hyaluronic acid that you recommend? Elise's nodding
Elise (19:06):
Yes. Yes I do. And it recently spilled on a trip. I am very into K beauty products. I wrote a book on K beauty products, so I'm going to recommend the K Beauty hyaluronic acid by Radden. It's called the Toin Dive-in serum. I think it's wonderful and I am lamenting that I've lost half a bottle recently, so thanks for asking. Now I'm just reminded of my grief.
Doree (19:36):
I would also recommend, if you're just looking for straight hyaluronic acid, I would recommend Timeless Timeless Skincare, which makes very inexpensive high quality products. And they have just a straight up a hundred percent pure hyaluronic acid. You can get a travel sample size one ounce container for 11 95, 2 ounces is 1695 and then they have a big ass eight ounce jug of it for 44 95, which compared to the other size, it sounds like a lot. But most other skincare brands charge more than that for one and a half ounces. And they also have a subscribe and save, so you can save 20%. So their products are really, really high quality. And then if you want something that is like a combo situation, they also have a hyaluronic acid and vitamin C serum that is 2295. Oh, I never saw that before. These must be new. They have these pouches
Elise (20:43):
Ampules,
Doree (20:44):
Yeah, it looks like they'd be good for travel.
Elise (20:46):
Great.
Doree (20:47):
If that's your thing.
Elise (20:49):
Word.
Doree (20:50):
Okay, so those are my wrecks. If other people have wrecks, please let us know. And then Micro Joys, we got a text that said Micro Joy report buying a beautiful mug from a favorite local pottery artist to drink coffee at the office. Out of that is that reminded me lovely of something. I saw one of my Facebook friends post, I say Facebook friends because it's someone I don't really know that well in real life. I've met her maybe once or twice in my life, so she really seems like a Facebook friend to me. But she just posted this lovely thing about how she had gone to one of those Make your own Pottery Studios
Listener Voicemail (21:29):
With
Doree (21:30):
Her daughter and she had made a mug and she was sitting there drinking coffee out of the mug and it just made her happy. And so, I dunno, maybe there is something about this either making your own mug or getting a meaningful mug for yourself. I like this a lot. And then we also got a voicemail about Micro Joy.
Listener Voicemail (21:54):
Hi Dorie and Elise. My name is Jessica. I'm calling from Texas. I just wanted to add to the conversation around Micro Joys and two that I've been enjoying. One is maybe very common, but I've been enjoying just lighting my candles. I have a deep candle collection. I love candles. I love scents. Especially ones tied to the seasons and I feel like I'm always waiting for the right time to enjoy them. But I've just been lighting them whenever I feel like I need a scent. Even if it's a fall candle in the summer or a Christmas candle right now. It just really helps and there's no point in saving it because we need joys every day. The other thing that I have really been enjoying is going back and watching old episodes of TV shows and I'm talking about old episodes. I was watching old episodes of the coffee show, old episodes of living single, old episodes of Family Guy. Just old episodes where the stakes are incredibly low just to have something in the background while I'm cleaning. But yeah, those are some other micro joys that I have been enjoying
Elise (23:03):
As we're on the topic of candles recently with my quince code since Quince is one of our sponsors. And you all have a quince code too for free shipping if you use the code forever 35. I got the NAI yuzu candle at Quince for $24 and it's awesome. It's huge. It makes my entire downstairs smell awesome. It's a citrus scent yuzu and I love it. And it was 24 bucks. I think it's a dupe for something. I think it's a dupe for a very familiar scent. But Quince candles, who knew I didn't know. We usually are buying linen shorts from there or their affordable Mongolian cashmere. But no, get with the quince candles. They're pretty good.
Doree (23:55):
Okay, lots of options. Hot tip from Elise. Get the quince candle. Okay. Yeah. Alright, everyone, that just about wraps things up for us. Thanks for listening. Thanks for supporting us. We appreciate you and we will talk to you soon. Take care,
Elise (24:18):
Talk again next time. Bye
Doree (24:19):
Bye.