Ideal Bite

In a move that apparently makes me horrifically old-fashioned (if any of my peers are indications), I admit to being quite attached to cleaning my counters with actual dishcloths.  If I spill something that is a bigger job than a cloth can handle, I grab an old tea towel and soak it up. Everything tosses into the washer. To me, this makes perfect sense.

For whatever reason, it seems like most people I know use some version of a freakin' babywipe to sweep down their counters. And god forbid a glass of wine upends on the counter or kitchen floor...out come the paper towels - a whole roll in the service of mopping up something that could just as easily have been sucked into washable, reusable towel.

When did we become such creepy germophobes?  Has anyone ever seen any studies that show that moms who use bleach-infused wipes have kids with fewer bouts of sickness than those who use a dishcloth - maybe even a cloth that is a day past its prime and might need to head to the laundry?  (This isn't rhetorical - if you know of a study, let me know...I've never found one.) Is it really more convenient to go to the store to buy a plastic package of countertop-babywipes, find said wipes under the sink, rip out seven or eight, use them to clean, and then recycle the plastic package when they are all out, than it is to wash and fold a few cloths and towels? 

Really?

-Heather...off to stop feeling sanctimonious, but still puzzled...