On That New Sponge Feeling

There’s a lot to keep up with in modern life. You have a home to keep tidy, a job to do just enough at to stay employed (or in our case right now, picket lines to walk), bills to pay, subscriptions to cancel, shows to catch up on, movies to watch, relationships to maintain…it can be overwhelming if you think about it too much. Then there are those things you don’t think about…until you realize how long it’s been since you’ve thought about them. If you haven’t figured it out yet, I’m talking about that new sponge feeling.

Unless you’re a major type-A personality, you probably can’t tell me when the last time you replaced your sponge was…which means, it’s probably been too long. I’m just sitting here thinking about that poor old sponge in your sink, begging for the sweet release of death. It barely absorbs anymore, it barely scours, hell, it barely does anything anymore. Throw that poor sponge away and start fresh, because once you bust out that new one, you realize how truly pathetic the old one was.

That, of course, leads me to think about other objects you don’t realize are absolutely past their prime until you replace them. So, what household object naturally comes next in this train of thought? Yup, the trusty toothbrush. When you use something as often as a toothbrush, you lose sight of the wear and tear on it, you don’t notice the bristles fraying, the handle wearing out, the grime accumulating. But the moment you launch into those first few strokes with that new brush, you recognize the pitiful performance you’d been getting and somewhere a dentist smiles knowing they get to make you feel bad in the near future.

It’s not just brushes and bristles though, from towels to socks to shoes and kitchen knives, that refreshing “Ahhh” moment is always worth it. Recently we got a new set of sheets for our bed. I’d been firmly entrenched in the “what’s wrong with our sheets, they’re fine” camp and I wasn’t about to be moved. Well, I jumped off that ship as soon as those silky sweet bamboo babies touched my skin. I had completely forgotten how nice and crisp a new set of sheets could feel. I had completely forgotten how fresh they smell. I had COMPLETELY forgotten how nice they look without that random chocolate stain that may or may not have been my fault (look it’s not MY fault Ben and Jerry put such big beautiful chunks of chocolate in their ice cream)!

What makes these small moments feel kind of special is that they don’t come ALL that often. I’m no billionaire who puts on a brand new pair of socks every single morning, I don’t sit on a new couch every single night, and I certainly don’t have the bankroll to use a brand-new sponge EVERY SINGLE DAY, so when I do, I enjoy that new sponge feeling.

What’s your version of the “new sponge feeling?”