Where do you keep your sponge or dishcloth? Check out this Stainless Steel Sponge Caddy from the Museum of Useful Things. It lets your sponge drip dry - hopefully suspended over the sink - instead of sitting in its own juices on the counter.
We like a dry, clean sponge - check out another idea on sponges tomorrow! (via Mighty Goods)
Elizabeth Apron fro...

yes, it looks very nice and modern but how would you keep it clean? would this be yet another thing with fingerprints on it? (you might say, i am over stainless) i say either stick your sponges in the dishwasher or get a plastic sponge holder that you can 'hide' in your sink basin.
I use a cylindrical metal kitchen utensil holder from IKEA. It looks similar to the above caddy, just a different shape. I use handle sponges so they're easy to grab.
I set mine in a cute soap dish with the raised little bumps so it can dry out.
I too use a soap dish. This smart stainless number with drainage holes:
http://www.amazon.com/Steeltek-Basic-Rectangular-Stainless-Steel-Soap/dp/customer-reviews/B0006A0306
Every so often I just need to clean out the holder. It's always a surprise how it looks under the drainplate...
If you've taken as much food safety classes as I have, you would never, ever, not in a million years use a sponge again. Unless you kept it soaking in bleach solution when not in use, which destroys them quickly. Even "dry" these things are like a giant petri dish. They are the ideal home for harmful bacteria. Salmonella, staph, e coli all can lurk in your sponge.
Myself, I have a huge drawer full of dish towels. I use them once. If I'm using them to wipe or wash something like meat, I grab a fresh one. When I'm done, I put the towel in a tote bag I keep on the kitchen door just for this purpose. About once a week I wash them with a little bleach. The only thing nearly as gross as a sponge is a wash rag hung over the sink to dry and be used again.
I bought a small metal basket in the bathroom section at ikea that I keep soap, lotion, & dishbrush in, and also a matching suction cupped soap holder which I attached to it to hold the sponge. It hangs over the sink so if it drips, no biggie. Perfect.
Can anyone recommend what else to use thats not a sponge? If they're so bad I'd like to use something else if possible. I use a dishrag for wiping counters, and the sponge or brush for washing non-dishwasher things...