I use a sponge (and my cars near concourse). It's all down to how you look after the equipment you use to clean mate, there really isn't any need to start spending fortunes on it all.
Keep the sponge clean. Separate one for the wheels as you do, another for the bodywork. If the car is dirty when you wash, jetwash off first to clean the crap off. Don't use a sponge as it'll turn the dirt into a rubbing compound. As daft as it sounds, don't use your clean sponge on a dirty car. Get as much crap off before the sponge even touches the car. I'll cover my routine for this later !!!
Don't use washing up liquid - I use Johnson's baby shampoo which has a neutral PH. Cheaper than car shampoo and leaves no residue. I wash a panel at a time, then rinse off with clean water. Don't be too concerned about drying off just yet. Once the whole car has been washed, I spend at least 5 minutes hosing her off making sure all the bubbles etc have been thoroughly rinsed off and the panels are cool if doing if sunlight. Ideally now the car should be put in a garage to get her out the sun and away from dust / dirt in the air. Drying a car with that is again like using rubbing compound on your paint !! Use a decent quality drying cloth, or at the very least a clean chamoix. I actually prefer the synthetic ones myself. I spend at least an hour drying my car, but spend the first 5 / 10 minutes getting the surface water off the exterior just to stop any water marks which can be a pain in the arse to polish. Open the doors, let the water run out, same with the boot and bonnet. Once the car is totally dry, you are then ready to polish. For this, I use Autoglym perfect polishing cloth. The polish I use a trade stuff that you can't buy. It doesn't last very long but gives a finish like no other polish I've ever used, and I've tried them all !!! Polish one panel at a time, with an area no larger than about a foot square at a time. Take you time, apply the polish liberally but a thin enough coat that you won't be feeling like you're using T-Cut. Personally I avoid AutoGlym polishes as they leave far too much residue for my liking. Such a small area means you take your time, but any dust in the air won't cling to the polish and again act as a rubbing compound. I can easily spend 4 or 5 hours doing my car this way. Make sure you go right round the door shuts, sunroof surround, boot surround etc with the same care as the doors, bonnet etc. If it's painted, clean it, dry it and polish it. It's the finishing touches that make the difference between a clean car and a really clean car !! Don't use any jazzy dashboard products etc, all you want is a damp cloth to wipe down the interior of the car. I use the tyre foam on the rubber, be careful with this as if it gets onto the bodywork it can be a bit of a pig to get off, and you won't be happy if you've just polished that panel.....
My Golden Rules:
1) Once the sponge is finished with, put in the sink in cold water for a couple of hours. Lets all the soap suds out and any dirt with sink. You can then just wring out for 2 minutes and clean. Leave indoors to dry naturally and then wrap in some porous cloth to allow it to breathe.
2) Same procedure with the chamoix, but then store in sealed plastic food bag with a few holes in to vent.
3) If you drop anything on the floor whilst cleaning, discard it and get another.
This is by no means a comprehensive guide to my cleaning routine, but a general overview of how I do things. Others may disagree but all IMO......of course !!
Bit off topic I know but hope this may be of some benefit.
Stuart