I guess this belongs in a linked group of other Mudcat threads (neat or messy, downsizing, etc), and those can be added later.

But I have four hot kitchen tips now-- wish I'd known 'em sooner-- and I wanna post before I forget 'em!


1. Set a soapdish/drainer in or near the drainboard for those little bottle tops that are so easy to lose in the big drainer's wide slats. Use them when you refill your recycled bottles (like Starbucks yummy iced coffees) with your homemade, healthier alternatives.

2. Small household, dishes piling up? An old pot's handle can be removed to make a soapy-water pot to sit in the sink. Plop dirty dishes, glassware, or utensils in there as used, one or two at a time. Next time you pass the sink, just rinse one or two of the soaked and now-clean items, and set them to dry. No more dishes piling up. Saves water.

3. Like to sanitize dishes in the dishwasher, but too few people to run a full load? Use the DW as your drainer. As you handwash a few dishes at a time, set 'm in the DW to dry. Whenever it gets full, run it with or without soap to sanitize and dry the dishes. Saves water.

4. Almost any visit to a thrift shop will net a used Brita or Pur water-filtering pitcher for a buck or two. They clean up fine (I bleach them after a good soapy scrub), and so far every used on I've gotten (even the really old models) uses the same filters available now. One for kitchen, one for bath, one for camper, one for office....... as you pour a glass or bottleful of water, add the same amount of tap water back into the pitcher. Soap and bleach weekly (not the filter). Those filters are good for about 2 months, and they easily beat the cost of bottled water (not to mention saving the environment).

~S~