Everyday Kitchen Ingredients that Make for Easy Cleaning

When you’re a cleaning pro, everything has its purpose. And those special things that have more than one purpose? Well that’s a clean lover’s dream. Using simple household items to deep clean your kitchen is not only possible, it’s a great way to reduce your reliance on heavy chemicals and save that cash for things that matter (more sponges, anyone?). Here’s a handful of kitchen ingredients that do double duty and go a long way to keeping things fresh.

Lemons

Lemons are one of nature’s freshest cleaning compounds. If your blender is getting sticky or grimy from one too many smoothies, fill it halfway with warm water, a drop of dishwashing liquid and a coarsely chopped lemon. Run it for just a minute and rinse.

Baking soda

Baking soda is a do-it-all workhorse in the kitchen. Add essential oils to 2 cups of baking soda in a mason jar for an easy nightly sink scrub. Give the sink a light once-over with a scrubber and let it sit overnight. Rinse in the morning and see your sink sparkle.

Seltzer

We already know that seltzer is a healthy alternative to sugary sodas, but the carbonated water can also fight off rust in your cast-iron cookware. Pour a little seltzer into your skillet or pots and let the bubbles go to work. Swish for a minute or two, then use a scrubber to easily remove residue.

White rice

Get the inside of your coffee grinder squeaky clean by running a handful of white rice grains through the empty grinder. This will help remove trapped coffee grounds and stale odors.

Coarse Salt

Sometimes it takes extra grit for a real clean. To give your wooden cutting board a good washing, sprinkle it with coarse salt and rub with the juicy side of half a lemon. The salt’s scouring action pairs with the lemon’s acidity, and the mix rinses away easily.