Okay, so it is not as simple as that. Yesterday, I decided to cook a ten-pound bag of chicken quarters, bought on sale. Simple enough until I realized I did not have the bags to cook in the oven. Yes, I know you think I enjoy doing everything the difficult way to save money. Somehow, those bags are justified in my mind.
Yes, I know it makes no sense. However, I had three pots/skillets to scrub after I cooked chicken on top of the stove. Now, I have those three plus two iron skillets with scrambled egg dried on. One pan is from yesterday and another from breakfast this morning. None of the jobs are hard to do...lol...sure...little homemaker here loves losing fingernails to iron skillets.
Seriously, to avoid buying scrubbies and feel good about myself for not consuming so much plastic AND to avoid spending money, I found a really simple solution.
Everyone needs something to scrub off that last bit of scrambled egg on the plate or oatmeal in the pot. You can avoid being a scrubbie consumer by making a scrubbie instead of purchasing. Also, buying a scrubbie will be costly, especially if you consider the options. If you never leave scrambled egg or oatmeal or any other food and on items and religiously wash all dishes or soak them, read no further. I’m serious. Do something useful and leave this article.
There are sites with directions for knitting or crocheting wash cloths and scrubbies from net and from produce bags. Okay, I don’t knit. I do not want to buy net. I really don’t want to sit down and try to crochet something to scrub off my scrambled egg, something that will not come out of the skillet or off a plate without a bit of assistance. Elbow grease is good, but a scrubbie works best unless you have a day to soak scrambled egg leavings.
Okay, you guessed it, I do not feel compelled to scurry along and wash dishes in a timely manner, so I have all yesterdays' dishes to wash, all that would not go in the dishwaher. Whew! It feels soooo good to get that off my chest!
Okay, back to the regular programming.
I was in a hurry, did not have a scrubbie because my last one bit the dust, and I needed a scrubbie NOW. Sure, I could get those net bags from safari produce and crochet a scrubbie really fast. Yeah, sure, sure I can! I looked under the sink and found the net bag. Perfect!
Then, with a few deft moves, I tied that baby into knots several times. Guess what, folks—a thirty second scrubbie! Since I tied it loosely to have more in my hand to protect my fingernails and to have a larger scrubbing surface, it untied quickly. Scrambled eggs get all goo-ed up in a regular scrubbie. Then, it must go through the dishwasher to restore it to anything I want to use again. (I really do love the yellow and red scrubbies.)
Consider the benefits of my method:
*I had the net bag—free
*I did not purchase a scrubbie
* I did not purchase net to crochet
*no skills were needed
*Okay, skill to tie several knots was necessary (mastered around the age of three)
*Knitting needle or crochet hook was not necessary
*net bag was untied and put into the dishwasher
After this little experiment the next day I decided to go a step further. I took the dishcloth I was using and wrapped the net bag around it. The food was easily removed from dishes once again! To me, this is like the dishcloths that have net sewn on them that are available to purchase. When I look at those in the store, I always consider the fact that any bits of food might get between the cloth and net. Sorry, but that grosses me out. I would then spend an inordinate amount of time trying to extricate the food particles before commencing my life. Ewwww!
That is why I just look at the net/cloth dish cloths at the store. I never purchase!
(Full disclosure: I found my favorite scrubbie on clearance at the grocery. Oh Joy! Only $0.40 instead of $2. I bought all they had. Now, this store will not restock the items, so I don't feel like I am causing more scrubbies to be manufactured. My parsimony has its own rules--remember the practical part? That said, I still have never and will never purchase the cloths and sponges that have net attached and collect bits of food.)
Remember, no plastic will be produced to replace my clearance scrubbies.
I still use my produce-bag-knotted-net scrubbie for many things.
The chicken leavings and the eggs are gone from the pots and pans. And, all's right with the world.
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Okay, hoping the annoyances have gone away.