One of my dear friends was watching me do the dishes after a BBQ recently. She asked where I had purchased my cute little sponges, so I said, “Walmart of course!” She had never seen a sponge cut in half!
I have been cutting my sponges and scrubbers in half for as long as I can remember. Halved sponges are just as durable and productive as a whole sponge. You can use one half for a week or so and throw that bad boy away without fuss. Then you have another half waiting for you under the sink!
You can also cut magic erasers, dryer sheets and scrubbing pads in half which doubles your inventory in just one slice as well. 😉
I just cut them as soon as I buy them, then toss them in a gallon sized ziploc and toss it under my sink.
I’m curious, do you or have you ever cut sponges in half to stretch your dollar too?
I shop at Dollar General every other week and I buy the big pack of sponges for a $1.00 and just throw them out when they look or smell bad. I use alot a bleach in my kitchen. I buy beach and I have a bottle I use to make my own disinfect spray and Everytime I do the dishes I spray the sink and spray my sponge. I ring it out and sit it up on side to dry until next use. Pretty simple! $2 a month.
put them in your laundry dryer with other cleaning tools, that will make them like new. i use to work as cleaner agent in france, so my work was to provide healthy, cheap and effectives way to make it done ! in the less time possible! that’s how i discoverd cleaning tips for cleaning! really, no jokes. you want them to get long put them in the laundry dryer !
Great ideas! I have always cut my sos pads in 4’s! I rarely need the whole thing and once it gets wet they rust. So using a fourth is much more useful for me!
I’m going to start cutting the sponges in half now too!
I’ve cut mine for quite a while! I always felt they fit better in my hand when they’re smaller, and I use the other half for other uses. I save one for scrubbing off the stove, and the bathroom has it’s own.
For the magic erasers (which are kinda pricy), I cut them into little pieces, maybe about 6? The smaller bits are usually enough for the job, and when they’re worn down and thin I can just throw that away instead of wasting a huge hunk of one.
Great idea on the magic erasers. I usually just cut mine in half but I think cutting them in smaller bits is genius!
I’ve been doing this for years – as well as dryer sheets – but now prefer natural sea sponges. They are impervious to bacteria so they never smell or mold or fester. One lasts for years.
I use dishrags – they’re just a little easier to put in a pile when they get dirty, then wash in one load with all the kitchen towels, tablecloths, aprons, etc at the end of each week.
Why have I never thought to do this?! Genius!
I rarely use sponges, but I’ll have to try that with the magic erasers that I occasionally use. I usually wear a hole in the middle of the magic erasers.
I grew up using dishrags. My new favorite dishrags are the ones I make from old towels. When my towels are starting to get thin and maybe have a few holes, I cut them into squares. Then I stack 2 squares together and serge around the edges. They seem to wash everything so much better. I can get 1-3 “new” dishrags from a kitchen or hand towel depending on the location of the hole(s).
I love that idea!
I buy the blue scothch brite and cut them in thirds. Partly to save money and partly because I have small hands…lol Been doing this for years. I don’t use sponges, I think they get too much bacteria. I uses dish rags and just wash them all the time, cheaper than buying sponges all the time too.
I’ve never cut my sponges in half…but I think I may try it. I would always boil them with a little bleach once a week or so to kill any nasties. Then just keep using them until the scrubbie part rubs off…takes a few months!
I cut my Magic Erasers for 1 to save money,2 to -they are easier to use for me. I have arthritis.
I also cut my face wash towelettes in half. You know the kind that are dry but have the soap in them already? I always felt like I was throwing away lots of soap so my sister recommended I cut them in half. There is still plenty of soap on them and they do the job. I always thought they were a little big anyway! Thanks for your great blog. I look at it every day!
i’ve been cutting ours in thirds unless the orig sponge is smaller than the norm. we dont have a dishwasher and after reading about fires from microwaving them i am too paranoid. plus i have read that the natural cellular structure of sponges traps all kind of nastiness anyway so i would rather throw them away sooner than try to make them last as long as possible. dollar tree used to sell some big packs of half-way decent sponges for a dollar but on the last 2 batches the scubbie part came unglued from the sponge part after one use so i stopped buying those. i keep thinking i should switch to using washable dishrags but i love a sponge for dishwashing. 🙂
my mom used to cut s.o.s.type cleaning pads in halves or quarters and store the used piece in the freezer inbetween uses.