If you’ve been reading this blog for very long, you know that I’m passionate about frugal living. That’s why I love the idea that salt is a natural degreaser, because sometimes in my zeal to save money, I make a mess. Like this one:
I made this particular mess baking “meat muffins,” my antidote to meatloaf leftovers. While I was thrilled to feed my family exactly the right portions with no leftovers (read the full post here), I was less than excited about the mess the meat muffins left in my muffin pan.
That’s when I remembered a tip I found on Martha Stewart’s website. According to Martha, salt is a natural degreaser because it’s both absorbent and abrasive, making it the thrifty girl’s go-to pantry product to clean dirty, greasy dishes. Like my muffin pan.
I proceeded to pour some salt in the dirty muffin tins.
Then I walked away for a few minutes to let the absorbent salt do its thing. Also because after cooking a big meal, I didn’t feel like looking at the mess one second longer!
Upon returning to the kitchen, I wiped around the tins with a damp cloth, dunked the whole pan in a sink filled with sudsy water, and scrubbed some more.
When I had finished, all vestiges of the meatloaf mess were gone. Woo-hoo! Because really, as much as I loved saving money making meat muffins, I didn’t want to have to buy a new muffin tin. That sort of defeats the purpose of saving money in the first place, don’t you think? 🙂
So here it is again.
Before:
After:
Martha Stewart saves the day. Again. And I have a new home remedy for any and all future greasy dishes. Because you know I will continue to make messes, and you probably will, too. Now we both know that salt is a natural degreaser, and we’ll know what to do.