I have a confession. I don’t wash my single-purpose dishes with soap all the time.

Things like my tofu press, my black tea diffuser, my Chemex, my compost plastic dish, etc. For the most part, it’s because I use them too often (like the tea diffuser), but also, I think it’s a waste of soap to do it all the time.

If I use my Chemex to make coffee on Sunday mornings, it’s fine if I just rinse it with water and let it dry. Same for my tofu press. I use those for only that one thing, and that one thing is not very germy anyway. It’s fine to use soap only once in a while. The tea diffuser doesn’t wash well in the dishwasher (leaves stay stuck in it), so I just rinse it by hand, get the leaves out with my fingers, and let it dry. I use soap after three or four uses, which translates to about once every couple of weeks.

My compost plastic bin? Disgusting, right?

Well, we don’t really eat meat at home. Most of what goes in there are remains of vegetables (skins and pits from eating or just those that are about to rot), old bread slices (I get fresh bread every week, and I don’t like to eat bread that’s older than two weeks), sometimes tea bags or sauces that are too thick to spill down the drain (here’s a tip: use the toilet for those. If it’s organic, it’s fine, and the toilet is meant to handle much larger… chunks… anyway) All of those get frozen in the fridge so they don’t smell.

I use a recyclable baking sheet at the bottom so the food remains don’t stick to the plastic, and when it’s time to empty the bin, I take it out, give it about two minutes to thaw just a bit, and take it downstairs to the trash room. With the baking sheet, it falls right out in one woosh. When I come back, unless there are stains and food remains, I don’t use soap. It’s for organic food only. We never eat from it. Hot water is fine.

Just wanted to get it off my chest