10 Things You Already Have in Your Kitchen to Make Spring Cleaning a Breeze

Some of our favorite kitchen staples can do double duty in totally unexpected ways. Raid your pantry to find a world of surprising uses for the ingredients you already have. Not only are these tricks inventive, but they also help reduce food waste, save money and support a more sustainable lifestyle—without the need to buy a single extra thing. As you tackle your spring cleaning checklist, here are some of the most creative ways to put everyday ingredients to work well beyond dinner.

1. Use Vodka to Eliminate Odors

Yes, it’s a bar cart essential, but vodka can also moonlight as a powerful odor eliminator and surface cleaner. Vodka can help neutralize smells—just spritz (inexpensive, unflavored) vodka on fabric, let it dry and enjoy the scent-free results. It also works on mattresses, shoes and even delicate dry clean–only clothing. Additionally, vodka is a smart streak-free solution for cleaning mirrors and glass.

2. Clean with Vinegar

Vinegar is a must for pickles and salad dressings, but it also works as a powerful natural cleaner and fabric softener. Use distilled white vinegar to descale your coffee maker or your kettle, clean your dishwasher or stovetop, brighten whites in the laundry or remove sticky label residue from jars. You can also use it to wash berries and help them keep longer. Adding vinegar to pie crust (including in our own Master Pie Dough recipe) helps keep it tender. Apple cider vinegar also makes a great hair mask or rinse, too—one that helps balance pH and add shine. Just be sure to dilute it. 

3. Reuse Your Starchy Cooking Water 

A trick that those living in desert climates already know: Hang on to cooking water from boiling pasta or potatoes! The starchy, seasoned water makes a great base for soups, stock, sauces or bread dough. And if it’s unsalted, you can even use it for watering house plants!

4. Neutralize Odors with Coffee Grounds

Speaking of plants, spent coffee grounds are a great nitrogen-rich addition to your compost bin, but they also work well as a deodorizer. Let them dry somewhat, then pop a few tablespoons in a bowl in the fridge or freezer to neutralize odors. You can also use the grounds as a mild abrasive for cleaning greasy pots and pans, or rub the grounds on your hands to eliminate strong smells from garlic or onion prep. 

5. Make a Cleaning Spray with Citrus Peels

So much citrus aroma lives in the zest of the fruit! Even when I’m not using it in a recipe, I like to use a vegetable peeler to save strips of zest from lemons, oranges or grapefruit. I drop them into a jar of white vinegar and let the mixture sit for a few weeks, or until the vinegar has a golden hue, and then I dilute it 1:1 with water to make a DIY citrus countertop cleaning spray. You can also rub citrus peels on windowsills or inside trash cans to repel ants. Come winter, add them to a fragrant simmer pot with cinnamon for a naturally fresh-smelling home.

6. Clean Stainless Steel with Tomato Paste

Tomato paste is a kitchen staple for the umami backbone it adds to recipes, but it’s also an amazing, chemical-free option for cleaning your stainless steel pots and pans. Spread the paste onto the pan, especially the bottom and sides, and let it sit for 30 minutes before scrubbing it off with soap and water. The pasty texture helps it cling, and the acidity in the tomato helps break down even cooked-on grease. Personally, I’d recommend using a can of budget-friendly tomato paste for this purpose, rather than the pricier triple-concentrated kind in the tube.  

7. Scrub Surfaces with Salt

Salt is essential for seasoning, but coarse kosher or sea salt can also be a fantastic abrasive cleaner for cast-iron pans or wooden cutting boards. Press a halved lemon into salt to make it easier to scrub with to naturally clean and disinfect surfaces. It’s also great in the laundry room; sprinkle some salt on a grease spot and let it sit to help draw the oil out of the fabric. 

8. Dust House Plants with Banana Peels

We’re proponents of eating banana peels around here, but if you have more than you can consume, you can also use them to clean dust from the leaves of your houseplants before adding them to the compost bin. Simply use the inside of the peel to wipe across the leaves, or gently pinch the leaves with the peel and pull them through. This trick works best for houseplants with firm, waxy leaves. 

9. Soak Up Grease with Oats 

Oats are a great option for soaking up spilled oil or grease in both the kitchen and the garage. Sprinkle a greasy spot with a thick layer of dry or rolled oats and let it sit for 15 minutes. You can then wipe or vacuum them up, and they will have absorbed some of the oil, making the rest of the clean-up a little easier. Plus, need to clean a coffee grinder or spice mill? Grind a batch of rolled oats to neutralize odors for a fresh start. Oats are also great for your skin and a wonderful addition to a bath. 

10. Deodorize and Clean with Baking Soda

Perhaps the single most versatile kitchen ingredient when it comes to cleaning is baking soda. Besides acting as a leavening agent or tenderizing meat, baking soda is a workhorse of a deodorizer and cleaner. You likely already use it to neutralize odors in your fridge. According to the American Cleaning Institute, it’s also helpful for cleaning burned-on food from cookware. And we love it for unclogging drains, tackling grimy baking sheets or even deep-cleaning your oven.

The Bottom Line

There’s something immensely satisfying about using ingredients you already have in new ways, especially if the result is a tidier, more efficient kitchen, less chemical use and less food waste. Use these tips to help you reduce waste and stretch your budget.