Blender lids are notoriously hard to clean. You can:
- Ignore the problem, and risk food poisoning (nooooo!)
- Scrub the crannies with cotton swabs
- Use homemade reusable swabs
When I got tired of cutting Q-Tips in half to cut my costs and the waste, I looked for a little brush or sponge on a stick that would do the job. No luck. Then I cut up an old knit nightgown into two-inch squares and some larger rags for other purposes. I wrap a mini-rag around the end of a measuring spoon to clean the gullies of my Vitamix cap and the tight spots in its lid. These reusable swabs work just as well as Q-Tips for nudging out the dregs of soup or smoothie.
I toss the squares into the washer and dryer along with cloth napkins and bigger rags used to replace paper towels. The vivid color makes them easy to pick out. The knit fabric doesn’t ravel.
You’ll probably find other uses for these little cleaners too: from tidying up other appliances to wiping up minuscule spills.
Saving More Than Money
What will you save by cleaning your blender with a homemade cloth squab? Somewhere between two and ten dollars a year.
More importantly, you will save a little room in your local landfill by not tossing out swabs or their packaging. You will cut greenhouse-gas emissions by not transporting the swabs. You will protect greenhouse-gas sinks by not having trees cut down to make single-use items. Some of the packaging and even the squab stems can be made of plastic, so this thrifty practice reduces pollution and health problems associated with plastic.
I like cleaning my blender top every morning with a physical reminder to question what I throw away, another step toward a zero-waste life.
