The Genius Way To Stuff Your Kitchen Sponge With Dish Soap For Easy Cleaning

Like paying bills or going to the dentist, washing the dishes is one activity that nobody really enjoys, but it's a fact of life! One way to make washing your dishes easier, less messy, and less time-consuming is to use a pre-filled soap sponge, but the cost of ready-to-use soap sponges can really add up over time, and liquid-filled sponge wands look clunky on the counter. The solution is to make your own stuffed soap sponge with liquid dish soap! How do you pre-fill a sponge? A hack shared by TikTok user @viajante_mundo shows viewers how to make their own stuffable mini soap cubes. All you need to do is freeze your liquid dish soap in an ice tray, cut open an extra thick sponge, and pop the cubes inside!

This stuffed sponge hack is a great idea because it can help your dish soap last longer and save precious time while washing dishes. Plus, once you load up your sponge, you won't have to keep reaching for the dish soap bottle, using more soap than you need, and inevitably making a mess. 

At the start of the TikTok video, @viajante_mundo demonstrates how to pour liquid dish soap into a small ice cube tray, which they then cover with a lid and pop into the freezer. They used Fairy brand dish soap, but we imagine that any comparable brand could work just as well. Next, they remove a new, thick sponge from its package and pick up a small kitchen knife. Carefully, they twist the tip of the knife to effectively "drill" a hole into one short side of the sponge, being cautious not to cut the sponge open completely.

After about two hours, the soap cubes should be frozen solid and ready to use. The TikTok user carefully removed one cube, inserted it into the sponge hole, and then held it under running water. With a few scrunches of the hand, the sponge quickly fills up with suds and is ready to use. This TikTok user then flawlessly scrubbed a dirty dish with the sponge, giving viewers a thumbs up to let us know it worked! When you're done washing the dishes with your stuffed sponge, rinse out the remaining dish soap, squeeze, and let dry.

"I mean you could just put some liquid on the sponge," one top commenter wrote on TikTok, "same outcome." But another commenter disagreed. "No this is actually pretty smart," they said, "Especially when you're washing a lot at once." It's true; this hack will save you time from having to repeatedly reach for the soap bottle, but we mostly love this handy sponge hack because it's a great way to avoid wasting dish soap — and thereby wasting money.

After all, how much dishwashing liquid should you actually use? In most cases, you'll need less than 1 tablespoon to tackle a whole sink full of dirty dishes. When you pour liquid soap on the outside of the sponge or directly onto a dish, it'll quickly wash down the drain, forcing you to re-apply and run out faster. By making pre-portioned frozen dish soap cubes, you can ensure that you're only using what you need and that your sponge will stay sudsy for the entire task. Just remember to store your ice trays separately, and be careful not to pop soap cubes into your drinks!