This depends on what kind of fat it is. Bacon fat I save, then clarify when there’s enough, then use it for cooking.

A little bit of oil in the iron skillet? Pour kosher salt on it when it cools down enough, use the salt & oil to scrub it clean, wipe it out & rinse it (and dry of course).

Duck I render it first and save the fat, then finish cooking it.

I don’t really deep fry so mostly what happens with other cooking oil is I eat it, in the food.

Last meal’s leftovers is to season the next meal

Sometimes I save it and put it in the fridge until the wet stuff separates from the fat. I then mix it with lye that I get from wood ash to make really shitty soap that’s okish for doing dishes but not much else. You shouldn’t put this in a washing machine because it will corrode the metal parts, you shouldn’t wash yourself with it because its bad for your skin but I hope to get it to where I never have to buy dish soap again. Every single little consumer product that I can find a way to live without increases my chances of survival under this regime or at least extends things for as long as possible.

I pour it into an empty can and freeze it then eventually trash

I also do paper towels for the bulk, though I try to do it while the pan is still a little warm, and may even heat the pan up a little if needed, so that if it’s a fat that’s solid at room temperature, I can treat it the same way as oil.

Dump it all into an old tin and toss it out once it cools off.

I pour it into a bowl. Once full ill freeze it then toss out on trash day

Into a teacup, into the fridge, then when full and solidified, peeled out and thrown into the trash.

Saw this thread from a mile away and ran to tell everyone I don’t have that problem because I own an air fryer

Reduce, reuse, recycle.

I try not to deep fry anything, my body doesn’t need it, and the convection oven does a decent job. Shallow frying can also do a similar job most times at the cost of some extra time.

Decent quantity of bacon grease get collected for reuse. Small amounts just get paper toweled. If I did give in and deep fry something, that oil is being reused all week. Go big or go home.

When I’m done with it, I grab the smallest sealable container from the recycling, out the cooled fat in it, and it goes in the trash. It usually isn’t more than a cup or 2.

Left… over?

If I’m deepfrying, I set it aside and reuse it.

If I cooked something like bacon that gave off fat, I save it and use it to cook other things later.

If I was sautéing something, I used the correct amount of oil and there’s none left over.

If I was roasting something, I turn the pan drippings into a sauce.

I will say, if you’re having this problem a lot cooking meat, you’re probably not trimming the cuts properly before cooking. Trim those and throw the scraps in the freezer until the next time you make stock.

I pretty much use your method, although sometimes after making breakfast sausage, I will fill up the pan with soap and water and let it soak for maybe a day. Then, I will go outside and dump and kinda hose it off then take it back inside to wash in the sink proper.

Are you renting or do you own?

Depends on what kind of leftover fat.

If frying something in measurable quantities of oil, the oil can be filtered to remove solids, then stored to re-use later.

If cooking something greasy like bacon or sausage, either I’ll cook other things in the same pan after, or I’ll pour it through a strainer, let it cool, and freeze it. Once I’ve saved a bunch, I clarify it.

Fat is flavor. In my house, it doesn’t get thrown away. There are lots of ways to reuse it.

You can compost it if you aren’t generating huge amounts. Mix it with something absorbent like sawdust or used coffee grounds and mix into a composter, and add extra “green material” like leaves or lawn clippings.