A very fine chainmail scrubber (example) can replace a lot of what you'd use a sponge for. Not everything, but it's surprisingly gentle. The seller says not to use on enamel or polished stainless steel, but I absolutely would, you just need to be careful not to push too hard. It's like the back of a spoon. Possible to make scratches with just because it's hard, but if you're gentle, in practice you can rub it over things without scratching.

Still worth having a sponge or similar alongside it, but you won't need to use it as much, so you won't go through them as quickly.