So so behind...

You get a bunch of short updates today...I'm thinking about changing the update schedule to one longer post a week, because with work and everything I am super swamped here. :( Hence why I am a week and a half behind.

Back to the dishes thing: I already told you to check your dish detergent, but there are other things you can do to help make washing dishes better.

1) Skip the pre-rinse. Most of the time it doesn't really help. Just scrape all the extra stuff off the dishes into the trash with a fork and it should be enough.

2) If you're looking into buying a new dishwasher, look for an Energy Star model. They're way better at conserving energy.

3) If you're really into it, skip the dishwasher altogether. Plugging up the sink and filling it with soap and water looks a little grosser and is more labor intensive, but in the long run it'll save. Here's how to hand-wash to save energy and water:

a) Wash a lot of dishes at once, not just one or two.

b) Only fill the sink half-full of water and soap, and put the soap in early so it bubbles more.

c) Use WARM water, not scalding hot water. (This will also keep you from needing those non-eco-friendly yellow rubber dish gloves!)

d) Use another sink-full of water to rinse dishes instead of running them under the tap.

Now, depending on who you talk to, it saves water to use a dishwasher instead of hand wash. Like, let's say you wash your dishes after every single meal, so you're only washing maybe two at a time. In this case, you'd be better off to put them out of sight in a dishwasher and wash a LOT at once. But the dishwasher uses electricity both to run AND to heat the water....So really, while it's more time efficient and saves YOU some energy, in the long run hand-washing probably wins.