DIY Dishwashing Detergent

Dishwasher tabs are convenient but can lead to unnecessary waste and plastic, they all seem to come in plastic tubs and some of them even come individually wrapped…

I’ve found the transition to scooping a little powder into the dishwasher is just as effective as those tabs.

In a bog bowl, combine:

2 Cups Baking Soda

2 Cups Borax

1/2 Coarse Salt (or Epson Salt)

1/2 Vinegar

Store in a airtight bottle, even reuse one of those old dishwasher tab containers if you have one!

When going to use the mixture, scoop 2 tbsp of mixture into the soap insert, and to help fight grease, add 2 drops of dish washing liquid on top of the mixture to help with grease fighting. (NO MORE THAN 2 DROPS… TRUST ME.) Made that mistake in childhood. Only took once to learn the difference between the dish soap and the dishwasher soap.

Fill the Rise aid with vinegar to help with cloudiness, and then run your dishwasher as you normally would.

Zero Waste During a Pandemic

As the Corona virus (COVID-19) has unfolded companies, and governments are doing everything they can to prevent the spread of this virus we have no vaccine against.

I don’t travel very much (no time and don’t like the carbon footprint) so most of my day to day operations have gone virtually unchanged. I live alone so I have no risk of a spouse or a child bringing something home, at work I spend the majority of my day on the phone, just the odd face to face client and my evenings are generally not spent with a large crowd of people. Realistically I like to be in my bedroom by 8:30 pm so I have time to play with my rabbit before bed. Below is a photo of Oliver because I didn’t really know what sort of photos are appropriate for a post like this.

I am not gross, so I was my hands probably close to hourly (you pee a lot when you drink a lot of water.) So I know things can still happen but I’m feeling pretty good about my normal habits reducing my chances of contracting the virus.

One thing, however, that has caught my attention is now major coffee chains are not accepting reusable cups and Bulk Barn won’t accept reusable containers until the outbreak has been reduced or eliminated.

I generally don’t purchase coffee. I need it before I handle heavy equipment (my car) and making it costs literally pennies as opposed to $2 (or more) at a coffee shop. This doesn’t affect me at all except for those odd days where I need a second fuel up or somehow I run out of milk of coffee beans at home.

Bulk Barn however, is a major source for my dry goods shopping. If it’s not something I want to get in large bulk amounts from Costco, I will go with my collection of large Mason jars and get it at Bulk Barn. At first I was incredibly annoyed because it just throws a wrench in my new found routine.

The annoyance didn’t last too long, as much as I had worked hard to find alternatives for my household products and had given up a lot to do things this way. I knew the intention was for the safety of the workers of this company and I can never fault a company for putting their employees first. I wish more companies worked that way.

It was time once again to take a step back and look at what I can do while I wait for my bulk store to trust my jars again. Below is a simple list I generated as guidance while we await for the fire to be put out.

1. Reduce.

   If it’s not available in bulk. Do I really need it? Will I miss it if I can’t get it for a few weeks? If the answer is yes, just get it. You still need to eat/wash/live and this won’t last forever. Just be aware of need vs. want.

   I’ve been wanting to make homemade bits and bites for a little bit now and realistically it can be delayed a little bit longer until I can get the ingredients in bulk.

2. Recycled products.

   I’ve noticed if a company is using recycled cardboard for their products, they will proudly showcase it on their boxes. Look for the material labels on your boxes and choose products that are in recycled containers. Then when you are done with the box, recycle it again and continue the cycle.

   Purchasing something in a glass jar is also an alternative as our recycling facilities can process glass a heck of a lot better than plastic. Alternatively, you can just keep the jar after it’s empty.

3. Buy in a larger quantity if you can.

   Join the Costco madness! Grab the giant bags of flour, sugar, cereals and oats. You’ll be good for a long time, these products generally don’t come in plastic (except the cereal bag- reuse it if you can) and will last as long as they are stored correctly. Overall it’s usually more affordable to buy in these large quantities when you can anyways.

4. Ration.

   I have maybe 2 servings of popcorn kernels left. I don’t plan to touch these unless I have a movie night. Keeps my snack options available. Don’t deny yourself anything you’re truly craving, but since we don’t know how long this is going to last it’s best to hang onto household inventories longer if possible.