No Pre-rinsing of the Dishes? Huh?

This is probably pretty obvious to most of you, but it wasn't to me. I guess because I grew up rinsing my dishes before putting them into the dishwasher I just always have done it that way. I was reading in a magazine a list of top ten ways to be green in 2008. One of the ideas was to skip the rinsing of your dishes.

Hmmm...really, just skip it? I was skeptical. I decided to try it. It worked. My dishes still got clean. I then began to really break this down in my head. How did it work? How was that so? Everyone knows you actually wash your dishes prior to washing them in the dishwasher.

Well, I decided that back in the day it was necessary to pre-wash. Today dishwashers do a better job. So, we pre-wash because that's what we always did.

On a side note, I've been skipping the heated drying in an effort to save on energy for quite some time now. If my dishes get spotty, then oh well. I can live with that.

So, I dare you to try it. Put those dishes in un-pre-washed and let 'er rip!

H20 Mop

Let me start out by saying this is not an advertisement - well sort of - but the company selling this product is not paying me. (hmm, but maybe they should be.) Since I am a mother, I am constantly looking for ways to improve the air quality and overall environment for my child in my home. My husband is equally concerned.

So, for Mother's Day 2008, he bought me the H2O mop. I was skeptical, then I used it. I fell in love. Never in my life did I ever see myself sitting around with a bunch of other mothers showing off my new household item. I'm just not that person. But, right out a scene from the 1950's, I proudly brought that mop out of my laundry room to show it off to my mom-friends during our weekly storytime gathering.

I talked about all the benefits and features as I was trained to do as a long time sales person. And for free. I guess the benefit for me was just as I am doing now. Showing you something that is great for the environment and for our children.

The mop uses water - no chemicals. No sticky chemical residue left behind - have you ever noticed that after mopping? Basically, hot hot hot steam comes out and kills everything that may have been living on your floor. It is very light and easy to maneuver. There are no throw away refill products to buy. I simply throw the cloth that glides along the floor in the washing machine with my dog towels or rugs.

It is fairly inexpensive considering you never have to buy refills again or chemical cleaning supplies again. The cost is around $100 and well worth it. Check it out.

http://www.thane.com/products/housewares/h2omop/h2omop.php