One of my favorite things ... (a recycled article plus an update)

Today’s tip is one of my favorites because it is simple, it reuses an item that we typically toss out and it really works.

I use sponges to wash my dishes. I’m not sure whether using a sponge is environmentally correct or not. The verdict is still out on that one. However, I prefer sponges over dish rags.

Now here’s the cool part … you know those mesh bags that onions come in? Well, the next time you get a bag of onions, carefully clip off one of the metal ends and then, slide your sponge inside (after removing all the onions and their skins, that is). Then, use one of those little twisty things that seem to come in, and on, everything to secure the other end. You might have to trim some of the excess mesh bag away. And make sure that the metal end and your twisty end are truly at the ends of your sponge so that when you use it, it won’t scratch anything.

Now you have a super sponge with terrific scrubbing abilities. And, you’ve accomplished a few things:

• Those mesh bags get a second life before finding their way to a landfill.



• Your sponge will last longer and work better.



• Those little twisty things won’t junk up your drawers.



• And it meets one of my “saving the planet” rules: reuse before tossing whenever possible.

Here's a picture of how it turns out:

Update ... Since first writing this post, I've refined the tip a bit. The little twisty things at the ends work but ... I have to admit that one must be very careful not to scratch non-stick pans or other "fragile" surfaces with them. The same thing is true for the metal clips at the ends of the mesh bags. So now, I clip off any metal pieces. And instead of using those twisty things, I use rubber bands. I seem to have a lot of those little rubber bands around ... I don't buy them and I'm not real sure how they end up in my home (I don't get a newspaper or anything like that) ... but they are here. So instead of using the twisty things, I now use rubber bands, tightly wound around the ends ... it works great and doesn't scratch a thing.

As always, I would love to hear your ideas for reducing, reusing and recycling. Just click on the comments link, located at the bottom of each post, and let me know what you think and how you conserve. Maybe you'll see your ideas in an upcoming post.

Dish Washing Dilemma

Dirty dishes are a fact of life ... well, my life. We eat at home a lot (it's healthier, cheaper and environmentally friendly) and we don't use disposable plates or utensils. That means ... dirty dishes.

I thought that washing dishes by hand was the most Eco-friendly method. However, I've come across quite a few articles which suggest that dishwashers are more environmentally efficient than hand washing. I wrote to the author of one such article and she kindly replied, telling me that even if a dishwasher is half full, it still uses less water and energy than hand washing.

How can this be so? It doesn't make sense to me. When I wash dishes, I use either warm or cold water and never let it run. I use a small amount of water to moisten the sponge ... soap up the dishes ... then rinse using a small stream of water. I've seen others use dish pans ... again using small amounts of water. Further, when I've actually, on a rare occasion, used my dishwasher, I've paid attention to what it's doing and it seems to fill up with water for a long time and then, it swishes and runs ... forever. How can this be the most efficient way to wash dishes?

So I started digging ... reading everything on the subject. Finally ... I figured it out. Here's how dish washing methods stack up, from worst to best:

The least environmentally efficient method is regular hand washing. Regular hand washing refers to letting the hot water run continuously while one scrapes, washes and rinses their dishes. This method uses approximately 27 gallons of water and 2.5 kWh of energy for a standard load of dishes.

Next in line is the older dishwasher. My observation that it seems to fill with a lot of water and run forever is correct. This method uses up to 15 gallons of water and 2-3 kWh of energy.

The second best option is efficient hand-washing. That's the method I use, described above. It uses under 8 gallons of water and approximately 1 kWh of energy.

The best dish washing method is (may I hear a drum roll, please) ... a new, energy star washing machine. It uses 3-5 gallons of water and only 1 kWh of energy.

So, it turns out that everything I've read is correct ... they just forgot to tell me that it's only correct if one has an energy star machine.

As always ... I'd love to hear from you!