Lately I got the great opportunity to live with Sue and David for
tree weeks, and so have been able to experience and live by Sue's
sustainable standards, that she has been developing for several
decades!
If you are concerned about how YOU can make a difference to have less impact on the world, you will want to consider your daily habits. As how Sue Dennet puts it : If we want to be sustainable, instead of looking at one time events, we have to look at what we do on a daily basis!
All the “Household strategies” am I describing here are a summary of the various ideas I have gleaned here and there. But of course always keep in mind that they are strategies, so not to apply mindlessly, but to consider if they are the appropriate solution for your situation.
It has been a while since I have been wanting to write about this simple thing we do (or should do!) every day. Because it is way too often that I notice people doing this job in the most wasteful ways! So I hope that by this article I will inspire you to consider changing your methods to use less water, soap, resources and ultimately money!... and also showing you how actually simple it cam be!
Utensils :
- washable cloth instead of a trow away sponge
- brush made with renewable materials
- home made all purpose soap
Classic method but usually forgotten, the 2 basins way.
Simply fill up 2 basins of very hot water, one with soap (the wash basin), the other without (to rinse). You do not need to fill them up with a lot of water for it to work, 4-5cm (2 inches) is enough. You just need to be smart so as not to get the water dirty right away. The trick is to do to things in the right order :
1) Pre-wash : Most importantly have the dishes as clean as possible before even putting them into the soapy water : at the table, always finish your plate as best as possible, wiping the extra juice with a piece of bread (that's the French tradition!), or by simply licking your plate to not waste a drop of the delicious food you took so much effort to cook! And if you are not up to licking it yourself, I am sure your dog would be delighted to do so. If neither of these solutions appeal to you, you can still wipe as much as you can to the compost ben for your chickens or your worms.
Once you have done all these preparations, you can start the dishes :
2) Start with the glasses and other non dirty dishes.
3) Follow with the medium dirty ones, preferably not oily.
4) Then end up with the most dirty ones, usually the pots and pans.
If pans are hard to clean, let them soak in water. You might want to try using alcool vinegar for extra stuborn burt stuff.
Special items:
- cutting boards and sharp knives do not need to be washed like the rest, especially if they have been used to cut only vegetables : simply wipe them off with the wash cloth and put right away. No need of extra soaping, except if they have been used to cut meat.
- wooden salad bowls, utensils : after finishing your salad full of salad dressing, again, simply wipe the bowl out with a cloth. It will actually maintain it as the wood will be nourished by the oil in the salad dressing. See for yourself as you see the wood's color brightening. So dish-washing liquid or soap to avoid!
- extra greasy pots and pans : sprinkle some ashes to absorb the grease, rub it around and scrape it off into the compost bin.
What to do with the dirty water?
- use of ordinary soap : the best solution is to use it to water your plants. That is perfect if you have the pipe go directly to a bed with water loving plants, a banana circle, or a composting circle (full of woody material).
You might want to have a degreaser. The best grease absorbant is a layer of woodchips (or other woody materials) that can then be composted.
- as soap you can use Cristaux de soude. I heard from an old lady that they used to use that and then give the water to the chickens as drinking water, full of the left-over grease and nutrients!
The obvious way is to just use an extra plastic basin, useful if you have many people in the household.
If you are alone however, here is how I proceed.
Of course I still prepare everything to be the least dirty as possible. And beforehad, when I wash my hands I save the water in the dirty pots for them to soak. Then I organize all the dishes on a table or next to the sink, clearing the basin to use it as a rinse basin. I put soap on the humid washcloth and wash the glasses, turn on the tap to rinse them in clear water, saving it in the basin for rinsing the rest. I continue washing without rinsing, then rinse them in the hot water that I saved from rinsing the glasses under the running tap.
This method works until the dirty dishes are fresh and the extra food wipes out easily. When things get dry or are harder to clean, I use the sink as a wash basin instead of rinse, and finish rinsing under the running tap, that I open just enough to get a trickle of hot water.
You need 3 big basins full of hot water, all set in a row. It is very important that they are all labeled and everything laid in the right order :
It still needs a person responsible to supervise things are going
well, and to change the water when it is starting to get dirty. When
that happens, simply shift the wash basin to pre-wash, the rinse
basin to wash by adding soap, and add hot water to a new rinse basin.
And it's also a great time to socialize and have fascinating conversation all the while getting the job done!
If you are concerned about how YOU can make a difference to have less impact on the world, you will want to consider your daily habits. As how Sue Dennet puts it : If we want to be sustainable, instead of looking at one time events, we have to look at what we do on a daily basis!
All the “Household strategies” am I describing here are a summary of the various ideas I have gleaned here and there. But of course always keep in mind that they are strategies, so not to apply mindlessly, but to consider if they are the appropriate solution for your situation.
It has been a while since I have been wanting to write about this simple thing we do (or should do!) every day. Because it is way too often that I notice people doing this job in the most wasteful ways! So I hope that by this article I will inspire you to consider changing your methods to use less water, soap, resources and ultimately money!... and also showing you how actually simple it cam be!
At home
Utensils :- washable cloth instead of a trow away sponge
- brush made with renewable materials
- home made all purpose soap
-> 2 basins
Classic method but usually forgotten, the 2 basins way.Simply fill up 2 basins of very hot water, one with soap (the wash basin), the other without (to rinse). You do not need to fill them up with a lot of water for it to work, 4-5cm (2 inches) is enough. You just need to be smart so as not to get the water dirty right away. The trick is to do to things in the right order :
1) Pre-wash : Most importantly have the dishes as clean as possible before even putting them into the soapy water : at the table, always finish your plate as best as possible, wiping the extra juice with a piece of bread (that's the French tradition!), or by simply licking your plate to not waste a drop of the delicious food you took so much effort to cook! And if you are not up to licking it yourself, I am sure your dog would be delighted to do so. If neither of these solutions appeal to you, you can still wipe as much as you can to the compost ben for your chickens or your worms.
Once you have done all these preparations, you can start the dishes :2) Start with the glasses and other non dirty dishes.
3) Follow with the medium dirty ones, preferably not oily.
4) Then end up with the most dirty ones, usually the pots and pans.
If pans are hard to clean, let them soak in water. You might want to try using alcool vinegar for extra stuborn burt stuff.
Special items:
- cutting boards and sharp knives do not need to be washed like the rest, especially if they have been used to cut only vegetables : simply wipe them off with the wash cloth and put right away. No need of extra soaping, except if they have been used to cut meat.
- wooden salad bowls, utensils : after finishing your salad full of salad dressing, again, simply wipe the bowl out with a cloth. It will actually maintain it as the wood will be nourished by the oil in the salad dressing. See for yourself as you see the wood's color brightening. So dish-washing liquid or soap to avoid!
- extra greasy pots and pans : sprinkle some ashes to absorb the grease, rub it around and scrape it off into the compost bin.
What to do with the dirty water?
- use of ordinary soap : the best solution is to use it to water your plants. That is perfect if you have the pipe go directly to a bed with water loving plants, a banana circle, or a composting circle (full of woody material).
You might want to have a degreaser. The best grease absorbant is a layer of woodchips (or other woody materials) that can then be composted.
- as soap you can use Cristaux de soude. I heard from an old lady that they used to use that and then give the water to the chickens as drinking water, full of the left-over grease and nutrients!
-> 1 basin
Many people unfortunately do not have a two basins sink.The obvious way is to just use an extra plastic basin, useful if you have many people in the household.
If you are alone however, here is how I proceed.
Of course I still prepare everything to be the least dirty as possible. And beforehad, when I wash my hands I save the water in the dirty pots for them to soak. Then I organize all the dishes on a table or next to the sink, clearing the basin to use it as a rinse basin. I put soap on the humid washcloth and wash the glasses, turn on the tap to rinse them in clear water, saving it in the basin for rinsing the rest. I continue washing without rinsing, then rinse them in the hot water that I saved from rinsing the glasses under the running tap.
This method works until the dirty dishes are fresh and the extra food wipes out easily. When things get dry or are harder to clean, I use the sink as a wash basin instead of rinse, and finish rinsing under the running tap, that I open just enough to get a trickle of hot water.
With a big group, self dish-washing
In a festival with responsible people (it has been proven really effective at the Permaculture Convergence in Germany in 2012), here is a method for people to do their own dishes.You need 3 big basins full of hot water, all set in a row. It is very important that they are all labeled and everything laid in the right order :
- Compost bin
- Pre-wash basin (no soap)
- Wash basin (with soap)
- Rinse basin (no soap)
- Drying rack.
It still needs a person responsible to supervise things are going
well, and to change the water when it is starting to get dirty. When
that happens, simply shift the wash basin to pre-wash, the rinse
basin to wash by adding soap, and add hot water to a new rinse basin.And it's also a great time to socialize and have fascinating conversation all the while getting the job done!
Without water!
Yes it is possible to do the dishes
without water! Some traditions used bran to wipe out the dishes and
let them air out. The bran would absorb any excess solid or liquid
food, and then could be a very healthy treat for the animals!
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