Natural Dishwasher Detergent

I am on the quest for a more natural alternative for my dishwasher detergent. We use half the recommended amount of the commercial stuff and it leaves a powdery film on our dishes. Surely that can't be good, right? Especially when the bottle/box has a label warning about not ingesting. So after some research this is what I've come up with to try:

I'm going to mix equal parts of borax and baking soda and use it as my soap. I'm going to start with using 2 tablespoons and see how it works. I've also read that using vinegar in the rinse will help to avoid any residue. So first things first...go buy borax!

I know that the phosphates used by the majority of commercial dishwasher soap manufacturers use will be phased out by June 2010 (some already are - WalMart's brand has no phosphates), but what else will they use in place of it? I don't really want to wait to find out and be the guinea pigs for their "improved" product.

We also want to start making our own laundry detergent, but I feel that it's more important to get this taken care of because the dishwasher soap washes the dishes that our food is on that we put into our body.

I will make it, test it out and report back to you!

Now, a little blog business. I've decided to add my workouts of the day (WOD's - I personally do not like this acronym, but have started saying it just because my husband does so often!) Anyway, I plan to write my workouts down here as often as I can because although CrossFit is for everyone, it's quite intimidating to the average person to read the WOD's and get the feeling that you are just not CrossFit material! All workouts with CrossFit can be scaled for anyone, so I'll be giving you my very beginner WOD's for you to try if you so choose! And, the best part is, you can do the majority of them in your own home!

So, my workout yesterday was

- Squat 50 times (make sure you do a proper squat, heels must stay down and keep the majority of your weight on your heels. Do not round your back.) I did this one for time so I can use it to compare later. My time was 4:00 minutes.

- Front plank (get on the floor, only elbows/forearms and toes touching) Keep your body as parallel to the floor as possible. I did this 5 times for 10 seconds each time.

- Single leg lifts - lie on the floor. Lift one leg at a time. Keep your arms by your side and on the ground. If you are in better shape than me, lift both legs at once. Do 5 rounds of 5 lifts on each leg.

The best part about most of these workouts (other than being able to do them at home) is how quickly I can do them. I can put my son down for his nap and do my workout and still have plenty of time leftover to do wonderful things like put dishes away or wash clothes *said in a sarcastic tone* :)

No recipe today, sorry! Although I have several in my possession to try and report back!