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I mentioned to a friend the other day that Hubby and I were trying to go zero waste. We might one day get to zero waste but right now we’re really more focused on the reduction of waste. So I was telling her about the changes we’ve made. The one she was surprised the most about was using bar soap to wash dishes. I admit, when I first started this, I did it one way. I’ve since tried a few different ways and the one I currently use seems to work the best for me. As with all things, find what works for you, even if it means trying a dozen options before finding the right one.

In the beginning, I would fill up two tubs with really hot water. When I say hot, I’m talking around 200 degrees Fahrenheit. I would add about a quarter of a cup of baking soda to one and about a quarter of a cup of vinegar to the other. I would soak all of my dishes in the baking soda tub, then wash them and rinse in the vinegar. But I realized I was using a lot of water and there were times when the last few dishes had to be rewashed because they ended up greasy or oily from all the dishes before. It worked, but it wasn’t without its flaws.

Recently I’ve changed the way I do dishes. Before I even begin filling my wash tub, I scrape off all of my dishes with a small silicone spatula to remove as much gunk as possible. (It’s an old spatula that we don’t really use anymore since the edges are kind of chewed up. Using it to scrape the dirty dishes extends its life a bit. When it finally reaches the point where it’s time to throw out, I plan to buy a wooden pot scraper.) And if I have a dish or a pot that is especially oily or greasy, I will sprinkle baking soda on it and sit it aside to allow the baking soda to soak up the grease. Then I fill a tub with really hot water and add a quarter of a cup of vinegar. I have a small plastic container that is blistered and stained from years of use and no longer used for food that I fill with water. I use it to wet my scrub brush or my dishcloth, whichever one I’m using, then I rub my dishcloth or bamboo scrub brush on my bar of soap until I’ve gotten it good and soaped up. I lather up my dirty dishes and then place them in the vinegar water. I typically put two or more in the vinegar water before I start rinsing them off and setting them aside to dry. This, of course, depends on the size of the item I’m washing. I prefer to let things sit in the hot water for a few seconds, at least as it’s been proven that as little as 15 seconds in hot water can kill most bacteria and germs.

I don’t use dish gloves or anything, but if the water is too hot for you to handle, a good thick pair of dish gloves will help with this. I don’t have an issue with the hot water, but Hubby does. Don’t risk burning yourself or causing injury. If you are worried about the water being too hot, you could always go to the two tub method, making the first one really hot and soaking your dishes in them first and then having the vinegar rinse cooler. If you have a small enough load of dishes, then you should be able to put all of them in the first tub and let them sit until the water cools enough to safely remove them. Doing this will also loosen any dried on foods.

If my brush or dishcloth isn’t lathering, I’ll dip it in my small bowl of water and lather again. That usually does the trick.

The vinegar in the water helps your dishes dry faster and without streaks and doesn’t leave any smell or residue behind. Now instead of two tubs of water I’m dumping out, I only have one, and I no longer have to worry about rewashing those last few dishes. The baking soda soaks up the grease. Before I wash it, I just scrape the baking soda out into the trash, leaving the pan relatively grease and oil free.

If I have something that’s baked on, I will use my scrub brush and some baking soda as a gentle abrasive to remove it without damaging the pan. Baking soda works on almost anything. Including enamel and cast iron.

I use Castile Soap since it’s an olive oil soap and has been used for hundred of years for everything from washing dishes to washing laundry to washing babies. I get mine from a lady on Etsy who makes soaps unscented and without coconut or palm oils. She also makes scented ones as well but since scent is a trigger for my health issues I buy the unscented ones.

I have my bar of soap in an old plastic mug we just had sitting around. I’ve found that the higher sides on the mug keep me from making a mess when I soap up my brush. Plus, having the handle is nice at times. I had a small strainer thingy from another soap dish that I placed in the bottom of the mug to allow the bar of soap to dry between uses. With the last dish I typically use my brush to hold the bar of soap firmly in place while I tip the cup over to allow any water that’s accumulated to drain out. I use that soapy water to then wash the last dish. If you do this then make sure you keep your mug clean. About once a week I take the soap out and wash and dry the mug to ensure nothing is growing in the bottom. But if you’re just going to pour the excess water down the drain you wouldn’t have to wash your mug as often.

I decided to use the plastic mug for a few reasons.

One, it’s not a mug we use to drink out of or will in the future. Especially since we are trying to slowly replace our plastic items with more eco friendly versions. We’re not throwing all of our plastic away and running out to buy glass and wood and metal, but as plastic bowls crack or warp or blister instead of replacing it with more plastic we’re recycling them and plan to buy more eco friendly versions down the road. By using it in a more useful way I’m keeping it out of the landfills which is more important than eliminating all plastics from my house immediately.

Two, when I’m washing dishes my hands are often wet and slippery, having a plastic mug means I don’t have to worry about it breaking if I were to drop it in the sink.

Before I remembered I had that old plastic mug that was being used to store all kinds of little pieces of this and that, I was considering using a mason jar since the soap dish I had been using wasn’t working. Every time I tried to rub my brush across the bar of soap the soap would slide off the dish. I ended up having to hold the bar in order to run my brush across it. And then there was the mess. I mentioned before that I liked the higher sides of the mug because it helped with the mess.

When you rub a scrub brush over a bar of soap a fine mist of soap sprays everywhere. I didn’t notice it as first and then once it dried I had a million tiny white spots all over my sink, my counter, and my backsplash. It took me a few days to realize what was causing them because they wouldn’t show up until a few hours after I had washed dishes. Using the mug eliminated this issue since the taller sides contain any castoff from the brush.

And on a side note, since Hubby and I also use cloth napkins, I’ve started washing them by hand at the same time I do the dishes. I soak them in the tub of water then use the bar of soap to lather them up and give them a good scrubbing then rinse them in the vinegar bath again. If there are any with stains I will use an old tooth brush and baking soda. I rub the baking soda into the fabric and sit it aside until all the dishes have been washed, then I toss it into the vinegar water and then scrub it again with soap before rinsing again. So far that’s taken care of things. Then I hang to dry. The vinegar not only aides the baking soda in loosening the stain but it is also a fabric softener.

So that’s how I wash dishes with a bar of soap. Since I started doing dishes by hand again and using this method I’ve found that my dishes come out a lot cleaner. I’ve even used the baking soda and scrub brush to remove buildup on things like my cookie sheets that never seemed to get clean-clean no matter what I did. A little baking soda and some elbow grease and they look like brand new cookie sheets. I wish I would have known that years ago.

I still use my dishwasher. But now I mostly use it on days that I bake since I tend to do more than one thing and end up with a lot of large dishes. It’s just easier to throw them in the dishwasher, especially since we don’t have a lot of counter space to dry things.