Money Saving Tip

Just a quick stop in to share a very inexpensive way to wash your dishes in the dishwasher.  Not only are dishwashing detergents expensive, they are filled with harsh chemicals that harm our environment.  I switched to gel detergents a long time ago because the powders kept sticking in the little compartment in my dishwasher, and the dishes were covered with specks of detergent - not fun to place in your mouth!  But the gels are expensive, and honestly - don't do a very good job.

I've been looking at making my own laundry soap (a story for another day) and took some time to locate the ingredients for that.  It didn't really take much effort, but I had to look a little harder in my local store, since I was not accustomed to using them.  The ingredients just happened to be the same main ingredients for the dishwashing detergent:

Borax
and
Washing Soda (not Baking Soda)

Just a tablespoon of each in the little dishwasher detergent compartment will do the trick.  I then put plain white vinegar in the 'jet dry' spot to make sure no residue is left on the dishes.  Amazing.  It works.  The dishes come out clean and have no spots.

I figure I spend about $5 each 3 weeks or so on detergent.  Now, after spending about $3 on the two boxes of ingredients which will last a lifetime - well no, about a few months, I will be spending about 4 cents per load versus 23 cents per load.  Maybe not a ton of money, but the fact that I'm not putting phosphorus into the ground water makes me feel pretty smug.  Those lucky fish!

I Have House Envy

Uh Oh.  This can't be good.  I've been working on being happy with what I have - you know, developing some contentment and all.  But last night, we visited our good friends at their new home for dinner.  Oh, such a lovely evening.  And such a lovely house.  It's a victorian (as is ours - but theirs is nicer) and has these gleaming floors, beautifully painted walls, and nooks and crannies everywhere (what I love about these old houses).

So what's wrong?  Well... I have house envy all over again.  I get it around September and December - times of new beginnings.  I made it through Dec. with just slight pangs of wanting a farm, wanting to be out west, wanting something new.  I thought I was turning a new leaf with how easy I came through the month, and hadn't even looked at Realtor-dot-com once!

You may recall we were looking to sell our home.  We worked very hard to get the house ready for realtors a few months ago.  Everything looked amazing: clean, neat and sparkling. Then we heard how little our house was worth, and decided to wait for the spring market to see what that would bring.  After that, we found Dave Ramsey (See Saturday's post), and discovered that it's not our house that is causing our financial woes, but all our credit cards.  So we may just decide to stay here - the house just won't bring enough to warrant buying another in this expensive town.  The median house price is around $500K here.  Hmph.

So what does one do with house envy?

I turned to a great book with a ridiculous title - 'The Complete Idiot's Guide to Zen Living'.

We bought this book for our 14 yo son for Christmas this year.  He has been quite interested in Buddhism and we thought it would be an easy introduction for him.  Turns out, it's a pretty good intro for me as well.  What I read calmed me down from my pining for a new home.  The passage talked about the fact that in Buddhism, a messy house is NOT the sign of a messy mind... it just IS.  This means that just because my house is not quite right, that doesn't mean I'm not quite right with the world - it only means my house may be cluttered, even dirty at times.  It means dishes pile up during the day waiting for the evening clean-up.  It means laundry gets done when it gets done.  It means the landscaping will eventually measure up to what I have planned for it, even if that takes a few more years.  It means digging in a little deeper and finding what comforts and rescues us in this home.  Why do we turn to our abode when needing a little extra warmth and kindness?  What is it here that welcomes us to let down our guard yet again?

Good questions.  Do you ever get house envy?  What gives you comfort and love at your home?  What is it about your home that speaks to you - beyond being full of your things?  Do you have a particular connection with something in your home that brings you a feeling of centeredness?