Thrifty Thursday: Household

I guess I should preface this post by saying that I am so for handwashing dishes, if I had the time I'd definitely handwash however with my schedule right now it's impossible so dishwasher it is. That said being the environmentally conscious person I am I've been buying the "green" versions of cleaners/toiletries but lately they haven't been measuring up, especially the dishwasher detergent. We've used Trader Joes dishwasher detergent for a long time but I got sick and tired of reloading dishes back in that hadn't gotten washed properly :( We cleaned out the dishwasher and tried some new settings but still no 100% clean, how environmentally friendly is it if I am using 2x the detergent and energy having to rewash everything? Plus it's very uneconomical! Time for a change I think! So on a recent trip to Vons I switched 

I bought whatever was on offer ;) which turned out to be Finish GelPacs, which were buy one get one free. In the end this turned out cheaper than the Trader Joes detergent. Anyway I got home and fired up the dishwasher, same settings we'd been using recently and WOW. Couldn't believe the difference!

Sure I'd like them to be more environmentally friendly but I haven't found one that cleans as well. By making this switch I am saving time, energy and money. so for now I am switching to Finish. Dishes are cleaner, no residue and our bank account is happier. In all you have to look for a compromise with some things.

This revelation has changed our household in that I also bought some 'non environmentally friendly' laundry detergent today. My workout clothes have been suffering a beating lately with 1/2 marathon training, spin classes and other intensive workouts and I haven't been happy with our current laundry detergent. So we're switching that too. I'll let you know how that goes!

What about you readers? Do you use environmentally friendly products? Or regular cleaners? How do they fair in your household? What's you're favorite?