I splashed a little coffee on the counter when I topped up my cup this morning, so I grabbed the dishcloth out of the sink and swabbed it up. Then I picked up my cup and shuffled back to the couch and my laptop for some web surfing. I rubbed my itchy nose as I sat down and immediately gagged a little bit… the dishcloth I had used to “clean” my counter was stinky enough to transfer its funk onto my hand.

Why would you want to make your own dishwasher detergent? Commercial brands contain a cocktail of questionable ingredients such as Sodium Laureth Sulfate (surfactant), Methylchloroisothiazolinone (preservative), and Methylpropional(fragrance) just to name a few. There are many more.

I’ve read about how bad commercial toothpaste is for you. It’s said that it doesn’t allow your teeth to heal themselves, which they are apparently capable of doing, just like your bones. Commercial toothpastes often contain glycerin as a texturizer/sweetener/preservative that supposedly coats your teeth and therefore prevents them from remineralizing by way of your saliva. And then there’s the whole Fluoride debate.

I’d gotten rid of the germs, but then I’d potentially covered the counter where I prep food and the window that the dog—and probably the kid—lick in harmful chemicals.

You know what’s really, really good for you? Quinoa Quinoa Recipes: The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly. You know what I keep buying and then forgetting in the cupboard because I’m totally uninspired to use it? Quinoa.

Honey is a gentle cleanser in that it doesn’t strip your face of natural oils and it is actually a healing agent.