A rather unusual topic for my blog… but I do a lot of research on the stuff I use, even dishwasher detergent.

Recently in Washington State, new regulations were passed that limit the amount of phosphates that can be used in dishwasher detergent (and soon coming to a state near you). Why? Something about the fact that phosphates do a dammed good job of getting food and junk off your dishes, but cause Algae to grow where it isn’t supposed to affecting the balance of nature that I am sure is probably causing global warming and killing animals.

Like a good Program Manager, I am going to get ahead of this situation rather than end up with etched wine glasses, and dirty dishes.

My previous go to dishwasher detergent were the Finish tabs. They are an all in one rinse agent and detergent in a little cube. Very convenient and I’ve used those for 7 or so years without any complaints (well except for the annoying plastic wrapper). Unfortunately, those have phosphates. A few months ago I tried Seventh Generation dish tabs, but they cause my wine glasses to get etching, and let’s face it, I’m not about to start hand washing…. The Dishwasher is one of the greates inventions of the 20^th century.

Enter consumer reports. I happen to be a subscriber, and read their reviews on dishwasher detergent and saw that they rate the method smarty dish tabs pretty highly.

I’ve been using these dish tabs for a few weeks now and am very pleased with the results (and no annoying wrapping paper per tab). I generally like method and use many of their products in our home (trying to use as many non-toxic cleaners as possible), so kudos to them for making an environmentally friendly detergent that doesn’t mess with nature as much.

And as usual, here is an Amazon plug so you can buy these detergent tabs in bulk.

I love to point to companies and products that I use and love. A few months ago we began our search for outdoor furniture for our small patio in Seattle. In our previous house we had some teak furniture and I wasn't a big fan. I wanted something that I didn't need to maintain, could hose down and would't mold of fade. Also something that would not come apart in a few years.

I ran across a company called Loll DESIGNS in Minnestoa that makes outdoor (and other) furntiture made of recycled milk jugs. The furniture is all made after you order it and there is no inventory lying around. When the furniture is built, it gets shipped to you in fairly small boxes via FedEX.

My wife and I really liked the designs that they offer on their web site. Interestingly our favorite furniture store, Room & Board, carries a number of their items. So does Design Within Reach. They offer their furniture in many interesting shapes, sizes and colors.

Last week we received our furniture, and I had a real blast putting it together. It's during that process that I really appreciated the quality and workmanship of the product. It was also a bit like assembling legos, which I love to do, so I enjoyed my 4 or so hours outside getting the pieces all together.

I took a lot of pictures along the way which you can see below.

Interestingly enough, Loll DESIGNS sister company is Epicurean Cutting Surfaces another example of a product I love. We have a number of their cutting boards in our kitchen.

In the future I plan on getting some lawn chairs and planters as well as some kids furniture.

Amazon quietly started testing a new delivery service in my neighborhood called AmazonTote. The idea is that you have 1 pre-set delivery day (two if you are Amazon Prime) and anything you purchase up till a certain time and day of the week gets delivered using their Tote program. The AmazonFresh subsidiary of Amazon is actually doing the delivery. Delivery is free, there is no minimum order, and your items are delivered to your doorstep in a re-usable tote.