Green up your Dishwasher

Studies show that using a dishwasher is actually greener, in most cases, than washing dishes by hand. Now, for those of you who don't have dishwashers and still want to be your greenest, here's an article on how to make washing dishes by hand as eco-friendly as possible.

• The first step, no matter how you wash your dishes, is to try and use as few dishes as necessary. That may mean reusing the same drinking glass through the day, etc.
  
• When using a dishwasher, scrape plates clean rather than rinse before washing. Supposedly most dishwashers now are able to do the dirty work for you, allowing for less prep before cleaning
  
• Load around prongs rather than on them to maximize space
  
• Don't run the dishwasher until it's completely full
  
• Set to light cycle
  
• There are eco-friendly dishwasher tablets and detergents out there now, but that one should be pretty obvious along with getting a energy star dishwasher to begin with
  
• Finally, turn off the heat dry and open door to let air dry