My Dish Cleaning Wishes Have Come True.

If there's anything in my life that bugs me, it's having dirty dishes in my kitchen.  I've noticed in the past few weeks that if I wake up with dirty dishes, I'm immediately in a bad mood.  It's silly.  I know I could easily just wash them when I get out of bed, but it's such a burden to my morning routine, even if there are just a few things that need a scrubbin'.

Frustrated with having to run a full sink of dish water for just a few things last week, I started to wonder if I could just buy some sort of a wipe...like baby wipes, but for dishes.  Now, yes, I'm fully aware that I can purchase a sponge that holds soap and you can wash your dishes without running a sink of water.  I have two problems with these.  First, it uses a lot more soap than I like to use.  Soap costs money.  Second, gross.  No matter how much soap is used, it doesn't take away from the fact that the sponge is sitting out, being covered in germs and used over and over without being sanitized.  Turns out, no.  You cannot buy wipes like this.  So I made my own.

What you'll need:
A roll of paper towels, cut in half (I used Viva brand because they are the thickest, most cloth like I've found, and I cut it in half with some muscle and a serrated knife.)
1 3/4-2 cups of water
1/4-1/2 cup of dish soap
Gallon sized ziplock bags



I'll start by saying that there's nothing crazy inventive about this idea.  It's all over the internet how you can make your own baby wipes.  I simply adapted that idea to make them for dishes.

Start by cutting your roll of paper towels in half to make two equal parts.  This did take a few minutes and a descent amount of muscle to accomplish.  If you have an electric knife, let me suggest using that.

Next, mix your dish soap and water together.  Try to avoid bubbles.  Once it's well blended, place half of the paper towel roll in a ziplock bag and slowly pour the soapy water over the paper towels.  You don't want a pool in the bottom of the bag.  It's important that the towels absorb all of the water and soap.  Gently pull the center cardboard out by pouring the soapy water between the cardboard and inner paper towels.  Once all the moisture has been absorbed, close up your bag and you're done!  These work perfectly if you just need a few dishes washed or you want to use them for an entire load.  Plus, they are great to wash your hands when messing with uncooked chicken and meats.  Store them under your sink, and they are read to use when you need them!