regarding detergent, tide makes these great travel cubes, I bought a box and take 3-4 on every trip, I throw them and dryer sheets in one zip lock, and another zip lock has sugar in one of those gladware containers. We also take the maxwell house coffee already in filters, that way they are easy to travel with, no waste, and don't have to worry about this stuff. Cascade also makes dishwasher cleaner that looks just like the tide cubes, I bought some, but really never have used it.