• Not too long ago, I ventured into making my own laundry detergent. I loved it so much that I couldn’t wait to find a recipe for more homemade soaps. The money I saved by making my own was astounding. For $30 I could make enough laundry detergent to last my family the entire year. Much better than the $15 per month I was previously spending.

    To the Internet I went searching for the perfect dishwashing detergent as well, hoping to have the same results. The perfect formula had to be able to deal with the terribly hard water that we have, and still be gentle enough for our nicer dishes.

    After much research, I settled on a very simple recipe. Here it is, mix equal parts of baking soda, and Borax. (Borax is a household cleaner that has been around for ages. Check your laundry or cleaner aisle at the grocery store).

    Two tablespoons per load seems to be the perfect amount. I put one in the open container, and another tablespoon in the container that gets closed. To my surprise this worked wonders! It worked even better than the expensive stuff I was purchasing before. The absolute best part was how well it removed that cloudy film that accumulates on my glassware. It is gone! They are once again crystal clear.

    To continue on my homemade kick, we tried a homemade version of Jet Dry too. This was even more simple. We just filled our Jet Dry container on the dishwasher door with vinegar. Regular old white vinegar. Then we topped it off with a few squirts of lemon juice.
    And that was it. Homemade dishwasher detergent for pennies, and for little to no actual effort. It can’t get much better than that!