DIMDS (aka DIY)

* Do it my damn self.

I dream of being an Extreme Couponer but when I see the products that most of those folks purchase and stockpile, I can't even picture it. I mean, who needs 172 bags of croutons? But I TOTALLY covet the toilet paper stash so I continue to strive to make that happen. I just think I'd sleep better at night knowing I had a years' worth of loo rolls in the basement...

So anyway, the other night a friend of mine posted a thrifty DIY project to save money on dishwashing detergent. I had seen some of my hippie-ish friends making laundry soap last year and I did not partake, but the dishwasher detergent project piqued my interest because we are running low on Cascade and I had all but one ingredient listed for the project on hand. Plus, I haven't found a detergent that really does the job. That could be related to someone not rinsing the dishes well or loading the dishwasher wrong. (I'm not talking about the hubs!)

I tried to locate washing soda at Target and Sprouts to no avail, and I was not interested in hitting yet another store because I'd been at the mall with my 7th grader for way too long prior to going Target, the skating rink and then Sprouts. I was getting kinda hangry. I figured I could google how to turn baking soda into washing soda whilst eating my dinner.

Turns out I could, with the help of my oven. All I had to do was bake the soda for 45 minutes or so at around 400 degrees et voila! I did that and wondered if I should be wearing a respirator when I was stirring the partially baked baking soda around.

Ingredients

Fizzy Reaction

Looks a bit like butter pats...

So far the jury is out on the effectiveness of the home made detergent. We were having an issue with spotty dishes because we ran out of rinse agent and I decided to try plain vinegar.  I'm thinking that maybe I needed to clean the dishwasher with white vinegar to resolve.

I didn't calculate the cost for me to make this detergent, but the fact that I know how to make dishwasher detergent is inspiring me to learn to do more. I am not only interested in savings but being more MacGyver-like in taking care of the family and home.