Homemade Dishwasher Detergent

I fight with my dishwasher pretty much daily.  Lately stuff just hasn't been getting clean.  I've had an impossible time trying to find a detergent that doesn't leave my dishes caked in white crud.  I've tried everything from the eco-friendly to mainstream commercial (Cascade, anyone?).  To top it off, our hard water isn't making things any easier.  

I can get on board with pre-washing my dishes, but pre and post washing is just getting rediculous.  

So, I set out to make my own detergent!  After a lot of Googling, I found a lot of"recipes" that used borax.  Since borax is... uh... toxic and all, I kinda didn't want it on my dishes.  I know people use it in laundry and around the house all the time, but I don't eat or drink off my clothes or my floor, so the standard is not the same.  

Sadly, I couldn't find any sensible recipes (as in recipes that don't involve chopping lemons for every wash load-like I have time for that!). So, as I often do, I decided to fly by the seat of my pants. 

Here's what you need:  

1 bar of castile soap:  

You can find this stuff at just about any grocery store:  Vons, Albertsons, Safeway, Hyvee, Kroger, Etc. 

Castile soap is supposed to work well with hard water, which is great news if you have hard water like we do.  

Just grate the castile soap on a cheese grater.  The smaller the pieces the better.  

2 cups of washing soda:

½ cup Kosher Salt:

3 tablespoons of citric acid:

This is where the magic happens.  The secret is in the citric acid.  If you find that your dishes aren’t coming out clean and sparkly, you probably need to add more citric acid, because the citric acid is what gives the dishes a streak free shine.  Word on the street is that you can get citric acid (also known as sour salt) at wine/beer making stores.  In a pinch, you can use powdered lemonade mix (just be sure the main ingredient is citric acid).  FYI- 1 packet = approximately ½ tablespoon.  

Lastly, a handful of rice (optional).  Insider tip#1:  (yes, we’re all insiders now) if your detergent starts to get clumpy from moisture, add a handful of rice to the mix.  The rice will absorb any moisture and wash away in the dishwasher.  

Mix it all together and store it in some kind of air tight container and you are good to go!

Presentation is everything.

The best part is that it really works!  

Now, hear my words:  You do NOT need a ton of this detergent to get your dishes clean.  If you fill your entire soap compartment on your dishwasher you will end up with funky soapy dishes.  We experimented a bit and found ½ tablespoon of soap to be the sweet spot with our dishwasher. 

Insider tip#2:  If you add a little vinegar to your Jet Dry dispenser, your dishes will have never looked cleaner!

I am really excited about this!  I think I am going to keep making my own dish detergent.  It’s cheaper than the store bought stuff, this recipe will seriously last forever,and I know everything that goes into it. It doesn’t get much better than that!  

If you decide to make some yourself, let me know how you like it! 

New Couches!

It's the little things that keep me going around here.  Things like new couches!! 

Our poor, tired Iowa couches had seen better days.  They were recliners, and to put it lightly they were entirely dysfunctional.  I don't think I will ever purchase another couch with moving parts.  It just doesn't end well, especially if you plan to move them...ever. 

It's amazing how new couches and an area rug can revitalize a space.  Also, as you can see from the picture, Moose is a huge fan of the giant ottoman.  He pretty much thinks it's the greatest thing ever.  Next on the agenda is finding some end tables we like that don't break the bank.  There is talk of making our own...but we will see how that goes!  More on that later.

Deck The Halls

Christmas decorating has been in full swing here at the Vowles house.

 We went last week and picked out a Christmas Tree from Target.  It wasn't quite as exciting as years past when we have cut down our own tree, but we love our tree nonetheless.

We got the tree into place...

And then we strung it with lights and garland.

Now it's looking more Christmasy!

Finally, we hung our ornaments, and voila!

Bed, Bath & Beyond talked me into these festive red placemats to help our table be more Christmasy too.

(Have I told you about this table?  It was a $50 Craigslist find that we couldn't be happier with.  Definitely a good replacement for our other table that did not survive the move!)  

They also talked me into some cinnamon scented pine cones that I used to make this DIY centerpiece.  I just filled a pretty bowl with the cinnamon scented pine cones and added a few sprigs of glittery flowers from Michael's and you have an instant centerpiece! 

More Christmas-related posts to follow.  Happy decorating, everyone!

Dear Bougainvillea

Dear Bougainvillea,



Because it's Monday. And because I'm feeling silly. A haiku in your honor:

Dear Bougainvillea
I love you for your beauty
But not for your thorns.



I had completely lost all memory of what a thorny beast this pretty plant can be. That is until I had to trim some out-of-control vines by our front door the other day. Hopefully the fact that it is "winter" will keep those crazy vines at bay for a little while.

Chernobyl Farms

I have no idea what's in the soil in our backyard, but holy cow check out the size of this zucchini:



Who says you need pesticide to grow awesome produce?

Vegetable Garden

Brett & I woke up early this morning to get outside and start working on our vegetable garden. While Brett readied our planter beds I planted some cilantro (shockingly difficult to find)...

...and basil seeds in pots to grow in our sunroom.

Wow. Look at those hands...looks like I'm bringing filthy back...only I don't think Justin Timberlake ever sang a song about that.

I also potted some strawberries and started seeds for watermelon and zucchini.


After that the tomato plants went in. This year we planted 1 roma and 1 cherry tomato plant.


Next, I planted a few rows of broccoli, followed by jalapeno and red bell peppers, and some onions.


Then this cute little bunny helped me plant some impatiens in my window boxes out front.


No, not really. But there was a cute little bunny, and I did plant some pretty impatiens. See?:


We also cleared a patch in our yard where we will be growing sweet corn. We are expecting a ton of rain this weekend (possibly 4+ inches) and we were worried that heavy rain would wash away our newly planted seeds, so that will have to wait.

More garden updates to come. :)

'Maters

The container gardening didn't really work out for us last year, but we decided to give it another go this year since we actually have a yard that we can plant in. We have a couple of tomato plants that have really taken off in the past few weeks. It is such a novelty to me to have fresh vegetables growing right in my own backyard, especially since nothing really grows in that hard-packed San Diego soil.

Yummy cherry tomatoes (above) have made for delicious summer snacking. These ones (below) look like they're about ready to go. That's a snow pea in the foreground.



This plant (a.k.a "The Beast") may very well take over our entire back yard soon: