Prepped Living Blog

Back in July we posted a review of the first two homemade dishwasher detergent recipes we made. This week, we are posting a review of the third recipe we tried. We found this recipe on wellnessmama.com. It is very similar to the second recipe we tried, only this one includes borax. Homemade Dishwasher Detergent #3 Ingredients 1 c. borax 1 c. washing soda ½ c. citric acid ½ c. sea salt 20 – 30 drops lemon essential oil (or other citrus oil, optional) Directions Stir all ingredients together. Store in a glass jar. Use 1 – 2 T. per load. You can add a couple of drops of dishwashing liquid to the powder before closing the soap dispenser if you want extra cleaning power. Note: Adding too many drops of liquid dish soap will cause problems with your dishwasher. What we liked The dishes were clean.  The recipe is simple. The ingredients are non-toxic. There was no detergent taste left on the dishes. What we didn't like Citric acid isn't something we typically kept on hand...

Are you not sure what to do with the small piece of soap left near the end of your soap bar's life? We don't like to be wasteful and toss the soap "ends," so we came up with a couple of ways to use them. We also looked into a few more ideas to use soap ends that we could share with you. Grafting to the Next Bar For the most part, we incorporate the small piece into the next bar by getting them both wet and smashing them together. Sometimes it takes a few washings before they stick well. Using a Soap Saver We recently received a soap saver bag as a gift. These are bags made of natural fibers. The idea is to put your bar of soap in it, use it as a washcloth or scrubby, and then hang it to dry. This is supposed to lengthen the longevity of your soap bar by using less soap to lather and by letting it dry well in between uses. Adding your pieces to your soap saver is another way to use up your soap slivers. Turning it into Shave Soap We have also saved a few pieces with t...