Homemade Dishwasher Detergent

I make a lot of things from scratch because it's usually easy, cheap and better for the earth and my family. It's taken me a long time to find an easy dishwasher detergent recipe that I was happy with because I didn't know where to find citric acid and didn't want to mess with my own essential oils. Lemi-Shine has solved my problems with this. 

This recipe is super easy- only four ingredients that you can find at most stores. I'm pleased with how safe it is for my family too. I'm not too worried if my little ones were to decide to break the child lock & get into this stuff since reading that Crunchy Betty's neice ate some of this detergent with no ill effects.

Homemade Dishwasher Detergent
1 cup borax
1 cup washing soda
1 cup Lemi-Shine
1/2 cup kosher salt

Mix it all up in a small bowl and store in an attractive bottle from Goodwill. To Use: fill your dishwasher soap well with it each time you do a load of dishes. Fill your dishwasher rinse aid with white vinegar to avoid water spots.

You may notice I paid $1.48 for this triangle glass bottle from Goodwill. I bought it years ago for a different project and it sat unused on a laundry shelf. It now fits just right under my sink holding my detergent.

Weekly Menu 7/15-7/21

Zane & Luke at the beach

My husband and middle son Braden (7) are away at Camp Paradise until Wednesday night so I'm finding fun things to keep Zane(10) and Luke (3) busy. Today I took them to Three Oaks beach & splash pad for a couple of hours. Tomorrow I'm going out to lunch with my mom and Zane and perhaps some antique shopping (if Zane doesn't object too much). Tuesday we're going raspberry picking again at our favorite organic farm and then shopping at our favorite farmer's market.  

Zane picking raspberries

I'm cooking a bit less until my guys return. I'm still making dinners though. Pasta is Zane's favorite so that's first up for the week.

I've got some beef liver in my deep freeze from the quarter of beef I purchased in January from the Riemer Family Farm. I've been scared to cook (& eat) it so while we've eaten most of the beef the liver is still waiting. I know organ meats are super healthy but I'm squeamish about such things. I've finally found a recipe that sounds pretty good so I'm going to keep my expectations low and give liver a try.

Weekly Menu 7/15-7/21

Monday: Pasta with homemade marinara & tossed salad
Tuesday: Baked Tilapia, rice, steamed green beans
Wednesday: Crockpot Chicken with carrots and potatoes
Thursday: Marinated Liver with Honey Glaze, steamed veggie

Friday: Tacos

Saturday dinner: Pizza
Sunday:  Chicken Noodle Soup & Leftovers

Snacks: Skin Clearing Green Smoothies, Honey Muffins

You can find more menus at Menu Plan Monday at I'm An Organizing Junkie.

What's on your menu plan this week?