All Purpose Cleaning Spray:
1/4 cup Lemon Juice (I used the concentrate I use for cooking & baking)
1/2 cup White Vinegar
1 tsp. Borax
1 tsp. Super Washing Soda (Arm & Hammer)
1 tsp. Castile Soap (or dishwashing liquid)
32 oz. Spray Bottle
Add just enough HOT tap water to mix / shake / dissolve powdered ingredients, and then add cold tap water to fill your spray bottle up to the 32 oz. line.
You can also add a few drops of essential oils if you want, but I found that the lemon juice concentrate made for a wonderful lemon fresh scent! I found the original recipe which I adapted for my purposes at this link:
http://www.oursemiorganiclife.com/2011/04/diy-counter-cleaner.html
Dry Powdered Dishwasher Detergent:
1 cup Borax
1 cup Super Washing Soda (Arm & Hammer)
1 cup Lemi-Shine
1/4 cup Kosher Salt or 1/4 cup Epsom Salts
Mix well in a container large enough to dip your hand into. Throw in a cracker or something to absorb any extra moisture, since you'll likely be storing this under your sink and it WILL clump up. Throw in a scoop or measuring spoon and use as much as needed to fill your dishwasher's detergent cup.
Original link on Pinterest (Her recipe calls for 1 tbs. but I use almost twice that much):
http://www.simplydesigning.net/2011/05/hard-water-stains-dishwasher-detergent.html
And now for my all-time favorite recipe that I've been using for months! No grating, no muss, no fuss. I may never buy commercially made detergent again!
Liquid Laundry Detergent:
6 tbs. Borax
6 tbs. Super Washing Soda (Arm & Hammer)
4 tbs. Dawn Dishwashing Liquid Soap (I use the lavender Olay one)
* If you stir the powder ingredients in a bowl first to eliminate clumps, that helps a lot! * Add enough HOT tap water to your gallon-sized jug to shake / mix / dissolve all the powder ingredients. Once everything is dissolved, add enough cold tap water to fill the jug up to the 1 gallon line. I use about 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup in my HE front-loading washing machine.As you can see, I have doubled the ingredients and added less water to make a more concentrated detergent. I went to Walmart and purchased a 1 gallon beverage container in the plastic container section in the Home department for less than $3, but you can use a clean milk jug or an old detergent container that's also been cleaned out. One of those cute beverage dispensers would be a really classy or cute and much easier option, albeit more expensive, and then you could just dispense directly into the washer or into a cup.
Original link on Pinterest:
http://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/2012/02/no-grate-homemade-laundry-soap.html
