DIY dishwasher tabs

After trying another recipe for powdered dishwasher detergent that left my dishes very cloudy and dingy I decided to try another. The reason I also didn't like the old recipe was that it all clumped together in my container so I had to chisel it out every time I needed some. When I saw someone making tabs out of their ice cube trays I thought duh! I bought some silicon mini cube trays off amazon since the large ones would not fit in the dishwasher compartment.

My recipe I adapted from several others:

3/8 C Washing Soda 

3/8 C Borax

3/8 C Epsom Salt

3 T Lemon Juice

This made a perfect amount for my two trays.

Mix until incorporated to a damp mixture. Make sure you really pack in the mixture into the trays and wait for them to dry. I let it dry for a day and was able to pop them out easily.

You can see my old recipe that turned into a brick in the second picture. I used one tab and put a bit of vinegar in a cup on the top rack as my rinse agent. The results were significantly better than the old recipe. There was much less (if any) cloudiness. Everything came out clean so I am very pleased. He is glad also because store bought detergent is too expensive and often doesn't even work that great.

She and He

She decided to start this blog to share her home projects. She and He are both big do-it-yourself-ers in all areas relating to the home and often share their creations with friends and family (when they are successful).

Last night I finalized a project I came up with on accident. He has been working on tiling our shower and had some extra mortar when he did the floor so I had this great idea to make some molded flower pots and candles. He didn't think it was going to work but helped me grab some old plastic flower pots and Tupperware we had laying around and set our molds. Low and behold the next day they came out great! I took my time finishing them off by smoothing the tops and taking a little water sealer and covering the outsides. Last weekend I bought some cheap marigold's to go in the flower pots and I think they came out great! (Note: I am not a professional photographer so apologies for my phone pics.)

Then last night after ordering some soy wax, wicks,  and citronella essential oil we made our candle version to have on the patio as well. He was very impressed because he thought somehow that candle making was a skilled craft.

As you can see in the first pic I filled a mason jar with the extra so I can throw it in out camping box. While I was outside I snapped a pic of the composter we made last weekend and the flower boxes He made with his father several months ago.

What do you think?