As with most things I DIY I do it for two main reasons: to reduce toxins in my home AND to save money. I started hunting for a DIY dishwasher detergent recipe several years ago, and starting making my own about 2 years ago. After reading through many recipes, I came across one that primarily uses lemons. WHOLE lemons. That might not seem very exciting to you BUT I have a lemon tree that overproduces lemons so this recipe was a perfect fit. Although I do use my lemons in cooking and to make lemon juice (even freezing it into lemon ice cubes) I STILL have an overabundance (there’s only so much you can freeze, drink, and cook with), so this dishwasher detergent recipe is a great way to use them while making a useful product.

Edit: You can make this DIY with limes too and it is so much easier because limes have little to no seeds. I discovered this by chance when I received a bunch of limes for free. If you are able to acquire limes instead of lemons, DO IT!

As with most of my DIY and natural living journey, I started experimenting with making my own laundry detergent back in 2013.  My oldest son was suffering from severe eczema, and even buying the laundry detergents that were supposedly super sensitive and all that, STILL seemed to bother him.  In addition, such detergents tended to be on the pricier side.  Eager for a more natural solution that didn’t cost an arm and a leg, I began my search for a natural laundry detergent that was inexpensive to make, had natural ingredients, AND cleaned the clothes well.  Over the years, I have tried a total of 6 recipes, although I have looked at many others.  I tried ones that had lots of positive feedback and/or were more popular among DIY’ers, appeared to be cheap to make, AND seemed to be fairly fool-proof to make.

Cleaning is, unfortunately, one of those tasks you can’t escape in life, unless you are well-off and can pay someone to do it for you all the time.  Since most of us don’t have that option, we are stuck doing the dirty work (quite literally). I don’t know about you, but the price and fumes from the store bought cleaners really bothers me.  When I would use store bought cleaners, I often felt like my nose and throat were on fire after cleaning. Plus, my hands would be raw and red. Then, there was the price (unless you are a mad couponer). 

Baby wipes are one of those expenses that adds up quick when you have little ones that aren’t potty-trained.  Fortunately, they are easy to make yourself! In addition, by making them yourself, you avoid all the nasty chemicals and other random junk in store bought ones.