Comments on: 7 Green-ish Ways to Lower Household Costs http://littlehouseinthesuburbs.com/2009/08/go-green-and-lower-your-household-costs.html simplicity, creativity, self-sufficiency,...minivans Wed, 23 May 2012 09:00:50 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: Canadian Doomer http://littlehouseinthesuburbs.com/2009/08/go-green-and-lower-your-household-costs.html/comment-page-1#comment-15470 Canadian Doomer Wed, 14 Mar 2012 18:39:04 +0000 http://littlehouseinthesuburbs.com/?p=1692#comment-15470 When we started using bathroom cloths in December 2010, we had a 48-pack of toilet paper in the closet. I still haven't had to replace it. I use scraps of anything old, absorbent and cotton - husband's tshirts, old receiving blankets, etc. As far as I'm concerned, everything comes out in the wash, although anyone who 'soils' the cloth is responsible for rinsing their own before putting it in the bucket. I apparently have a high tolerance for "gross". LOL We do all the rest. Well, we don't have A/C or a dishwasher. When we started using bathroom cloths in December 2010, we had a 48-pack of toilet paper in the closet. I still haven’t had to replace it. I use scraps of anything old, absorbent and cotton – husband’s tshirts, old receiving blankets, etc. As far as I’m concerned, everything comes out in the wash, although anyone who ‘soils’ the cloth is responsible for rinsing their own before putting it in the bucket.

I apparently have a high tolerance for “gross”. LOL

We do all the rest. Well, we don’t have A/C or a dishwasher.

]]> By: Shannon http://littlehouseinthesuburbs.com/2009/08/go-green-and-lower-your-household-costs.html/comment-page-1#comment-10768 Shannon Thu, 16 Dec 2010 01:55:44 +0000 http://littlehouseinthesuburbs.com/?p=1692#comment-10768 I have a tip for you on the dish detergent. If you mix the powdered dish detergent 50/50 with baking powder you can really stretch how far that box of powder goes. Also I can use just 1 TBSP of the powder mixture to clean a whole dishwasher full of dishes. People typically overfill the tray and that can actually leave your dishes dingy and with water spots. I have a tip for you on the dish detergent. If you mix the powdered dish detergent 50/50 with baking powder you can really stretch how far that box of powder goes. Also I can use just 1 TBSP of the powder mixture to clean a whole dishwasher full of dishes. People typically overfill the tray and that can actually leave your dishes dingy and with water spots.

]]> By: AnnieJ http://littlehouseinthesuburbs.com/2009/08/go-green-and-lower-your-household-costs.html/comment-page-1#comment-3117 AnnieJ Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:48:31 +0000 http://littlehouseinthesuburbs.com/?p=1692#comment-3117 We ran out of dishwasher detergent about six months ago and I mixed up a small batch of homemade to tide us over until I could buy more. It was just equal parts borax and baking soda aka sodium bicarbonate (online recipes say to use washing soda aka sodium carbonate but I didn't have any) plus white vinegar in the rinse agent dispenser. I used about a tablespoon and a half of the powder per wash, and just filled the rinse dispenser with the vinegar. That combo didn't work perfectly, so the next time I used the same powder mix and added a VERY small squirt (a few drops) of dishwashing liquid (Dawn) to the powder dispenser along with the powder mix, and splashed a small amount of bleach in the bottom of the dishwasher (about a teaspoon). This has worked so well that we've never bothered to get more commercial dishwashing detergent, and its truly cheaper than dirt. The drops of detergent are a surfactant - what is needed to cut grease - and its absence is probably why people give up on making their own. The baking soda is a mild abrasive and a water softener. Commercial dishwashing detergents have surfactants, abrasives and water softeners, and also usually contain bleach and borax. If we had hard water, a small amount of citric acid could be added to further help soften the water. If you give this a try, be sure not to overdo the dishwashing liquid. A very few drops will do the job, and too much will foam out of your dishwasher all over your floor. And don't forget the vinegar. Without it, your glassware will tend to look cloudy after a few washings but it clears right up when you go back to using the vinegar. We ran out of dishwasher detergent about six months ago and I mixed up a small batch of homemade to tide us over until I could buy more. It was just equal parts borax and baking soda aka sodium bicarbonate (online recipes say to use washing soda aka sodium carbonate but I didn’t have any) plus white vinegar in the rinse agent dispenser. I used about a tablespoon and a half of the powder per wash, and just filled the rinse dispenser with the vinegar.

That combo didn’t work perfectly, so the next time I used the same powder mix and added a VERY small squirt (a few drops) of dishwashing liquid (Dawn) to the powder dispenser along with the powder mix, and splashed a small amount of bleach in the bottom of the dishwasher (about a teaspoon). This has worked so well that we’ve never bothered to get more commercial dishwashing detergent, and its truly cheaper than dirt.

The drops of detergent are a surfactant – what is needed to cut grease – and its absence is probably why people give up on making their own. The baking soda is a mild abrasive and a water softener. Commercial dishwashing detergents have surfactants, abrasives and water softeners, and also usually contain bleach and borax. If we had hard water, a small amount of citric acid could be added to further help soften the water.

If you give this a try, be sure not to overdo the dishwashing liquid. A very few drops will do the job, and too much will foam out of your dishwasher all over your floor. And don’t forget the vinegar. Without it, your glassware will tend to look cloudy after a few washings but it clears right up when you go back to using the vinegar.

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