Detergent.

So, I had a sink full of dishes and I was out of dishwasher detergent. It's Thanksgiving and I'm not in the mood to find a place to sell me some, so I turned to the internet. I sorted through a bunch of recipes and found a number of ingredients that I had on hand.

Baking Soda

liquid dish soap

lemon juice

I put a nickel sized spot of the liquid detergent in each side of the dispenser. I added about a teaspoon of lemon juice to each side and then filled the rest of the cups up with baking soda. It was a grand experiment. When I shut the door and pushed start I had flashbacks of the Brady bunch episode where the kids put regular dish soap in the dishwasher and have suds pouring out into the kitchen. That didn't happen, however. I did two loads this way today - both of them came out with good results. In each load there was at least one dish or pan that wasn't completely clean, but that sometimes happens with regular detergent as well. I was very pleased. It stirred me a little bit to find other things I could replace with less expensive homemade concoctions. Why not? It also made me think a little about how mentally dependent I am as a consumer on the products I use. I was glad to break out of the box a bit and try something new - and especially happy that it turned out so well!