I wrote a few weeks ago about how I make my own laundry detergent now. One of the sites I linked to sent a lovely note of encouragement, exhorting me to make ALL my cleaning supplies myself.

Which, I now admit, I already pretty much do. I wrote up the laundry-soap recipe as if it was a new step for me. Which it was, because I thought of that one as a great leap. But I’ve actually been scrubbing with baking soda and wiping with vinegar for many years. Before I braved laundry detergent I had already been experimenting for a few weeks with an equally daunting multi-ingredient cleanser: dishwashing detergent.

As with the laundry soap, I checked multiple sources, then devised my own based on trial and error. Here’s where I landed:

One cup Washing Soda. (It’s about three bucks a box at Stop & Shop.)

One cup Borax (like Washing Soda, it’s cheap and basic and found in the detergent aisle of the supermarket.)
Half a cup baking soda.

Several tablespoons of handsoap or other liquid soap.

Blend together. The liquid soap will make the powders clump, so you have to stir or shake vigorously. (I used my mixing wand, which kept it powdery yet thoroughly mixed.)

Put the same amount of detergent in your dishwasher as you would for any store brand—a spoonful in the open compartment and a spoonful in the closed one. For your rinse agent, you can use vinegar.

Some dishwasher detergent recipes call for citric acid, which (like the vinegar) is supposed to help discourage spotting and build-up during the rinse cycle. I haven’t come across citric acid easily, so I haven’t tried it yet. Some dish loads are indeed less shiny than others. But overall, homemade has proven no better or worse than the store brands I’ve used—and a lot cheaper.