Frustrations with the Dishwasher

I know, I know.....I am trying very hard to be more eco-friendly, and a dishwasher doesn't usually fall into that category.  But I have to admit, I LOVE having one! With two kids, a husband and myslef all being grazers.....we have dishes constantly piling up. I love being able to load it up all day, run it when I go to bed, and unload in the morning.  No more dealing with stuck on stuff, or gross globs in the sink.  But I do HATE almost every dishwashing detergent I've come across.  First of all, it costs too much.  I cringe a little every time I have to buy it. Secondly, (and this may be the fault of the dishwasher and not the detergent, but I like to direct my anger all in one place) it never rinses away clean from its little compartment and we're left with dried detergent on our dishes and goop or powder all, and I mean ALL, over the inside of the door.   Thirdly, my son's favorite thing to do is climb up onto the door while I am loading or unloading.  Tonight he did that, and there was detergent left over as usual. The bleach in the detergent was so strong it bleached his pants all over!  Not what I want my 10 month old climbing in (and believe me, its easier to find a safe substitute for detergent than to try to get him to stop climbing)  So, I have decided to use my favorite resources, Google and Pinterest, to figure out a way to make it at home.  Most of the recipes I've found so far are pretty similar, using stuff I already have.  The only thing I would have to buy is citric acid.  I am kind of excited to try this, but since its one in the morning...its not looking like its gonna happen now.

On a more positive note.  I've been shopping around, and by shopping around, I mean trolling craiglist and slowing down for every garage sale I see, for a tandem bike trailer.  We have one, but since I got it, its been missing a coupler to attach it to a bike, so it never got used.  Then it sat in the basement, and my slightly dysfunctional cat peed on it.  So i cleaned it and left it outside to air out, and in the meantime every cat in the neiborhood decided they also wanted to take a turn in it! Needless to say, I was in the market for a new one, or at least not this one! No luck with the shopping around, so I bit the bullet and got out the borax and dawn detergent, made a very hot soapy bucket and got to scrubbing.  Then I hosed it down and it was looking, and smelling pretty good.  I was about to try to attach it to my bike, and then I remembered, "Oh yeah, missing coupler, can't do that!" So I ordered it online for $13.90 after shipping.  Better than the $100-$200 it would have cost for a new one, and I felt pretty darn good about myself after seeing and smelling the transformation of my old one.  In my enthusiasm, I bought my son a helmet so both of my kids can ride as soon as the part comes in the mail!

Keep posted for dishwasher detergent recipes and Photos of the Bike Trailer!