Putting the dishwasher on a diet

We made the switch to homemade dishwasher detergent a couple of months ago, but it turns out I hadn’t shed a habit that’s pretty much the equivalent of the old shampoo marketing gimmick skewered on a Trivial Pursuit card: Filling the entire detergent compartment is really not that much different than “lather, rinse, repeat.” In both cases, you’re using more product than necessary, sometimes with detrimental results.

I’m all over this with laundry detergent. The more companies “concentrate” their so-called formulas, the more careful I am to stop pouring at the lowest line on the measuring cap.

At any rate, yesterday I took some anonymous internet advice and measured out two tablespoons of my borax-and-baking soda mixture. That looked to be about half the amount I normally use, but I didn’t notice any difference in performance.