DISH WASHING LIQUID - how to make your own

How to make your own dish washing liquid.

This recipe for dish washing liquid cleans dishes really well - it does not foam anything like the brought stuff so I was a bit dubious when I first started making it. I have however been proven wrong - it cleans well and smells great too. Mind you anything with essential oils will smell a lot better than the artificial iridescent green goo you purchase. I have trialed scent profiles but now generally stick to citrus blends. They are fresh and seem to cut through the grease. I also increased the amount of essential oil from my original recipe as I loved the smell of lemon essential oil while washing up. When I looked into the properties of lemon esssential oil - it is said to fight exhaustion, helps with depression, clears your skin, kills harmful viruses and bacteria, and reduces inflammation. Heck! Remember the old advert - Madge you know you are soaking in it? Well obviously they should be using this formulation instead.

This is a great way of using up plain soap offcuts - I grate them up and store them until I need them for recipes like this that are so quick and easy to make. I cannot recall where I got this recipe from but it seems to align with 'the way we did things back then'. I make it up fresh so have saved an old dishwashing bottle as my refill.

DIRECTIONS: Combine 1/4 cup finely grated soap and 2 cups of hot water in a bowl and stir until the soap has dissolved. Allow to cool until lukewarm, then stir in 1/4 cup of vegetable glycerine and about 2 teaspoon lemon essential oil. I like to add one of lemon and one of grapefruit (if you have it). Pour into your plastic squirty bottle. As the mixture cools, it can sometimes form a loose gel. Just give it a shake before use - it generally is a little thinner than brought brands but I love it. To use, dispense under running water into the sink the normal amount. It's not rocket science so go for it.