Simple Natural Living: Homemade Dish Soap

Living in the city has it's ups and downs. Just about everything we need is right outside our front door. But, we pay for that convenience with a lack of modern conveniences inside our apartment. Most city dwellers don't have a dishwashing machine. Personally, I'm happy to live without one, but it does mean a lot of time spent hand-washing. All that extra time spent wrist-deep in soapy water is encouragement to make sure that the soap we are using is safe for us. There are natural liquid dish soaps on the market, but an ever-growing need to be more self-reliant drove me to search for a DIY recipe. I found this one and after making a few minor adjustments, I think it's the beginning of beautiful, sudsy relationship.

Here's what you'll need :
makes 12 oz.

• 1 1/2 cups boiling water
• 1/4 cup liquid castile soap
• 1/4 cup grated castile bar soap
• 1/2 teaspoon liquid glycerine (non GMO)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons super washing soda (this may need to be adjusted depending on your desired thickness)
• 15 drops lemon essential oil
• 15 drops peppermint essential oil
• Bottle with pump dispenser

How to:
In a medium sized saucepan, bring water to a boil. Stir in the grated soap until it dissolves. Now, remove the mixture from the stove and pour into a blender. Add the liquid castile soap, glycerin and super washing soda. Blend it! Transfer the new mixture to your pump dispenser bottle and let it sit for about 24 hours and stir it every once in a while. It's going to thicken up quite a bit, so if it seems too thick just add a little bit of warm water. When it's done sitting, add in the essential oils and you're good to go.
Happy washing!
-Emily

Author and Illustration: Emily De Nicolais exclusively for ohdeardrea. To see more of Emily's work, click HERE