After we perfected the homemade dishwasher tabs, I decided to add a little sunshine to my dish routine by creating this Lemon Basil Liquid Dish Soap recipe. The scent of this is so cheerful and bright that washing dishes could be almost fun! Almost.

I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned before how much I dislike doing dishes. It’s basically how I introduce myself. “Hi, my name is Beth. I don’t like to do dishes. Nice weather we’re having!”

In the past, I had played around with using regular Castile soap for my dishes. Yes, I basically tried to use Castile soap for everything around the house. It is really great for foaming hand soap, laundry, and many other uses.

But, honestly, I missed the bubbles and the lather in the sink. I’m sure it’s psychological, but I always feel like bubbles prove it’s working. Am I right? I’m probably wrong, but the lack of bubbles didn’t work for me so I went back to my old chemical dish soap.

Well, then I discovered Sal Suds from Dr. Bronner’s. Where in the world has this amazing stuff been all my NATURAL life?

Here’s what you’ll love about this stuff:

• Sal Suds cleans (no, really). It does the job you need it to do on dishes, floors, laundry, and all-purpose cleaning.
• It rinses clean in hot or cold water.
• It works in soft and hard water conditions (yes, all you hard water people can REJOICE!)
• Sal Suds contains no synthetic dyes, preservatives, or fragrances.
• It’s gentle on your skin.
• It biodegrades quickly.
• It is organic and fair trade.

I combined this powerhouse cleaner with two of my favorite oils in the kitchen:  Lemon and Basil Essential Oils.  I just love this combination in the dish soap because the citrus and herbal scent is so cheerful and bright.  It makes my kitchen smell so … clean! Check out more essential oil suggestions below the recipe.

New to essential oils? Learn more about how we use them and why you should use them as well.

Liquid Dish Soap Recipe

Yield – 15 ounces

Ingredients

• 13 ounces water
• 2 ounces Dr. Bronner’s Organic Sal Suds Liquid Cleaner
• 6 drops Lemon Essential Oil
• 3 drops Basil Essential Oil
• pint jar
• pump dispenser

Directions

• In the jar, add the water and essential oil.  Then add the soap.
• Place the pump assembly on the jar and screw down tightly.
• Shake gently to stir.

To use:

• Add a few drops to your dish water.  A few pumps is enough for an entire sink full.

Some other fun kitchen essential oil scents you could try in this homemade liquid dish soap recipe:

10 drops Lavender Essential Oil
5 drops Peace and Calming Essential Oil + 4 drops Roman Chamomile Essential Oil
5 drops Lemongrass Essential Oil + 4 drops Tea Tree Essential Oil

You might also enjoy these cleaning recipes with essential oils:

• DIY All-Natural Cleaning Spray
• Kitchen Cleaning Wipes
• Natural Oven Cleaner
• Carpet Cleaner & Deodorizer
• How to Clean Musty Laundry

See all of our Recipes with Essential Oils here!

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