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For people with allergies or chemical sensitivities, using home-made cleaning supplies can make a tremendous difference in health. This was driven home for me in 2004.
To 4 oz (1/2 cup) of distilled water, add 6 ml lemon rind oil and 3 ml lavender. You can adjust the amount of lavender to counteract the lemon smell. I put this into a spray bottle and used it on the counter to clean up a spill. Wow!
In the top of a double boiler, combine 4 cups distilled water and one 4-oz bar of Castile soap, grated. Heat until the soap is melted, stirring occasionally. When all the soap is melted, remove from heat and allow to cool before adding a few drops of essential oils for special cleansing effect.
Lemon, lavender, lime, and sweet orange all have good effects. I tried eucalyptus, but it made the soap too oily. I mix my "dish oils" in a glass bottle so that I can mix larger quantities and have some "dish oils" left for my next batch of soap. I add at most 3 ml of the oil mixture to my soap after it has cooled a bit.
After adding the essential oils, wisk thoroughly to ensure even dispersement of oils throughout the soap. Pour through a funnel into an old dish soap bottle that has been washed out.
This soap works very nicely on glass and some plastics. For extremely greasy dishes, I've seen a tip to add lemon juice or vinegar to the water. I tried this with mixed results and then tried adding some lemon juice directly to the soap. It didn't really change the effect of the soap, but lemon does have wonderful antiseptic effects. My roommates and I ended up using a batch of the soap with lemon juice to scrub out the cat litter boxes. I was pleased with the results.
This is similar to Comet or Ajax. I added a few drops of lemon and lavender oils to 1 cup baking soda and 1/2 cup borax. I think it's better than the above-mentioned products! And it doesn't leave a chemical smell behind!