Karen- The easiest way is to grate homemade hand soap into a sauce pan, cover with about 2 cups water and cook over slow heat until it looks like gel. Add more water as necessary to reach desired consistency. Put in squeeze bottle. I like the kind you can get at kitchen or department stores for ketchup and mustard or a nice glass bottle with a shot-pour top that you can get from kitchen supply stores
My husband used a diluted version of our laundry soap for the dishes with some essential oil to boost it. Yes, my husband did the dishes before we got a dishwasher because I really, really, really hated doing it. I've got a keeper, don't I?