I just keep them in the bottles they come in. I use Seventh Generation dish soap and Trader Joe's French Liquid Soap in Orange Blossom Honey. When they're empty, into the recycle bin the bottles go.

I use a olive oil dispensing bottle with spout for my dish soap. I found the bottle and loved it, but already had one for my olive oil, so decided to use it for dish soap, it looks nicer than the plastic Dawn bottle. For hand soap, I have a ceramic bottle that I picked up for a couple of dollars, at either Wal-mart or Target. ?

I keep my Dawn under the sink, and I only use Bath & Body Works hand soap, which stays in the decorative bottle next to the sink. I also keep a little tidbit tray next to the sink that the soap sits on , along with lotion. It makes the area look organized.

Keep an eye on the diameter of the spigot. I had ones in our mbath which I threw out because they didn't work well...the opening was too small to pump the liquid soap well. The new ones I bought were plastic but with ORB trim and a much larger spigot. They work great.

I have a built in soap dispenser for hand soap and I keep the dish soap under the sink.

I keep a plain white ceramic one from Target on the counter by my kitchen sink that I fill with liquid hand soap. I keep a small Palmolive dish soap bottle under my sink that I refill from a huge one when it's close to empty. I don't like too many things on my counters. The Target dispenser is abut 3 years old now and is still looking ok. The shape is such that it's easy to hold onto when wet, although I rarely pick it up then. I agree that glass and ceramic things around a sink are more easily broken. Just last night I picked up a salsa bottle to wash off the outside before putting it away . . . dropped it and had to clean up glass mixed with salsa in about a 5 foot area around the sink!

small bottle of dish soap kept in a wire basket attached to inside of sink with my dish brush -- refilled from big bottles which are too unwieldy. I don't see the need for a separate hand soap

I don't have a dishwashing soap bottle setting out. I have this that stays in one side of my sink. And for handsoap, a bottle of BBW foaming hand soap. Dang! I can't get the picture to post. I see it in my preview but the link is "broken" when it posts. Sorry.

Here is a link that might be useful: OXO Good Grips® Soap Squirting Dish Brush

This post was edited by monicakm on Mon, Nov 17, 14 at 11:24

I also re-purpose liquid hand soap bottles, buying liquid soap in the big bottle at Dollar General to refill them.

All summer long I was using the pink Dawn dish washing liquid with Olay in it and truly thought my hands benefited from it. Last time the store was out so I bought big blue Dawn. Already my hands are rough and chapped, but I don't know if it's the dish soap or my frequent hand washing in this colder weather. I keep the bottle of dish soap under the sink. Been thinking about sitting a bottle or tube of hand lotion next to the hand soap on top the sink or just going back to Dawn with Olay.
Do you think the hand lotion in the Dawn remains a bit on dishes??

I use a stainless steel dispenser that I picked up from Home Goods for the dish soap and a bottle of Bath & Body Works hand soap for hands. I don't know why but the stainless steel do get rust on if I have droplets of water on it so I have to wipe it off. Will replace with something else in time.

Kitchen: built in dish soap dispenser (dawn)
Guest bath/powder room thrown pottery pump dispenser and ball clear jar I pinterested into a dispenser.
Kids rooms and MB: bath & body ($3 each when on sale)

I have two simple human soap dispensers at my sink. One for dish soap and the other for hand soap. I marked them with labels from my label maker. I use Method Gel Hand Soap (Unscented) and Seventh Generation Dish Soap (Unscented). I buy both the hand soap and dish soap in the refill container bags.

I have had the simple human soap dispensers for about 4 years. In the beginning, Simple human replaced them three times. The last set of dispensers are about 2years old and work wonderfully. I think I bought the technology a little too early. The company stood behind their warranty and replaced the product as needed. I use rechargeable batteries in mine and they last about 2 months at a time. Fairly active household with 4 adults.

Regarding manual soap dispensers which I have in my bathrooms, I purchased really expensive soap dispensers from Blomus and they have never given me a day of trouble. They are stainless and about 6 years old. I purchased three of them on ebay for the price of half of one retail. I look at the dispensers at Restoration hardware and Pottery barn and they all look quite flimsy. I guess like all things, they expect people to replace them quite often.

Good luck!

Here is a link that might be useful: Simple Human Soap Dispenser

I don't have much out on my counters so I think having them out is a good thing here. I can't imagine not having a hand soap on our counter because we use it quite often throughout the day. Cleaning the litters and washing hands immediately after is the big one that comes to mind. I don't really mind looking at the hand soap container, for years I've said,"it's just hand soap", but I'd like something more attractive. I'd be ok with plastic if I could find one I like.

I went through two metal olive oil spouts for my glass container that holds the dish soap and both of them rusted in a short amount of time which is why I was hesitant on using metal. I managed to find a plastic spout in another bottle once while out thrifting and it fits my hand soap container perfect.

For those who don't use a separate hand soap at the sink, do you just use your dish soap to wash your hands?

Monica - The link isn't working. I'll do a search! Thanks!

Schoolhouse - "Do you think the hand lotion in the Dawn remains a bit on dishes??"
I'm using one of those now and I don't think it remains on the dishes. I find this soap is better on my hands too. I don't reach for the gloves often enough!

I tried a few natural dish soaps over the years, but don't feel like they clean well enough. I hand wash all plastic, knives, and some pots and pans. I do like Seventh Generation powder dishwashing detergent.

Homepro - Thanks for the link! I don't mind dropping money on something if it's going to work. I'm glad to hear they stood by their product.

I bought some super expensive dish soap and hand soap because I liked the way the plastic containers look. After I used it up, I bought my usual brand and transferred it to the other containers. Yes, I trick guests into thinking they are using the expensive stuff! (insert evil laugh)

Hereabouts -- two matching PLASTIC dispensers -- one with basic Dawn detergent for hands and dishes and the other one has hand lotion ..... both dispensers are kept in a small wire carrier that JUST fits under the breakfast counter -- which is above the sink area ....

I would love to have glass or ceramic ones BUT way too many close calls -- so I chose the plastic set ....(yep -- the whole set came from TJ Maxx)

yes, I use dish soap to wash my hands at the kitchen sink. I've never noticed a problem with it, and I think it would drive me crazy to have two different soaps there.

In bathrooms, I have squeeze bottles of diluted Dr. Bronner's Peppermint Castile soap, which I have used exclusively for my body for over 30 years.

I use a Fairy dishwashing soap plastic dispenser. It's the big brand in England, and it's very cute. My daughter lives in England, and she saved it for me. I decoupaged over the label several times so it wouldn't wear off. (I thought I was the only one who decoupaged stuff like that, annie!)

I fill it with whatever soap and use that for both my hands and dishes.

I recently broke a pottery hand soap dispenser that a friend hand given me. :( Instead of replacing, I grabbed a wire basket to hold a bottle of hand soap, dish detergent and hand sanitizer. Previously, the bottle of dish detergent was sitting out. Not very attractive to me. I also started using the clear detergent that looks a little better.

I have a SS simplehuman automatic (sensor) dispenser; however I'm not sure I would do it again. You need to swipe your hand in front for it to dispense soap which sounds good in theory; however sometimes I'll accidentally move in front of it and there will be a pool of soap on the counter. Or if i want to squirt some in the sink I still need to pull out the bottle from the cupboard because I can't just squirt some in to wash dishes. Plus it needs replacement batteries periodically. Sometimes simpler is better.

Teacats I should probably get a lotion one for near the sink. My hands would thank me! That's under the cabinets and never gets used, lol.

Violet - Part of the reason I think I wouldn't like just one is because of the dish soap bottle that I use. It's tall and glass and I would prefer it not be handled a lot by others. It's crashed a few times and I really don't think it will break, but since I'm the one who does the dishes, I'm usually the only one who messes with it.

Nancy - Is it one of the Jubilee Celebration ones? They're pretty great looking.

Newhomebuilder - I'd love to use a tray, but there doesn't seem to be quite room for one with my sink set up. Yours looks good in the container. I do need to get some clear dish soap again. It's currently the Olay hand lavender kind that's pastel purple. Clear for me from now on.

Hilltop - Hmm... good to know, thanks!

I just remembered I have a bottle of hand soap that's quite nice looking that would work. I actually really love the look of the label, but since it talks about a scent that I won't be replacing, I think I'd prefer it gone. We'll see. Going to look around in stores the next time I'm out.

I keep dish soap under the sink, but hand soap has to be on the counter. I bought a fancy ceramic soap dispenser with metal pump, and I wouldn't do it again. The soap leaks and needs to be wiped constantly or else it turns gross, and the finish has completely worn off.

I replaced with liquid Savon de Marseille which comes in a glass bottle with plastic pump. Then I can buy liquid in bulk or replace with a new bottle if needed.

In the bathroom, I use plastic Muji pumps for lotion, soap, shampoo and conditioner, and they work great.

Here is a link that might be useful: Savon de Marseille soap

I'm surprised that only a couple of us (?) actually use dish soap to wash our hands. It's honestly never occurred to me to have dish soap PLUS hand soap at the kitchen sink. We have the integrated soap dispenser in the counter by the sink, and it contains dish soap. Which we also use as hand soap. I also have a pump container of hand lotion near the sink, but I just keep the lotion in the container it's sold in. (Of course I only buy lotions in decent looking containers that happen to match my kitchen. I'm serious.)

sueb20 - What lotion do you buy? I hate hate hate transferring lotion to separate dispensers, but I haven't found a great lotion bottle yet! I prefer unscented lotion which usually comes in ugly bottles.

sueb, I use dish soap to wash my hands at the kitchen sink.

maxmillion, to make transferring lotion into a separate dispenser easier, get a funnel, put it in the dispenser, tip the lotion bottle upside down in the funnel, and let it sit overnight. Gravity does all the work.

I have a European wine bottle for dishliquid. It has a weighted bottom so it isn't easily knocked over. I added a cork and metal spout. DD2 has my previous glass bottle that I used for at least 10 years. I've never worried about breaking them and haven't (knock on wood).

I got tired of adding handsoap all. the. time. to a pottery dispenser, so I ordered a vintage Ball jar. Sprayed the plastic spout copper. The bottle on the right is just because - white horse.

Tibbrix - Thanks, I have funnels but I buy lotion in HUGE bottles that it is hard to balance without tipping over, especially since my lotion dispensers have tiny heads that require tiny funnels. I tried one of these, but it doesn't fit on either end (top clamp too small, bottom funnel too big).

Also, I find dish soap strips too much oil from my hands. I use a gentle soap at the kitchen sink. I don't use lotion in the kitchen because it doesn't feel right before food prep.

I use lotion in the kitchen AFTER washing dishes, but I keep the bottle in a cupboard.

I used to use dish soap to wash my hands. It dries my hands out, too. I use a Shea Butter liquid soap, instead.

allison0704 - I love the wine bottle idea! Where did you find that cork spout?

Hilltop,
You can dispense without the motion from the simple human. I believe you hold down the + button and it dispenses as much soap as you need.

I don't use lotion but a heavy cream because my hands get really dry. It is hard to find unscented lotions or creams in a dispenser. I am currently using a brand Aroma Naturals that I get from whole foods. I use the Aloe and the Shea butter soft whipped butter cream. So far so good!

Here is a link that might be useful: Aroma Naturals

I use Method products, and have their "Kitchen Lemongrass" hand soap (great for odors) and Basil dish soap sitting by the sink. While their containers aren't anything special, they're also not especially ugly... so they don't bother me.

newhomebuilder, I've had it so long I don't remember! I looked on Amazon, but everything seems to have the silver over the top and a long thing on the bottom. Mine is just a cork w/a hole in it and the silver spout.

Bottle of dish soap on the sink washes all. Don't even notice it. Think again if I'm going to waste my money on a bottle to hold soap.

At the kitchen sink: a small "retro" Dawn bottle that I refill from larger bottle under the sink (found the "retro" bottle at the dollar store), and for hands, a huge bar of "kitchen soap" in a white ceramic soap dish. The soap does double duty - I can rub my Scotch Brite pad over the soap to wash just one paring knife, for instance or wet the bar and rub it over stains on clothes before washing them. My favorite bar of "kitchen soap" is a large white bar of French soap, designated for kitchen use on a wooden drainer.

My vintage kitchen is in my 104 year old brick bungalow, so the vintage stuff goes well.

I use this dispenser from Pottery Barn (minus the sponge). Getting the lotion into the container is rather a pain but the hand soap is not too bad. And it holds a lot so I do not have to refill too often.

Here is a link that might be useful: Soap dispenser

Thanks Allison. I'll look around, too.

I have two pump bottles (one for soap one for dish liquid) that are ORB color (as is hardware in the kitchen). I was surprised when I picked one up and discovered it was plastic! It has a heavier bottom and has held up well. Mine came from Target. I used to always keep the dish liquid under the sink (and still do , the big bottle), but like having it convenient also.

In the kitchen we have Prepworks from Progressive International (found on Amazon). I love these. I got one for hand and one for dish soap and they sit side by side next to the faucet. They have a long, thin, slightly downward curved spout and a good sized rounded dome lid which makes it easy to use your wrist to push it down if your hands have food on them. The spouts swivel and are long enough so that if you miss a drip, it just goes into the sink.The base is quite a bit wider than the top and has a rubber ring around it so they don't tip over or move around. They have unobtrusive, sleek lines. A great design all around, IMO. We've used these for a good 5 years or more and they're like new.

In the bath we have touchless Simple Human brand sensor pumps--activated when you put your hand under the soap spout--love these too! They come in white, stainless, black, etc. I notice that the newer models have a see thru soap receptacle. The ones I have do not but the top pops off for easy refilling. These too are holding up beautifully after years of use.

I have a built-in soap dispenser at the kitchen sink, and I use dish soap to wash my hands. I do have a soap dispenser in my bathroom that looks like the one the OP posted. I bought it at BBB, and it makes foaming soap. I have an onyx soap dish (that I bought in Mexico) that holds face soap. I'm much more particular about face soap than I am about hand soap.

Lars

The OXO looks promising.

Here is a link that might be useful: OXO Good Grips Big Button Soap Dispenser

Just discovered BB&B has the OXO in two different sizes, so large one could be for dish soap and smaller one for hand lotion.

Here is a link that might be useful: 2 Sizes OXO Dispensers

I bought these at Home Goods in the Bath section... think I got the tray there too!
They are glass but I don't take them off the tray except to refill them.
Works for me.

I use a decorative ceramic soap bottle in the kitchen. For this time of year, I love the Williams-Sonoma Winter Forest liquid soap. The dishwashing liquid is great, too.

In the bathroom, I use a soap dish and bar soap. I like the Olivia Care Olive Oil Soap in the verbena fragrance. It is made in France with essential oil fragrance.

I also use the same for both hands and dishes. I did get the mild type so as not to be too drying and keep lotion next to it. I love having the same for both and eliminating one whole bottle. Dawn has a new one called Hand Renewal, it's lavender in color and has Olay in it . I have the pump bottles from Williams Sonoma that have a chrome holder. They originally had the Williams Sonoma soap/lotion but long since ran out.

I was at xmas tree shop today and they had rectangular bottles of soap and metal bottle covers to put over them. Once used up, you could refill them with whatever floats your boat.

My sink has a soap dispenser built in next to the faucet. That is all I need. No way would I want all that clutter of bottles,caddy's etc. on and near my sink.

Found these at Katom which would probably work and they have a little basket. Plus, the clear bottles make it possible to identify whether the bottle holds dish soap or hand lotion.

Here is a link that might be useful: Olive Oil Bottle Set with Chrome Rack

There is also this.

Here is a link that might be useful: Oil & Vinegar Set Chrome Plated Rack

I have this one from Target I use for dish soap for about a year. And I use a bath and body works lemon foaming soap for hand soap.

Here is a link that might be useful: Target Oil Can Soap Dispenser

This post was edited by zoey75 on Sun, Nov 23, 14 at 18:32

I stocked up on foaming hand soap last time I was at Bath and Body Works and found them to be very drying. I was disappointed because I love the way they smell. I have a dishwashing liquid built in pump so use that for hands for now.

Thanks for the other suggestions and ideas.

Max - Love those! I'd probably buy the fig one.

Allison - Thanks for posting your photo. I didn't think about a ball jar. I like how that looks too.

Walnutcreek - Thanks! It's a different style, but clean looking. I like the other too glass ones also. They might compete with the size of my dish soap bottle though since it's taller.

Marisa - They look nice! I wish I had a Home Goods here.

Zoey - That was the Target one I was talking about. I like that a lot. I'm glad to hear yours has been working well and might give it a try.

I saw nothing appealing while I was out recently. I'm going to check again tomorrow.

Thanks!