Here’s a simple thing you can do to enhance your emergency preparedness. Buy a case of hand soap, on sale preferably. Ivory is supposed to be the most pure, without added ingredients. I just buy the cheapest as soap seems to be soap, right?!
Now, unwrap it.
When my kids were young, we did this as a fun activity, and even toddlers enjoy it! Just dump all the packages of soap you have in the middle of the kitchen floor (not carpet) and let the kids have a ball unwrapping them. The kids love it, and it can be a fun challenge to them. Bare soap bars are stacked in a shoe box with the lid tucked onto the bottom. Everything else goes in the garbage. Simple instructions!
Soap straight from the grocery store will dissolve more quickly in your bath or shower than aged soap. In fact, if you let your soap sit unwrapped for a couple of years, you’ll be surprised at the mileage you can get out of it. It dries and hardens significantly and won’t melt away when you use it. It stills suds up the same. I have soap that is 10 years old in my storage and it is fabulously long lasting!
Put your shoeboxes of unwrapped soap in a bathroom cabinet or in your laundry room where the soapy smell will be appreciated, and not taint food storage. Stash it away and let it age, like cheese, and you’ll not only save money and reduce waste, but you’ll never find yourself caught without soap!
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I'd sure love to hear your comment!
What a great idea! I had been keeping them in zip-seal bags, thinking I was preventing them from losing the fragrance (the natural handmade soaps smell great but seem to lose scent about halfway through the bar).
Dear Diane,
What a great tip! I think I will give this a try.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your lovely family.
By His Grace,
Cynthia
I've grew up doing this, something my mother taught me. I explain how to do this exact thing, to save money, to the younger kids today and they just look at me. Nice to know I'm not the only one still doing it.
I use a cheap plastic drawer organizer with holes on the sides to allow air to circulate through the bars.
It helps to have the paper box in order to air the soap better. Even a paper grocery sack will do! Just leave the top open.
So glad you like my blog!
; 0 ) Diane
Would this work as well with a plastic storage box? or does it have to be cardboard box to let air in and around the soap?
Just wondering because I have a plastic box on hand but no shoe boxes…
Thank you for all your sharing,
Linda
(who loves your blog and always learns something for myself and to pass on to friends)
That's interesting. We seldom use bar soap, though I have a bar of homemade soap in my bathtub. I do buy some bar soap on occasion because I like the way it smells and I put it in my linen closet to make my sheets smell good. I just put all my good smelling soap in Operation Christmas Child boxes, so maybe it will have aged a little and will last longer for the recipient.
Ivory has nice little quotes on the wrappers too.
Awesome advice…thanks! I did not know that. I love gleaning information from you. Love the blog!
What a great tip. Thanks.