You know the remnants of your bar soap, the ones that are too small to keep from sliding out of your hand but too big to toss without feeling wasteful? Well I have a perfect little tip so you can combine them and go on your merry washing way.
Depending on the size of the bar, you can do one of two things. First, if it’s just a sliver, you can wet the new bar, set the old bar on top and press them together. Leave them there until they dry and they should seal right up creating a new bar.
If your older bar is a bit larger, you might need to take a fork and run some parallel groves on both the old and new bar. Wet the grooves in the new bar and line the groves of both bars up and press together. Let dry and Wallah! New and old bars combined make a new and improved bar!
~Mavis
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Cari says
Ugh! My husband does this and it drives me nuts. I draw the line at rinsing tin foil and plastic bags and this. i know it really is fine to do, but grosses me out. We all have our own issues though.
Tammy says
The soap at Trader Joe’s has a little dip down so it works perfectly to do this. No pressing and not too much water, and they are stuck together!
Tricia@OurProvidentHome says
My grandpa and grandma used to do this! We, however, use a little knit/crochet cover for our bar soaps. Remember the J&J Buddy Bar coupon craze a few years ago… I love those things. Once I ran out of my over large stockpile I started putting our soap in the crochet covers, now we can use the soap right up to the end and it makes lathering up so much easier. Even the little people at my house can do it. If the cover isn’t in too bad of shape after the soap is gone I throw it in the wash and put it on the next bar of soap.
diane @smartmoneysimplelife says
I *love* this idea!!!
Do you use cotton yarn for the crochet cover or acrylic?
tricia@OurProvidentHome says
I use Cotton yarn. Same stuff I use for dishclothes, “the best dishcloth is a crochet dishcloth” my grandma always said and she is always right!
Teckla says
I’ve been doing this for years, too. The old saying, “a penny saved is a penny earned” translates nicely into this type of thrifting as well. I choose to be frugal in many areas so that I can live comfortably and splurge/indulge in other areas. It can be very satisfying, especially when we see so many around us who are struggling to manage, to know that living well is achievable.
Betty D says
Im finding I can take a empty bottle of those hand soaps that you use to wash your hands…when empty rinse out /break those small bars into pieces and put in bottles/let sit in hot water and put a little hot water in the bottle to thin it up some. They will melt down and when pressing down on the lever /pump…it comes out good enough to wash hands. They can also be used in bath/shower…since they are from bar soap. The come in handy esp. when you dont realize your out of soap….and can use till you get some . Care
sse soap is used here mostly so mine is mostly in my bottles of hand soap…love the smell when washing hands.
Pam says
The only bar soap I have in my home is Lava soap in the mudroom/utility room. I have pump hand soap dispensers on all the sinks (most of them are 5-6 years old – I just buy the supersize refill bottles and refill them as needed.). We all use liquid body wash in the shower. Like Cari said – we all have our things. Mine is seeing a bar of soap sitting on a sink and the bar of soap is dirty from the last person who used it to wash their cruddy hands. Or (gag me) a bar of soap in the shower with hair stuck to it. Not in my house as long as I have anything to say about it.
Teckla says
Yeah, I hate “hairy” soap too. So I’ve made it a point to always quickly rinse the bar before laying it down. Could only get my husband to do it part of the time and no kids to train. Now a widow, I do what I want. LOL
Peggy K says
This isn’t related to any post today, but related to Mavis’ ‘challenge’. We lost power last week and were out for almost 72 hours. No water, (we have a pump which is electricity driven which also means no flushing toilets, no getting drinking water from the faucet, no fridge, no A/C and no cooking. We have a small generator for the sump pumps which ran out of gasoline after 24 hours – thank heavens we were able to get more. Phones and tablets lost power. Downed wires and trees. where am I going with this – we were not prepared. No portable radio. No bottled water for toilets. no paper plates and things for food. No showers ( though the local athletic club when they got power on opened their showers up to the community!!!!) Lanterns did have batteries but no backups. Phone car charger disappeared in our move. Starring to put together a list of items needed when the power goes out – and depending on your area (city or suburbs or country) will depend on your basics. looking for suggestions on what you think should be in an emergency stockpile. Hope your followers can help with a basics stockpile! thinking about the MRE emergency food but with no power and no water that oatmeal probably won’t cut it. I am definitely not a Pioneer Woman so more power to you all who are self sufficient! Thanks – Peg
Lana says
We have been doing this for decades! We use expensive handmade organic soap so no way am I throwing out the slivers!
Lisa Millar says
We have some stockings tied to taps in the yard and the slivers go into those so we can wash our muddy, grotty hands outside – and the stocking keeps the soap from going walkabout!
Mavis says
Love this idea. Perfect for camping, too!