All year long,ย Clark.com‘s Michael Timmermann is sharing quick and easy ways to save money as part of our Michael Saves series. Check in every Monday as he puts new and familiar savings strategies to the test.ย Sign up for our newsletterย to have these stories delivered to your inbox!ย
I was flipping through the channels the other day when I stopped to watch a story about a single mother who makes homemade soap to save $10 a month.
As I sorted through multiple recipes online, I discovered that she’s not the only one doing this. A lot of people are turning economical bar soap into luxurious body wash or liquid hand soap, potentially saving $100 a year or more!
And after trying it out myself, I don’t think I’ll ever have to buy liquid hand soap again.
Follow along as I show you step-by-step how I turned scraps of leftover bar soap into homemade liquid soap that will last for months or maybe the rest of the year.
I promise that it’s cheap, quick and soย very easy!
Recipe: Turn bar soap scraps into liquid hand soap or body wash
Step 1: Gather scraps of old bar soap equal to 4 ounces, which is the weight of a regular bar of soap. You could also use a new bar of soap.
Step 2: Shred the soap using a cheese grater orย a potato peeler.
Step 3: Heat the soap pieces in a pot with approximately 8 to 9 cups of water until it melts. Use less water if you want to make a creamy body wash instead of liquid hand soap.
Step 4: This is just optional, but you can add 1 tablespoon of vegetable glycerin, which will help moisturize the skin. I found this bottle of glycerin in the beauty department at Walmart for $3.88.
Step 5: Remove melted soap from the heat and let it sit covered for 12 to 24 hours.
Step 6: After the soap thickens overnight, use a whisk or a mixer to blend it together. If it’s too thick or too thin, you can make adjustments and repeat the previous steps as necessary.
Step 7: Transfer to containers for storage. Look how much soap it made!
I’m not a professional when it comes to soap making, but I couldn’t be happier with how I was able to reuse scraps of soap that may otherwise have gone to waste โย and it only took a few minutes!
There are tons of different recipes and tutorials online. I found these helpful:
- How to make liquid soap and body wash from bar soap. DIY for cheap! — Cheap Geek
- Liquid hand soap: Pinterest made me do it! — This Old Homesteadย
- Make your own ‘resort quality’ liquid hand soap for pennies! — One Good Thing by Jillee
How much money can you really save? It depends how much soap you make and use, butย YouTuber Keilaย said she spends $1.60 to make four containers of body wash, which would cost $20 at the store.
Watch below: Make liquid soap from leftover bar soap
Check out more from ourย Michael Saves series:
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