What to Do with Soap Scraps?
I prefer to use natural soap bars rather than liquid soap, as I think it is more natural and cheaper, and has no chemicals. Plus, it is simple too. And I like simple!
I also use soap for my laundry needs and for dish washing. I use good old Sunlight Soap for these. Chemical free and simple and easy to use. I grate a teaspoon or two of finely grated soap straight into my washing machine and use a warm wash. For dish washing I simply lather up a dish cloth and wash my dishes in a sink full of hot water. Easy!
Of course, I have found I am gathering up soap scraps. So what to do? An internet hunt was on! The two simplest ways to use the soap scraps that I found were to soften them and remold them into a muffin tin and dry them out in the hot water cupboard for a week or two. Or, use a small soap bag for the scraps. So I have decided to do a bit of both, as takes my fancy.
How to soften soap scraps to remold:
Simply place your soap scraps into a bowl. Pour boiling water over them to just cover. Wait awhile (about 15 minutes) and check whether they've softened up enough. If not, wait a little longer and re-check. You could always repeat the process if you need to.
Once softened enough, drain off the excess water and start to push the soap scraps into a pre-oiled muffin tin. I like to use a silicone muffin tin as it is so easy to remove the soap afterwards. However, I understand that the ordinary muffin tins are just fine, too. Really squish it in together nice and firm. Smooth the tops and press down a bit with a spoon if you wish. Then place in a hot water cupboard (or similar warm dry place) and leave to harden for a good few days. After that take out of muffin tin and place on a cloth or a plate to dry out for another week or two.
Soap Scrap Bag
It is easy to sew a soap scrap bag from a flannel or a dish cloth, using a velcro strip to seal or use a drawstring top with a ribbon or string or wool. Or you could crochet a simple bag and make a drawstring top.
This could be used in the shower. Or, I'm just thinking, maybe for washing dishes? And maybe in the washing machine? Mmmm...
Color coding option
I'm going to keep my Sunlight Soap scraps separate from my other soap scraps and either remold into small soaps to use again, or put into a soap scrap bag. This is because I wish to re-use them for cleaning purposes.
My other soap scraps I may consider color coding them to be pleasing to the eye. Whatever combinations I think look good. :-)
Well, that's soap scraps done and dusted!
