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Monday 26 March 2018

You know I'm tight when ... The Soap Saver



You know I'm tight when ...




... you see this hanging in the shower!

Soap.  In an onion bag!  But there's a reason for this macabre pairing.  Read on !


As we all know, soap eventually wears down to a small stub which slips out of your hand when you try to use it.  Well, I try to use them, maybe you don't!  Maybe I'm the only tight person in the room!
But I cannot bear to see these little stubs of soap being thrown away so  our household collects  I collect them. 



The Photographer's method is to place the little piece on top the new bar of soap.  It's a good idea but when wet and in action, this little soap pile tor can fall apart.

Now, do you remember back in the 50s/60s, when we used to collect the small pieces remaining from a bar of soap and pop them into a little bag made of sponge and sealed with blanket stitch?
I certainly do.

I googled to see if I could find a shot to describe this better.   I found nothing but did discover that there are quite a few like-minded bods out in the blogosphere, because I found lots of pics such as


and


and


even this pretty complicated piece of kit!

Research done, let's return to my money and planet saving efforts.


Tired of the soap avalanches, I started collecting them in a cut-down onion bag.  I thought this was a good idea as this rough little netted bundle creates an exfoliant treatment, which I started giving myself  on a regular basis when I remember.  But it is a tad harsh on the skin!




So I then came up with a better solution.  I started collecting the soap-stubs in a little exfoliant mitt to give myself a gentler exfoliation.  This is all a work in progress.  I think my next step is to knit a little draw-string bag to collect and use my stubs.

More and more of us move to hand and shower washes, leaving the humble bar of soap as but a memory, but it is still alive and relic-like in the less modern household.  Like Chez Pout!



The Photographer still likes soap in the shower and I have to say that I use it a few times a week too, like on exfoliation days!



What do you do with your soap stubs?
Or is it not an issue because you are a soapbar-free household? 


A la perchoine.

  




10 comments:

  1. I think life's too short to use the soap stubs!!

    Lov
    Lizer Pearl

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  2. I'm keeping this post away from my frugal husband, lol! I use liquid soap but Brian prefers bars. You are so funny my friend!
    xo,
    Kellyann

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  3. You can make your own bars of soap out of the little leftover pieces. They just need to be melted down on the stove in a pan with some water. Then you add a little vegetable oil, some food coloring if you want it to look different, and perhaps some things like herbs, or oatmeal, or whatever you like. Then you can pour it into molds or even just a cupcake pan. There are many videos on how to do this on Youtube.

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  4. Ah Pout. I love you.

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  5. My mother-in-law used to have a little soap box like the circular one that she used to reshape bits of soap. I do wonder if it's a generation thing my dear, as most people use liquid stuff nowadays. But, well done to you for this green effort! I chase the last bits of soap around for a while on the side of the sink and then set them free down the plug hole, hahaha!

    Anna x

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  6. I thought your first pic was a misshapen easter bunny! My husband sticks the pieces together and somehow they stay together. I tend to use liquid wash these days. I do love your posts.

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  7. I get sick of mine and chuck 'em I'm sorry to say BUT I read recently that if you let the soap bit dry out and then put it in one of those little gauze bags it makes a great moth repellant!
    xxxx

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  8. Mary this is very commendable! I admire your thrift and inventiveness. We are largely a soap-free household, although the gift packs I get for Christmas tend to have a soap in them, which I use in my undie drawers. (My mum says it's good for moths..Not that I wear woollen undies!).

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  9. When I lived at home we had a gadget to somehow push all the soap together to make another bar! I tend to use liquid soap at home now. Great idea though Mary. Jacqui Mummabstylish

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