~~Homemade hand soap~~

Since we've started the 'natural' thing at home, we've realized that a bunch of the things we've started to use are pretty darn expensive.  Our grocery bills were hitting $700 or so, and that was just the monthly bill--that didn't include all the perishables we were buying throughout the month like milk, bread, etc.!

But, as with most things, with that dark, expensive cloud, there came a silver lining...do-it-yourself!  Who knew it could be a blast?!

Yesterday I tried my luck at hand soap, something that we buy a lot of (three bathrooms + 1 kitchen...1 per room per month at $5 a pop...equals mucho dinero).  Anyway, it turned out that it was extremely simple.  Mind you, there are many different methods and depending on how you like your hand soap (watery vs gel) will determine which method you decide to go with on this.  The method I used was very basic, but I think next time I'll play around with it a little (maybe add some of that glycerin I have sitting in our pantry).

What you'll need:
1 quart of water
1/4 bar of soap (I used Kirk's Castile soap since it's very natural)
2 tsp honey (optional)
10-15 drops essential oil (optional)



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Step 1:  put 1 quart water on low-medium heat (you want to get it steaming...some recipes call for boiling, but not the one I used)



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Step 2:  grate 1/4 bar of soap and set aside until your water is steaming





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Step 3:  once water is steaming, remove from heat and pour in grated soap...whisk/mix to ensure soap dissolves, then let it sit for about 15 minutes



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Step 4:  whisk/mix again and let sit overnight to cool...in the morning, whisk/mix again real quick and pour soap into your dispensers; any left-overs can be stored in a clean jug of water/milk or mason jar to refill your dispensers once you've run out of soap



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Now, I actually made two batches...one like the one I described above, the other with honey and lemon essential oil...and the color came out a little different (I added the honey and essential oil when I mixed it again after the initial 15 minutes).



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I've not seen much of a difference between the one with honey and the one without.  I think next time I may add a little olive oil to the mix as well, as I was going for the moisturizing effect.


A few things to note:

-- Remember, suds don't equal clean.  Household cleaner manufacturers have conditioned us to believe that bubbles mean it's working...it doesn't.  The homemade laundry soap we use at home cleans very well, but it does not bubble at all!

-- The above recipe will give you a very watery hand soap, but couple that with this Castile soap (coconut oil/soap) and you will find that it IS very bubbly.

Happy experimenting!!  =)