Frugal Home Series Part 5: Homemade Foaming Hand Soap

Frugal Home Series Part 5:  Homemade Foaming Hand Soap

Is it just me, or does it seem like washing your hands with foaming soap is easier than with regular liquid soap?  Pretty sure you're still supposed to scrub your hands to the tune of "Happy Birthday" regardless of which soap you use (I never do.  I know, awful), but I feel like I am more inclined to wash more thoroughly (or wash at all) if the soap of pre-foamed.  Call me crazy.

I hate paying extra for foaming soap, though.  Plus, I always find luxury soaps for cheap at places like TJ Maxx, Marshalls, and Home Goods, but they aren't foaming soaps.  Solution?  You guessed it!  Make your own!

Ingredients:

• A few pumps of regular liquid soap
• Water
• Empty foaming soap dispenser

I madeover a Target $1 pump to look more shnazy over the summer, but you can use any one you have on hand.

• First, pump enough soap into your dispenser to fill it about an inch high. 
• Second, fill the rest with water. 
• Put the cap on, give it a shake, and you are done!  It is that easy. 

I will say that you will need to shake it up from time to time, but to be able to fill it with soap we have on hand for free is worth the extra shake.

Frugal Home Series Part 4: Homemade Liquid Hand/Body Soap

Frugal Home Series Part 4: Homemade Liquid Soap

Today's tutorial isn't for anything that includes borax, vinegar, or soda of any kind. No, it's liquid soap. Did you know you can make a gallon of liquid soap from just 8 oz of bar soap?  Yep, it works.

My Grandma gave my sister and I a Philosophy gift set with body wash, hand cream, a bar of body soap, perfume, and lotion.  I really wanted the perfume and lotion and Chris wanted the body wash and hand cream, so we split it down the middle and I got the bar, too. I  hate using bar soap.

Have you ever used Philosophy products?  They smell so good.  I can't describe it.  It's not floral or sweet- just clean and beautiful.  But, you know how much that body wash costs?
$17 for 8 OUNCES.

Love it, but I love the food in our fridge and the roof over our head a little more. So, I figured- let's take the bar I won't ever use and turn it into body wash!  Here is how:

You need:

• 8 oz of bar soap (Any bar.  Read the label to make sure your are using 8 oz.  For some soaps, that's one bar, for others it is 2 or 3!)
• 2 Tablespoons of Glycerin (found by the bandaids.  You will not find it by the soap.  Trust me on this!  Invest in the $3 bottle and you will have enough for gallons of soap!)

• 1 gallon (or 16 cups) of water
• Stock Pot
• Container for soap (trusty milk jug for me!)

First, Grate your soap like it's cheese.  You can use the same technique I used when I made laundry soap.  My soap was rich and would not grate (okay, I don't own a cheese grater.  I have a micro plane and it wouldn't work).  I chunked it and it worked fine.
Put it in a stock pot with the water and glycerin.  Heat on medium heat until all of the soap is dissolved.  This will go by faster if you grated the soap.

When all is dissolved, you will have what looks like soapy water.  Don't worry- you are on the right track!

Take off the heat and let cool/coagulate for 10-12 hours.

It should be like thick snot now.  Beat with a hand-held mixer, adding as much water as you want in order to get your desired consistency.  At this point, I added extra perfume to smell extra pretty =)

Funnel into container and you are in bid-naz!

I found Dial Men's care bars- $2 for 3 bars for my husband.  Smells super manly and you will only use 2 bars, which means a gallon of men's body wash costs a whopping $1.34.  He loves it.  Hoo-rah.

*Edit 3.26.12
Yes, the soap is going to be a little "snotty", no matter how much water you add.  It also doesn't foam well, but suds does not equal clean.  In fact, some company add foam boosters to soaps and laundry detergents because we, as consumers, have been brainwashed into thinking suds does equal clean!

Frugal Home Series Part 3: Homemade Dishwasher Detergent

Frugal Home Series Part 3:  Homemade Dishwasher Detergent

I have always been disgusted by how much it costs to wash dishes with the dishwasher.  Even sicker at the thought of wasting money on "convenience" dishwasher tabs (okay, I'll admit.  I used to buy them in my couponing days when I could get an 18-pack for $2.  I hate couponing now!  I would always convince myself I could have something name brand because I got it cheap when couponing.  Whatever.  I spent too much and bought things that weren't very healthy.  Sure, I can get 10 packs of hotdogs for 10 cents.  But really?  Hotdogs?  My allegiance will always be to good 'ole Aldi!). 

Pinterest is chalk full of dishwasher detergent recipes.  Several of them call for citric acid, koolaid, and other concentrated items that come in tiny glass bottles and cost a pretty penny.  This recipe?  Easy Peasy.  Cheap.  If you already invested in borax, washing soda, and vinegar, you already have all of the ingredients except for one {cheap} item.

 

Dishwasher Detergent

Ingredients:
1 cup vinegar
1 cup Borax
1 cup Baking Soda (or, even better- washing soda!  Either work)
2 Tbsp Lemon Juice Concentrate in the lemon-shaped bottle (technically citric acid in a tiny {plastic} bottle, but SO much cheaper!)

Mix all ingredient together (use a BIG bowl.  That vinegar and baking soda will rock it out!) and store.  I used an old detergent bottle I had saved for this very occasion.  Shake to mix before each use.

**Please note that you will need to rinse your dishes before loading.  Apparently you are always supposed to do this?  =)  I say this because my husband usually is the dish-loader in our family and I do just about everything else (We've had some clothes.. ehhhem..  ruined. =D) (and I don't mean to say my husband makes me do everything.  I love my home and taking care of it.  Sometimes we argue because I don't want him to help because I love it so much.  And he works hard.  My way of serving him to make up for all the times I am a total b-rat). He says I am the worst dishwasher-loader of all time.  Too many dishes.  Nothing is rinsed.  Salt and Pepper (or something) particles on tops of cups when dry.  Woops!

Other than having to rinse, it works wonderfully.  Even glass was nice and shiny, no residue!

If you want to boost the rinse cycle (which I always do), add 2 tbsp pure vinegar to the rinse/jet dry dispenser.  It is awesome!  Seriously, who would have thought something so bitter as vinegar could be so sweet?!