I use mostly glycerin or all-natural soaps. They tend to "melt" more than harsher commercial soaps. The good news is that I can easily squish mostly-used soaps into new bars.
The bad news is that they tend to leave soap stuck to the sink (or soap dish). Ewww! Not only is it messy, but in cleaning it up, I'm wasting soap!
So I got it in my head to get some kind of soap holder that would allow air to circulate so the soap could dry and the water could run off into the sink. I didn't want one of those plastic things with the spikes on it:
I was hoping to find something more like this wood one:
This afternoon, my coworkers and I went out for Chinese food. Looking at the chopsticks (which were destined for the landfill) after the meal, I remembered reading this. So I asked my colleagues to wipe off their chopsticks and give them to me. Tonight, with just some button thread and a not-so-terrific hand saw, I made this:
Yay! Happy Soap!
11 things said in response:
What a great idea! I think I might try something like that but build it up a little higher maybe. Maybe a few more chopsticks underneath around the outside so that more air can flow through?
Brilliant!
Oh, and thanks a million for alerting me to Apartment Therapy. As if I didn't have enough timesuck in my life :-) It's now required reading (and today they gave a shoutout to Stuff White People Like, which is evidently the hot blog du jour - so now I can feel smugly superior that I was ahead of the curve on that, whilst hanging my head in shame for being so far behind the curve on AT)
Oh so cool & looks fantastic. Hey, hook up with our soap friend in your hood & you could make some for her to put in her sales!
Super awesome homemade solution! I love it! In fact, I have been keeping the Dr. Bronner's bar of soap that I use for my dishes on a little saucer, but it gets all grimy in the soap dish and it kinda grosses me out. Maybe I'll try this!
That is a fantastic idea. We just switched to a shampoo bar and were trying to think of how to keep it on the shower window edge without it sitting in a puddle dissolving prematurely. Thanks for a great idea.
Brilliant!
Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!
I was looking for something exactly like that. Thought about looking for one on ebay. Perfect solution!
I will make this my weekend project with my girls.
Looks good enough to eat.
This is not only a great idea, but it also looks awesome!
Maybe you could keep your soap chips in an old gravy boat by the sink. Add some water to let the soap dissolve, and then pour as needed. There won't be a soapy mess, and you won't use as much water when washing your hands.
I like pumps myself. I use 1/4 Dr. Bronner's, 1/4 dish soap, and water to fill the dispenser. This won't work though if you're trying to avoid plastics.
My favorite bathing soap is Grandpa's pine tar soap. Nothing else is like it.
Cool idea about the gravy boat Don! It's not for me but I bet someone out there can use it. The chopstick dish is working out great for me.
I know a lot of folks swear by Dr. Bronner's but I find that I end up using a LOT more soap (and thus wasting more) when I use liquid soaps. If it's concentrated enough for me to use just a little, well, it's more concentrated than I need it. And if it's watered down, I end up pumping too much. Plus, since Jane (my neighbor) makes my bar soap, I've got no packaging and no transportation costs!
Post a Comment