It’s that time of year again. You know the one. The time when all is a glow with coughing, sneezing, and the sniffles. And the best way to avoid joining the cough and cold season? Hand washing! With proper hand washing techniques, an anti-bacterial soap is not even needed, or suggested.

Before I go into hand washing, though, let’s talk about showers and baths. Do you have tiny pieces of soap leftover from the bar laying around? Yeah, me too. What do you do with yours? I used to throw mine away or try and mold it onto the newer bar. But not anymore. Why not recycle them?

Out of all of my little green-make-your-own-experiments I have done, this one is my hubby’s favorite because it’s fun to make. I save the leftover pieces of bar soap and make them into hand soap. (I have even been doing this with the leftover pieces from making laundry detergent!) It is cutting down on having to spend money on special hand wash, and also reducing the plastic packaging that store bought hand soap come in, which is difficult to recycle.

Here’s how to make your own hand soap:

• several slivers of leftover soap - I use about 1/8 cup
• water- to the 1/8 cup of soap I use about 2 cups water

Break pieces of soap up and place in a microwavable container. Cover with the water. Microwave (about 2 minutes?) until soap in mostly dissolved in water. Stir mixture, breaking all small pieces down and microwave again if needed. Once contents are mostly smooth and liquid, place container to sit overnight.

The next day, you should have a thick consistent hand soap. If you would like to add a scent now is the time to mix in a few drops of essential oil. Place contents in a pump soap dispenser and shake.

What I love about this entire process, besides it just being cool , cheap and eco-friendly is the option to customize the soap according to the season. I am a sucker for nice smelling holiday soaps and have been known to drop some cash to purchase them. Not anymore!

I am on my way to pick up some oils this afternoon that remind me of the fall season. Maybe some cinnamon or deep spice. I can just place them with the soap in a reusable pump dispenser, holiday themed if I so desire, and still be achieving the same affect.

Now, go wash your hand and stay healthy!

* I am going to try using this recipe for dish soap also. I will let you know how it goes…

Share This

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!