Bargain Believer What a great tip, huh? I usually end up using it down to that little stub and then it somehow ends up in the bathtub drain instead.
Exactly the same problem I face! Those small bits always seem to be slipping out of my hand and getting wasted away into the drains! I have actually tried that method before but I always seem to be cracking them up into tiny pieces instead. Perhaps I was a little too rough with them and of course I didn't press down on the sides of the smaller piece into the new one. Anyway, thanks a lot for this tip Jessi. It sure is good to know that I'm not the only one facing and trying to resolve this issue!
This is a very good idea and I have been using it since a long time. Works best if both soaps are of the same type.
Several years ago I had a device in which some small soaps were placed, and with a little water and pression we formed a new one. Actually that was a very practical device, as it gave us the ability to reuse those little pieces that sometimes you need to throw. A simple solution to an everyday issue. The results also tend to be funny: mixture of colors and fragrances.
Wow that's genius, I've never thought of that before! Usually I just struggle with the little sliver until it gets lost and ends up down the drain. Doing this will solve a lot of frustration! I hate when you drop the small piece and you're trying to find it for like 10 minutes
I don't actually use soap bars - I prefer liquid soap. However, I do remember when my kids were at school and we were making stuff for the Summer Fair or Christmas Bazaar. One of the mothers came up with the idea of sewing two pieces of thin foam together and filling them with slivers of soap, so they acted as a sort of wash mitt. We made loads of them, in different shapes, and they sold like - well, like hot sponges. That's another idea for using slivers of soap.
I never thought about doing this. I love this tip. Thank you for sharing it. I always end up throwing the little bit that is left of the soap bar out in the garbage. Saving the little bit left will really add up on savings if you do this each time. I will remember to do this next time and will also mention this to my husband.
I could really relate to what you are doing Jess and it pisses me off sometimes! lol By the way this tip is really great because it makes a tiny piece of thin soap useful! My mother does this too!
I never actually thought about doing this! Most of the time, my last silver of soap keeps slipping out of my hand, onto the floor, and crumbling down the drain after a bit. It's funny because I usually have a bunch of silvers start stacking up in the bar holder as I put a new bar over them.
Haha, so simple! It is a very good idea. I usually make liquid soap out of my bar soaps, though, and put it into old body wash or shampoo bottles. It lasts longer that way. I buy a big pack of soaps from the dollar store, mix the bar soap with a bit of hot water and some olive oil. I much more prefer liquid soap.
I actually only became a bar soap user very recently, when I discovered 100% shea butter. The stuff is kind of expensive, so I actually was already doing this, and yep, it works like a charm. Also forces you to have another one handy when the one you are using is low - so you know, prevents a few days in the shower with no soap. If only I could find a similar routine with shampoo and conditioner… haha.
Someone on one of those frugal tip sites suggested using old pantyhose or a knee high stocking and putting the soap bits in it, then lathering the whole thing up like a sponge or wash mitt. Supposedly the nylon stocking keeps you from losing the slivers of soap down the drain.
You could also bag the stubs and when you have enough, melt them up and pour them into a mold of some sort. That way you get a whole new bar of soap, no chance of losing anything down the drain. That's also a cute little craft for kids.. they could pour them into some really cute molds and reuse them that way. Just go to Michaels or even the dollar stores probably; buy some molds or anything that could hold hot liquid in any shape and then freeze them or cool them in the fridge when done pouring them. You could even use ice cube trays. Add some little toys to them or herbs for the adults. Do whatever
That's what my family members do as well with the soap bars that are too small to use for the whole body. The other method that they do is they just place them in another soap dish to be used for washing the face and hands, since you can still do that with a small soap bar.
I like to let my little slivers dry completely, then include them when I am packing away seasonal clothing. That way, when I am taking my sweaters and blankets out for winter, they don't have that mustiness from being stored. Back in the day, we used to do this with sachets or scent bags, but I haven't sewed one of those in eons. I guess you could slip the sliver into a sock if you're worried about it crumbling, but that has never happened to me.
I started doing this when I was pregnant with my 2nd child. I had a weird obsession with the smell of soap during the last trimester. I spend hours ( or until the hot water ran out)I would just play with soap for ever though just so I could smell it. I went through so much soap my husband was starting to worry about me.
This tip could be pretty dang useful. The only problem I have with it, though, is the fact that once the soap bar is about gone, it has already gotten so much wear and tear on it, I feel as if it's kind of dirty and I want a fresh start. I guess I'm a real germaphobe if I can't even stomach the thought of germs on something that kills them haha
I never thought to try this. What an awesome idea!! I am the type to have 20 different bottles of soap, shampoo, conditioner, you name it, tipped upside down trying to save that very last drop of soap before opening another. People think I'm crazy. Wait until they see me squishing my bars of soap together!! lol
