Some ideas for my "extra" soap

[rebeccajo99]

I have been making a couple of oz extra of soap to overfill my mold so I can cut off the top and make smooth tops. I'm trying to think what I could do with this extra soap that I cut off. (I do the crockpot hot process for those who are wondering why I'm overfilling)

What are some ideas to do with this extra soap. Here are some of my ideas.

1. Using it for free samples for customers who either want to try to soap or as a thank-you gift. I think it looks to ugly for that.

2. Cutting it into some thick strips and then rolling into balls or making into rectangles and throw in a discount basket, but they are rough and crumbly looking.

Any other suggestions on what to do... or even how to make my above ideas work.

Thanks:)

[Barbara AL]

Grate it up add a little distilled water to your soap and make soap balls they are pretty in the bathroom or kitchen for guest soaps.

Barb

[mparadise]

Grate it up an use it to make laundry detergent. I have been using the Fels Naptha recipe with either CP soap or Fels (depending on if I have CP available or not) and it works great and saves me a ton of $$! I can get everything I need at the grocery store in the laundry aisle.

Powdered Laundry Detergent 1 cup grated Fels Naptha Soap 1/2 cup washing soda 1/2 cup 20 mule team borax Mix and store in airtight container or bag. For normal loads, use 2 tablespoon. For heavy loads, use 3 tablespoons.

You can also make liquid versions but I have not tried either of them.

First Recipe: 3 Pints Water 1/3 bar Fels Naptha Soap, grated 1/2 cup Washing Soda (Arm and Hammer, NOT baking soda though!!) 1/2 cup 20 Mule Team Borax 2 Gallon bucket to mix it in 1 Quart hot water Additional Hot Water Mix Fels Naptha soap in a saucepan with 3 pints hot water and heat on low until dissolved. Stir in Washing Soda and Borax. Stir until thickened, and remove from heat. Add 1 Quart Hot Water to 2 gallon Bucket. Add soap mixture, and mix well. Fill bucket completely with additional hot water, and mix well. Set aside for 24 hours, or until mixture thickens. Use 1/2 cup of mixture per load.

Third Recipe: Water 1 bar grated Fels Naptha soap 5 gallon bucket 1 cup washing soda (Again, Arm and Hammer) 1 cup of 20 Mule Team Borax 4 1/2 gallons water Put grated Fels Naptha in saucepan and cover with water. Heat on low until dissolved. Fill bucket with hot water and add soap. Stir to combine. Add 1 cup washing soda and 1 cup Borax and mix well. As it cools, it will thicken. May be used immediately. Use 1/2 - 1 cup per load.

[lovemylabs]

In one of our batches, the soap turned out very well (still curing though), but we had quite a bit of soap left over because we calculated the size of the mold/oils wrong. We since have it figured out, but did have to pour the extra into another mold. When we took it out, we realized these made adorable little mini soaps. We think for some of our future batches, we are going to do this and wrap these little guys in gift wrap paper and place next to the bigger bars. Here's a pic.

[Reg]

I also make some "liquid soap" from it, I just crumble up or grate some of the cut-offs, and put it in an empty foaming soap botte from bath and body works, fill it up with distilled water and add a couple of drops of essential oil. Give it some time to dissolve (swirls gently once in a while), and viola - foaming hand soap! I don't measure anything out, so I don't have a recipe for it, I just throw some in and see how it turns out (add more water or soap if I am not satisfied). Since foaming soap is pretty runny, it doesn't take much actual soap to make it.

[rebeccajo99]

Those are cute, the only problem is that since I'm doing crock pot hot process, I can't get a nice smooth top unless I over fill and then cut off the top after it dries. That idea is very cute if I was doing cp since my top would be smooth already (at least i'm assuming it would be from seeing all of the pics posted. I have not tried CP yet).

I tried the grating and making into balls idea. They turned out cute and I think for a few of them next time, I'm going to make some of the balls a little smaller and use them for my "thank-you" gifts. I need to test them yet to see how easily usable they are as the round balls. I may need to make the balls and then flaten a little to make more of an oval as I do with the testers I make with each batch.

[soulshine]

You could shred them or cut them into cute shapes and add them to the soap pot right before you pour. Make confetti soap! I do CP, so I'm not sure how it works with HP, but if your last stage in the pot is liquidy enough to pour you should be able to stir in your bits and mold.

[jade]

I cut extra soap into narrow strips & use them in one of those soap saver bags. You can get them in a hemp like material or in a sponge type. I usually save up a bunch of them to put in an old canning jar & give them to my nieces. They love them because they can change the scent of the soap they're using often without having bars of soap laying around. If you do this it doesn't matter if the pieces are crusty and it's quick & easy. I leave one of the hemp bags outside by the hose & it has just enough scrubbiness to help with the dirt after working in the garden. We also take one of the bags full of slivers when we go camping & we no longer have to look for the "lost" bar of soap. My brother likes to take one with unscented slivers to hunting camp so nobody else uses his soap.haha

[chopsgirl]

i love the soap saver idea..we have been using the extra's as samples and taping them to a business card

[Faerywren]

I do crock pot hp, too and completely understand your "smooth tops" issue. I have a Rubbermaid tub full of soap shreds that I've put through a salad shooter. I pack them in plastic log molds and over pour with melt and pour, or add them to new batches of soap for some speckly visual interest.