Frugal households are always on the lookout for creative ways to reduce their costs. One practical suggestion is to save those too-small-to-use slivers of bar soap and put them to good use.
You can do something as easy as putting the slivers into knee-high pantyhose and tying up the open end. Keep them in the bathtub and scrub yourself by wetting the nylon in water and lathering up with the nylon-encased soap.
You can also drop the slivers into a plastic squeeze bottle and add water to fill. This will work just as well for washing your hands as a pricey container of store-bought liquid soap.
But why not go all out and make those scraps into new bars of soap that can be enhanced to look even better than the original? Here's how:
- Keep a container handy in the bathroom to toss in remnants of soap that are too small to use.
- Once you have enough, grate or cut up the pieces of soap and place the remnants in a sauce pan. Pour in just enough water to cover. Leave them to soak overnight.
- The next day bring the mixture to a boil and continue stirring until it all melts. Stir in 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
- This is where you can get creative and add flower petals, herbs, oatmeal, green tea leaves or a drop of your favourite perfume.
- Carefully ladle out the hot liquid into greased muffin tins.
- Let dry for several days. When they are hardened pop them out.
Make them into small guest soaps for your bathroom or to give away as presents by following the same method as above and pouring them into chocolate or candy moulds.
Fill up a soap dish with your "new" soap for guests or toss a few into a mini gift bag for a practical hostess gift.
