A lot out of a little

I was reading through this blog last night and feeling bad about myself. I kept telling myself that I too could and would make something amazing from nothing to share with all of you. It wasn’t until this morning that I realized that I already had. Although not as creative as a quilt or amazing hanger-names, thanks to my friend Maureen at homemademothering.com, I created an abundance of hand soap out of everyday household items.

Refreshingly (pun intended), her recipe calls for things I already had at home:

1 bar of soap (I used Ivory)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon honey
water

My favorite thing about the recipe was that it consisted of two distinct steps so I was able to accomplish the first step, as well as some other things around the house, while Isaac napped. Then, I finished the project the following morning during another of his naps!

Here goes:

First, finely chop or grate the soap and put into a large saucepan with 3 cups of water. Bring the mixture to a boil and, stirring often, melt the soap. Stay near the stove because my mixture kept attempting to overflow. Once the soap dissolves, remove it from the heat and whisk in 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Let the mixture sit overnight.

In the morning, the mixture will be solid. Break it up and put it into a blender or food processor with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, the honey, and 1 cup of water (I added more to get it to my desired consistency).

Pour into empty soap dispensers (or a jar if you run out)! Can you believe how much soap this makes? What a money and environment saver!