How to make soap last longer? (old)

[Quietude]

Originally Posted by Lovehound

Make your own soap.

Ivory runs about 75 cents a bar. How much cheaper can you get once you consider all costs?

[Quietude]

Originally Posted by Annie53

Boy, just when you think you have seen everything, something like this pops up! Never heard of such a thing!

The Japanese have used them for a long time. Most sold here are still exports, packaged for the Japanese market.

Doesn't look like it is something you could use if you are renting.....putting holes in the wall above a sink or in the shower.

All of mine have attached with 3M foam tape. Never had it fail and a firm twist will remove it.

......and, what happens as the bar of soap gets thinner and thinner?

The bar can get pretty small on that holder. I switch bars and then at the end of the shower, "weld" the old sliver to the new one with soap sludge, then let it sit upside down on a shelf until the next time. My soap waste is probably near zero, unless you count sudsing my pits twice when I'm absent-minded.

[Lovehound]

I hope a "Jonathette" is not in my future. I won't sleep with anybody who doesn't bathe daily.

Any woman I hook up with has soap for life since soapmaking is one of my hobbies.

At least Jonathan recognizes what Clint Eastwood said, "A man has got to know his limitations." In his case I'd measrue maybe 6 feet radius.

[Sand&Salt]

^^^^Good thing you didn't live a generation ago when daily bathing wasn't possible for most.
You may have been close to one or two and not known it. Daily bathing is a relatively recent "necessity".

[Lovehound]

Worse, I have occasionally passed people who had noticeable body odor. Tobacco stink is just as bad. Oh, and road kill breath!

[Sand&Salt]

^^^A definite deal-breaker!

Sometimes I'd like to time-travel to the past, then I think "Noooo…..the smell!"

[Lovehound]

I'd travel to the past and make some investments (while I hold my nose) and then GTFO. Back in the future I'd cash out and woo hoo!

I believe that is why perfume was invented, to cover body odor due to that era's custom of not bathing daily. Ew, and the powdered wigs?

I had a woman friend once (not a romantic relationship) and she teased around about her taking a PTA bath. (Anatomical reference.) She always made me laugh! I'll always remember her as my first black friend.

[Sand&Salt]

^^^True about perfumes. Also about the spice trade being such a big commodity because the spices covered up the rotting meat/food.

EEEWW those wigs. Many shaved their heads due to lice, so had wigs.

[Lovehound]

Yes, you reminded me of the rotted food too. And I bet their sewage flowed down gutters in the middle of the street. And no inside plumbing!

Anybody who is concerned about frugality and soap should just make their own soap. There's plenty of "how to" on the Internet. You use an empty milk carton as a mold. I still have my first soap bar I ever made (1 sample) and it's the size of a milk carton in foot print. It has been a fun hobby for me. It goes well with my gourmet cooking hobby. (And cooking your own food from whole ingredients is very frugal. It's processed foods that are expensive, the ingredients are relatively cheap.)

[Parnassia]

Another thing to consider when making the earth-shattering choice between "dry" soap and liquid: liquid soaps are a lot better for septic systems than bar soaps and powdered laundry detergent. There tends to be less of the "filler" ingredients that clog up the soil pores in liquids. As far as economics goes, getting septic tanks pumped more often will cost you a lot more than those pennies you think you need to save buying bar soap!!