"Bar etiquette"

"Dry Soap is Happy Soap"

If it's important enough to print it on every bar of soap, then it must be pretty darn important, right?


That's a 10-4 big papa.


Mucho importante.

You see, while soap should be your #1 water companion, you'd be wise to consider it more like the pool lifeguard: always ready to come to the rescue, but not lounging around in the water getting pruney all day.

"The Hubs" is a chronic misuser of soap. It's true. Lucky for him, he's married to a pretty prolific soapmaker. Truthfully, I hate to think what portion of the household budget went to soap before he started serving as "Soap Tester General" around here. No matter how many times I tell him, he never, ever, EVER puts the soap back up in the wire holder in the shower. Where does he leave it? On the little shelf, about 3 feet high, right under the shower stream. Every day. Needless to say, it's a really, really good thing there are always soap ends and trimmings that need testing around here.


But what if you're not married to a soap maker? It's ok. Read on. I'll make sure you get every ounce of soapy-goodness from your next bar of soap.

Let's talk shower rules

If you leave any bar of soap sitting under a stream of water or in a soupy, liquid-filled soap dish it will turn to the soap-equivalent of Stage 1 baby food. It will still smell like soap, but all structural integrity will have been lost in favor of a slick, slimy texture that no one (not even a baby) wants. So, it seems pretty simple: keep your soap high and dry!


If your shower is like ours, fitting more than one person in there requires some serious acrobatics (not to get too personal or anything). So, you get the picture. It's teeny. And since there's pretty-much no place that doesn't get hit by the shower stream, the best place I've found to keep the soap is in a little wire rack that hangs from the top of the glass wall. It meets the basic qualifications of "well-draining" and "away from running water" and when I'm in charge of soap-placement, our bars last a long time, drying out completely between uses.


So we've talked "shower placement", but what about shower usage? Sure, there's no wrong way to enjoy your favorite bar of soap. But who wouldn't like to use it longer? You can extend the use of your bar in a major way using an all-natural sea sponge. This folks, is what you call a two-fer. Not only will it extend the use of the bar, but the feel of the sea sponge and all of it's gentle exfoliating goodness is a major shower-time bonus. You see, lathering-up your sponge just once at the beginning of the shower (then putting your bar somewhere high and dry) will give you endless lather for the duration!

So obviously I am demonstrating this at the sink, but it really
makes a world of difference in the shower!

Oh yeah, and when the bar in question is a BIG 5-6oz Horsethief Canyon bar, cut it in half and use only one piece at a time! That way only half of the soap is being exposed the water, while the other half continues to age and get harder (and therefore longer lasting!).

I have a 'sink'ing suspicion...

...that your soap dish (like mine) is about as good at draining excess liquid the Hoover Dam. Most ceramic dishes are woefully bad at keeping your soap from languishing in a pool of icky, slimy water. Even those with raised ridges don't really keep bars all that dry. But alas, there is a solution (and it doesn't involve tossing out your favorite soap dish)!

Introducing...The Soap Lift!

One of my dear friends (and avid handmade soap-convert) tuned me into something called a "soap lift". It's a fabulous little recycled plastic "mesh" pad that you set in your soap dish. Water and "ick" can flow through it, and your bar stays "lifted" high and dry. Kinda like a bra for your soap. Just sayin...

Check-out this Horse Thief bar all high-n-dry on the soap lift!


So, that's it folks. A couple simple soap-saving steps (say that 3 times fast!) and you'll be on your way to soap-induced bath time bliss!

Stay tuned for a tutorial on getting the most bang for your soy-candle buck!

Happy Soaping!