7 Answers to What You Should Do With Leftover Bar Soap
(Mikhail Nilov/Pexels)
Everyone who uses bar soap faces a similar dilemma. You’ve used your soap for a few weeks, you’re down to a pathetic sliver of soap that is merely a shadow of the hefty bar you began with. You don’t want to waste it, but suddenly, washing has become a hassle as you stand in the shower and desperately grasp at a slippery shim of soap and somehow dissolve it against your body. What should you do?
For most of us, the answer is to take that shim and press it firmly against the back of a new bar of soap, hoping it will adhere and create a new Frankenbar of soap. Of course, we all know that it’s technically Frankbar’s monster (Frankenbar was the doctor, you see), but still, is this really the best thing we can do with these old soap remnants? Packer’s Pine has scoured the web and found seven great ways to reuse your cast off soap.
1) Make a homemade soap scrubber
Using an old pair of pantyhose (or probably an old clean sock for us single fellas), place all of your soap slivers inside the hose and tie the end in a knot. Trim off the excess and you’ve made a self-dispensing washcloth. No more struggling to hold onto a tiny sliver of soap! Instead, you use this like a washcloth and simply allow the soap to soak through the fabric. Be sure to let this device dry out between uses or you may have to deal with some mildew issues, but if that’s an issue, simply empty the soap from the interior and run it through the wash to make it good as new.
2) Make a minibar
We’re not talking about the overpriced liquor you find in a hotel fridge, we mean recycling the soap you used to make something new. Use a grater to break your old bar into small, uniform pieces. With a little hot water, you can make these pieces pliable enough to form into any shape you’d like. Balls or bars work fine, but we like to use an old pastry mold to form them into stars, hearts, or even holiday shapes. It may not be entirely sanitary to give out candy cane soap, but sticking a gingerbread man next to your sink is a hit.
3) When life gives you bar soap, make liquid soap
Did you know you can make your own hand soap, suitable for dispensers, without anything other than the scraps you save up? Use a handful of these slivers and blend them up with hot water. Blend until you achieve a creamy, thick texture. If you happen to have glycerin lying around the house, you can use a splash to keep the soap suspended and easily pumpable, but it’s not strictly necessary. Wait for the mixture to cool and add it to all of your hand soap dispensers for a punch of Packer’s Pine all natural men’s soap all around the house.
4) Lather up for a shave
Leftover soap is great for throwing into a small dish and using with a brush to lather up before a shave. Packer’s Pine is a prime choice for this, as our mild formula for sensitive skin makes a perfect facial soap. Not only that, but the pine tar naturally soothes inflamed, irritated skin, preventing razor burn and shaving bumps. Using a brush also ensures that every bit of soap is used, leaving nothing to waste.
5) Make your own bath bomb
You don’t need to shell out money for premade bath bombs. You can mold your old soap into balls with a little warm water and add them to a hot bath whenever you need it. Packer’s Pine packs a powerful punch of pine tar, which leaves the whole tub fragrant with a manly, forest smell. Soak it in and emerge from your bath smelling like you’re fresh out of a lumberjack’s camp.
6) Use it as chalk
Are you selling a car? Use your soap to write on the window. You can also write messages on windows for your neighbors or write a romantic message on the mirror for your partner. This is a great option because the soap washes away easily, allowing you to change, erase, or replace writing with ease.
If there’s a seamstress in your life, leftover bar soap is also a great replacement for tailor’s chalk. It leaves a noticeable mark on fabric and washes out without a hitch. Support your friends’ hobbies and donate your soap to them. If you’re lucky, you might even get some new duds out of it.
7) Donate your soap to a good cause
Clean the World is a great organization that uses donated bits of leftover soap to form new bars and then distribute them to people who need them. There’s no problems with sanitation, as the organization sanitizes the soap during their recycling process. Distributing soap improves the sanitation conditions for people across the globe, whether they’re affected by homelessness, poverty, or natural disasters. Just a small amount of soap keeps these populations clean and healthy.
Packer’s Pine does our own part to give back by supporting forest sustainability and replanting across the world. Our partnerships with the National Forest Foundation and One Tree Planted ensure that forests will be there for our children and grandchildren.
Infographic
Any individual who uses bar soap is faced with the same problem. After using your soap for a few weeks, you are left with a pitiful sliver that is hardly a ghost soap. For most of us, the solution is pressing forcefully against the back of a fresh bar of soap and results in a new Frankenbar.
