Stretching My Non Food $$ - Soap

 

For a number of years now I’ve been stretching my various soaps in ways to extend the use of them.  Through trial and error I’ve been able to do a variety of things without affecting their overall performance.  I’m sure I’ve managed to save quite a bundle of money over the years, especially while raising my family.

 

Liquid soaps are easy to extend simply by adding water.  I’ve used a lot of different hair products in my lifetime and for me I find the inexpensive brands such as Suave, White Rain and VO5 to be every bit as good as the more expensive brands.  In fact, maybe better as I seem to not have a residue build up with the less expensive products.  Several years ago I discussed this with my hair stylist and she gave me some really good insight.  For one thing, most people use way too much hair product and use it way too often.  I had been having trouble myself with an irritated scalp and her suggestion was to wash my hair less often and to just simply rinse my hair with warm water in between shampoos to keep it fresh.  Once I started to do this my scalp was much happier and my hair was just as clean, shiny and healthy looking as ever, maybe even more so.

 

One day I noticed how thick the shampoo and conditioner I use is.  It was so thick that it was actually difficult to get out of the bottle at times.  I started using distilled water and watering it down bit by bit.  Not only did it come out of the bottles easier, but it lasted a whole lot longer without affecting how it worked at all.  I also used smaller amounts each time and again I had no problem lathering up my hair or conditioning it to help with tangles.  Now I always water down my shampoo and conditioner and use a pump bottle to dispense just the right amount I need to clean and condition my hair.

I turn one jug of laundry detergent

 

into two!  It's like magic! 😂

Similarly I do the same thing with liquid laundry detergent.  I still alternate between my homemade laundry detergent which I use most of the time and then occasionally I run a load using a commercial detergent.  For me it seems to make my homemade detergent more effective.  I think this is true of any soap or cleaners we use in our home.  I take an empty detergent jug and fill it halfway with liquid detergent and then the rest of the way with tap water, then give it a good shake.  I use the regular amount and my clothes are clean and bright.

 

When it comes to hand soap the biggest savings for me is to use foaming hand soap dispensers and refill them with my own solution.  I’ve been making it for years and years using shower gel I already have on hand (picked up for FREE with coupons from Bath & Body Works) and it works every bit as well as if I’d bought a brand new dispenser at the store.  I use a heaping tablespoon of shower gel stirred into a cup of warm tap water and it makes the perfect amount to refill one dispenser.  If I use regular shower gel I just mix two tablespoons into the cup of warm water to get the right consistency.  As someone who washes their hands a lot I have to have a good soap and this works really well.

 

Another thing I’ve been doing for years and years, I wash my dishes by hand almost all of the time so I use a concentrated version of liquid dish soap.  My brand of choice is Palmolive Ultra, but there a few others out there to choose from.  I buy it in the really big jug as it tends to typically be the best price, ounce per ounce, and refill a pump dispenser that sits at my kitchen sink.  I find that one pump of the soap is more than enough to wash up a small sink full of dishes.  For a larger load I’ll use two pumps.  It definitely takes a lot less soap to get your dishes squeaky clean than one might think.

 

I still use bar soap in the shower and whenever the soap is down to a sliver and is getting hard to handle I get out a new bar, get it nice and wet, get the sliver of remaining soap nice and wet and stick the two together.  It allows me to use up the last of the old bar without any waste and is much easier to handle in the shower.

 

A shot of my linen closet a few years ago when I got most of this
for $1 on sale and with coupons
Not likely to see those kind of deals anytime soon

Soap isn’t getting any cheaper, in fact quite the opposite.  In a nutshell, to save money, I use only the amount I truly need, I am mindful not to be wasteful and I look for ways to effectively extend the life of my products.  I’m sure there are a lot of other ways to save money on soaps and cleansers.  If you have a great idea that works well for you be sure to share it in the comments so we can all learn from each other.