Made my own soap...$180 a year saved

FPMLLC · Post by **FPMLLC** » Mon Sep 03, 2012 10:12 pm

So I made a batch of soap the other day. It started when my brother bought some home made soap over. He did it as a project to kill a lazy afternoon. The soap was so so much nicer than store bought. So i looked into it, and made my own. here is the break down.

Coconut oil-$8.98 ( 2 jars )

Olive oil-$3.85 ( bought a huge cheap jug and didn't use that much)

Shortning-$5.99 ( a big tub )

Lye-$3.88 ( bought two jars used less than one)

Peppermint oil $4.00 ( $15 for a small jat but used less than 1/3)

Rosemary oik $4.00 ($15 for small jar but used less than 1/3)
$30.70 for total costs. I had an old pot and hardware lying around.
It produced over 44 bars of soap, not all uniform sizes but averaged out probably your "normal" size bar if not 15% larger.

so thats $.69 a bar.
I used to buy dove soap, i know its not ere but i have sensitive skin and a wife who likes bath products but she loves the home made stuff. So figure $3.50 a bar for dove, and about 1.2 bars a week ( 3 ppl ) is 63 bars per year.
That saves me $180 per year. Its not a HUGE amount, but its a better product, it's still 180 a year saved, its all natural, and if i can find the raw materials cheaper i can bring it down even lower.

DutchGirl · Post by **DutchGirl** » Mon Sep 03, 2012 10:40 pm

I don't wash with soap. I have a sensitive skin too. I will wash my (long) hair with shampoo once every three to four days and I shower every day with lukewarm water. That's it. I use soap to wash my hands before (preparing) meals. I would definitely not use 1/4rth of a bar per week doing that.

C40 · Post by **C40** » Tue Sep 04, 2012 2:17 am

Sounds cool. Any pictures? (Dove bar soap costs about $1.15 per bar, not $3.50)

bluepearl · Post by **bluepearl** » Tue Sep 04, 2012 2:25 am

Hi @FPMLLC @C40
I normally calc the per ounce price, and right now I have .27 per ounce excluding tax for dove bars

So, FPMLLC, would you mind sharing the per ounce cost? I'm interested to know if it's significantly cheaper or perhaps more expensive but way better quality (the oils sound really amazing)
thanks

m741 · Post by **m741** » Tue Sep 04, 2012 3:16 am

I don't think I've used a full bar of soap in my life... they always get nasty. A bottle of store-brand shampoo will last me over a year. And a bottle of fancy Bronner's soap will last me 6 months.
It's cool that you made your own soap and it's probably better than the store-bought stuff... but I can't see saving any money based on it.

Christopherjart · Post by **Christopherjart** » Tue Sep 04, 2012 3:31 am

I use one small (or 1/2 large) shampoo and 2 small bars (or one large) of soap every month. I'm very interested in learning the recipe and then see how expensive the ingredients are here.

FPMLLC · Post by **FPMLLC** » Tue Sep 04, 2012 3:43 am

I will get the per oz cost tomorrow, i've been using baking soda/water for my hair for a while now, but haven't swayed my wife yet. I based the dove bar on what my wife said they cost. She's also probably buying one at a time at CVS.
I will get the per oz cost in a bit, ill go weigh it out now.

FPMLLC · Post by **FPMLLC** » Tue Sep 04, 2012 3:53 am

Ok I just weighed it out to 98 oz. Which brings my cost to $.31/oz. I could have brought it way down, if I didn't use the Peppermint/rosemary oil. It would have been .23/oz, but my wife likes the essential oils. I will say the quality of the soap is MUCH nicer than store bought, sure it's all different size chunks, but works just the same. Plus I know the only thing that went into it was oils that I choose to use. I also probably could have went cheaper if I hunted for better deals on the oils, vs just buying them when i saw them.
I;m not sure how to do pictures, but would happy to post them for you to see.

C40 · Post by **C40** » Tue Sep 04, 2012 4:50 am

M471 - It's a good point that we might be using quite a lot more soap than we need.
Also consider - at least for those that are using closer to average amounts of soap - that it would be nice to be washing yourself with soap that you made by yourself and that you know exactly what is in it. While they might not be saving much money, they might have a nice feeling of accomplishment every single time they take a shower.
Also, remember that not everyone's spouses are on board here. Women often spend a LOT of money on products like this. So if you're able to make soap of high quality (probably comparable to soap that costs at least 3x more than the Dove we're discussing) it could be creating a nice win-win situation (saving money and making the wife happy) while also being a nice nudge or learning experience for the wife about not needing so many consumer products.
And plus, it sounds kind of like a cool science experiment to me. I might try it out this winter just to see what it's like.

George the original one · Tue Sep 04, 2012 5:04 am

I must not be using bars of soap fast enough... there's no way I could use a bar in only a week or two!

m741 · Post by **m741** » Tue Sep 04, 2012 5:19 am

@C40: Yeah, the DIY aspect of this project is most appealing to me. I suppose this could be useful for non-ERE focused wives (or husbands), but I suspect that the population of non-ERE focused wives who will use soap their husband concocted in the garage, as opposed to a name brand, is not too large.

palmera · Post by **palmera** » Tue Sep 04, 2012 5:32 am

this recipe intrigues me. on a snowy winter afternoon i might have to try it.
with regards to women and their bath products -- if women only knew that all that awful bath product they put on their skin actually is full of toxins and chemicals that make their skin work HARDER therefore stressing it out and aging it even more. the more natural the products, the better it is for the skin. the only caveat is sun exposure: i use a neutrogena sunscreen on my face everyday before i leave the house. i'm sure there are more natural face sunscreens i could use, but neutrogena is the only product that does leave a white greasy film on my face.
for body lotion and night face cream i alternate between using cold-pressed organic coconut oil or almond oil. oooh and also, i splash some witch hazel on my face after washing as a toner.
aside from that, avoiding too much sun, green/veggie smoothies, drinking buckets of water (including fresh lemon and water) and exercise are the best things you can do for your skin. the rest is marketing baloney and it pains me to see women forking over tons of cash for that.
take it from someone with perfect skin and who looks at least twelve years younger than their actual age (despite past hedonism)

DutchGirl · Post by **DutchGirl** » Tue Sep 04, 2012 7:03 am

I take just a little bit offense with the way you talk about "the wife" or "if women only knew". We do have brains, you know. Some brains work less well than other brains, but that's the same with men. If you want to win your wife over to the ERE-side, I do think a good talk is more important than "luring" her into using your soap and thus saving a few cents here or there. And listen to her side of the story as well. Might be that she has a point, here or there.
PS. Yeah, you should see me when I take lots of offense

irukandjisting · Post by **irukandjisting** » Tue Sep 04, 2012 7:06 am

Hi... Dove here is $1 every day
I have 3/4/5/6/7 people here in my house at different times and we would only use 1 bar of soap a week on average when all are home and one a fortnight when just 3 of us are here
I buy Palmolive Gold or similar, packed in 8 or 10 packs at the supermarket and on special usual pay 2.80 to 3.80 for the pack
Probably buy about 10 dollars a year in soap and the same in shampoo/conditioner
very cheap to stay clean

ToFI · Post by **ToFI** » Tue Sep 04, 2012 12:25 pm

Is it worth the money? I use body wash. I think one bottle almost last a year at $6.

It's a different story for health,green reason.

Meliora · Post by **Meliora** » Tue Sep 04, 2012 1:18 pm

I love this idea. I switched to (natural) soap bars both due to the cost and to avoid some extra plastic, but making your own sounds even better. Even if it is just for the experience, the satisfaction and knowing exactly what went into the bars.

I can imagine it might make a nice gift too, by the way!

FPMLLC · Post by **FPMLLC** » Tue Sep 04, 2012 1:27 pm

@dutchgirl

I'm sorry if offended, I retread and even though I didn't say those things I'm sure those who did didn't mean any harm. And you're right, the ability to think isn't based on the sexes but I know in my case, and only speaking for me, my wife isn't great with money and even worse with the concept of how it can be used. Now saying that my wife holds a masters degree, and is a college professor and probably one of the smartest people I know, just not when it comes to finances. She wasn't brought up to learning about it, was never an interest, and she just never gave it much thought having no savings or plan.

Me on the other hand, despite coasting through a four year program, mostly on "life experience" to get credits to get me out faster, I don't take to school very well, but financially I'm very inclined. I happily manage my few rental properties, as well run my household like a business. I was raised like that, and it works for me.

And yes my wife does need some swaying, she is perfectly happy working. 9-5 till its time to quit, just like her parents did, and she does sit down and talk abou money but hates it and trusts me to make it all work. Her interest has been increasing though. I wouldn't say you have to "lure" her in, but she doesn't see the benefits of what we are shooting for, and that can easily be reversed to the male half and a female ere goer.
After re-reading it sounds like when they said "the wife" is was more just 'bar talk'. But not men talking about their spouses but more ere-ers talking about the other half...meaning no disrespect, but also text has a way to take away context and inflection that would fully convey the "speakers" intent.
Though that's just my thoughts and like I said I'm not all that bright .

FPMLLC · Post by **FPMLLC** » Tue Sep 04, 2012 1:30 pm

And it's probably not worth the savings, but it is nice knowing you made it as well as the quality vs manufactured soap of the same price range is much mch higher. I am also planning on a grey water system for irrigation at some point, and all natural goes a long way not to kill my shrubs.

dragoncar · Post by **dragoncar** » Tue Sep 04, 2012 3:00 pm

I don't bathe, so I don't really need soap.
Every 30 days, however, I shed my exoskeleton.
By the way, do we really need exoskeletons?
*Excerpt from my new blog HermitCrabRetirement.com

JohnnyH · Post by **JohnnyH** » Tue Sep 04, 2012 3:02 pm

.69c for a good/nontoxic bar of good soap is great... Can't beat the quality of this soap with that horrible $1/bar stuff.
This is totally ERE IMO: multipurpose ingredients (coconut/EVOO can be eaten), learning of skill/trade, savings, higher quality... Soaps would make great gift/barter good as well.
I miss bar soap sometimes. I've been using the mesh pouf + diluted Bronners dispensed out of an aerator bottle... I think I've been working on 1 gallon ($30 at time) for 2+ years.