Hey Katt, I think this is the least expensive way to go... You will want to keep all of your soaping equipment separate from your everyday cookware. I wash all my stuff by hand and rarely use the dishwasher.
Take a trip to the dollar store and get some large plastic bowls, a couple of spatulas, measuring cups, wax paper, plastic table cloth, maybe something to store stuff in, etc.
Walmart will have a good stick blender and a decent digital gram scale. You could pickup some olive oil, coconut oil and maybe some lard while you're there. You will need a good set of goggles and latex gloves at a minimum.
Lye can be purchased online or if you have an Ace Hardware around you can get some in the plumbing section... look for 100% lye.
You can checkout some video's like [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yR6ttCSrLJI&list=PLAADF6209996265D2"]Soap Queen TV[/ame] and [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiA1wtqYQ80&list=PLVLOOxDex6x0vbGhZ2XPVjkWRALT-YoAg"]Soaping 101[/ame] on YouTube to get you familiar with CP soap making.
Just Google 'soap queen favorite recipes' for some decent basic recipe ideas.
