CP efficiency tips for a newbie?

Hi everyone! So my first few batches have taken me ages to make which would ordinarily be fine but with a baby my free time is very limited. I know I will get faster with practice and as I establish my own systems and ways of working but wonder if anyone has any efficiency tips they can share?

For example, I just watched some soapqueen tutorials for the first time and noticed that she used glass (or pyrex?) jugs and a microwave. Much faster for small batches than heating oils in a massive steel pot on the stovetop and using a ladle to pour into the mould!

(Ooh that's another question - I read somewhere not to use pyrex unless you can be very sure of the quality but I'm not really sure what to look for??)

Thanks in advance for any suggestions. I realise this is a pretty vague question!

Pyrex is still a glass product. Which is fine, great, and wonderful for melting oils. Not for lye. Lye heats up the water so rapidly that it can cause microscopic cracks to shatter.

You can purchase plastic mixing bowls with spouts and handles at the dollar stores. These are safe. You can also purchase stainless steel bain marie containers for $10-$15 at restaurant supply stores. Either are considered safe for mixing lye in.

Efficiency tips: Have everything measured out and ready to go before starting. Then when you get done, you should have nothing left on the counter. If you do, you instantly know what you forgot.

Also, I have a dedicated set of equipment for soaping. And I keep all my oils and equipment in a tote box with a latchable lid. Soaping stuff can take over your whole house if you allow it. Having dedicated places for stuff to live, and being a stickler about it all being back there by the time you cut your soap helps to not let it become a problem.

Here is a Soaping 101 video on equipment you can get at the dollar store.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYhH20vWxvc

I would also add plastic drawer organizers to her list. They are roughly 12x4x3 inches. They hold a 3lb batch of soap quite nicely with room for imbeds. I line them with plastic just to make getting it out easier. You don't have to. Even unlined, you can pop the soap out. And if you stack one inside another, it makes the sides rigid enough to not bulge. I just love them.

Don't get too carried away with the number of different oils you use. Less to get out, weigh, and put away. That's less expensive, too -- a big plus in hobby soaping!

When I soap I measure out my ingredients for two batches at once. That way, I can easily make two in one day or make one now and one later. I would only recommend this if you have an area dedicated for soap making.

Sometimes, I'll weigh out my oils and mix the micas, print out the recipe, line my mould and do all those kind of things that aren't time sensitive, the day before I plan to soap. Especially if it's too late in the day or I'm too busy to make a soap that day or have too many things interrupting me. Then it's all ready to go the next day. Should something come up the next day and I still can't set aside the time needed to soap, it'll all hold until the day after that. I don't weigh out my lye (or fragrance) though until I am ready to actually start. I don't like the idea of having the lye standing out exposed to the air and cats and what have you and the scent of the fragrance oil is just too much to put up with until I am ready to use it. Those stay in their respective containers right up until I actually start and then it's the first things I do. Then I melt the oils and off we go.

I second not using glass for your lye solution. Between the heat and the lye which will etch the glass could eventually cause it to shatter and/or leak. I use Plastic with the 5 in a triangle on the bottom or stainless. I too mix several batches of oils ahead of time and then all I need to do is my lye mixture and I'm ready to go. You'll find a process that works well for you and your circumstances the more you do it.

Make sure your supplies are all gathered and organized, within reach. You would be surprised how much time can be spent trying to run down a forgotten item when soap making. Also have your mold prepared before starting the soap. I second the suggestion of limiting the oils. Four readily available oils are plenty to start out.

I always mix my lye solution first so it can sit in the sink and cool down while I weight out the oils and prepare the molds. For the lye, I use hdpe plastic measuring cups from the dollar store.
I line all my oils and additives up and then move them into a big basket as I weight them out so I don't forget something. I too use the microwave to melt my hard oils, liquid oils go directly into the mixing bowl.

I use a laundry basket to hold my regularly used soap making supplies - the stick blender, scale, pot, mold, mineral oil, pitcher and thermometer. My sunflower oil, olive oil and castor oil come in 1 gallon jugs, and since I use those in every batch, I also keep them in the laundry basket.

I have a cart that I wheel around. It keeps all my small items. I line alI of my molds the night before and clean the area. I too measure out oil for three batches ahead of time the morning of. Then I take out only the fragrance and color for the batch I am making. I do my lye one at a time but use frozen things to speed things up.

Tienne said:

.... I don't like the idea of having the lye standing out exposed to the air and cats and what have you and the scent of the fragrance oil is just too much to put up with until I am ready to use it. Those stay in their respective containers right up until I actually start and then it's the first things I do. Then I melt the oils and off we go.

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I left the lye out once for a few hours... thought I was ready to go but got distracted. The lye began pulling moisture from the air and getting hot in the pyrex - scary! Won't ever do that again.

Won't ever have lye in a glass container again, you mean? Glad to hear it, because that is actually rather dangerous.

You can master batch your oils in a hdpe bucket that will fit in the micro. If you make small batches 1-2 lbs you could make enough master batch for 7 1b batches in a 1 gallon bucket. I never fill my buckets to the top since it is to hard to stir and pour from them. You run in soap calc the recipe for the total of your oils going into the bucket so you have all measured correctly. Then go back to soap calc and change your recipe to make the amount you want to make from your master batch. Now you will have the correct amount of lye needed for you smaller batch. I do this for my test sample soaps. I always have a master batch of testing oil available when I want to pour 8 oz test batches. Rubbermaid pitchers are great for mixing lye since they are tall and if any problems occur you have room in the pitches in case of volcanos. I have been using the same rubbermaid pitchers for over 5yrs with no problems. When masterbatching lye I fill these puppies to the top with 50/50 lye solution and they have yet to melt. Trust me it gets pretty hot...I do mix all lye in the sink in case of problems. Problems I have met with over the years :-D. No, I am not recommending mixing 50/50 to a newbie.
The other nice way is to have several buckets the size that will fit in the micro and make up individual batches of oils in each bucket, put a lid on it and it is ready to go the next time you want to soap. I know B&B has bags you can use for oils that are micro safe, but I find the bucket cheaper. I do not like buckets from home depot. Mine come from McMaster Carr or any industrial supplier. If you have a friend that works for an industrial supplier all the better...I get mine half price! I do use a large 4 or 8 cup pyrex pitcher for mixing smaller batches if testing a fragrance or just playing

The Efficacious Gentleman said:

Won't ever have lye in a glass container again, you mean? Glad to hear it, because that is actually rather dangerous.

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Well I measure out the lye sometimes in the pyrex but I do not mix the water and lye in the glass, I use a big plastic bowl. Should I not put lye in glass at all? Thank goodness for this forum, I would probably blow up my house...

I think measuring it in to the pyrex won't be too much of an issue - mixing it and stirring it in glass is not as safe as people think.

Personally, I use a plastic container to measure it in to anyway, as well as a plastic one for mixing it up in.

The problem with measuring up the lye in pyrex is that if you allow it to sit, it will pull moisture from the air.

If I am going to soap the next day, I will measure my lye up into a re-purposed cream cheese container and cap it off. Then pour it into my stainless steel bain marie and add the liquid when I am ready to go. If I am using GM or coconut milk, I have premeasured and frozen it the night before.

Great ideas about masterbatching guys! I love this forum!

Thank you for the clarification, I did realize my mistake of leaving it out cause it to collect moisture from the air and won't do that again. I may just switch to plastic for measuring too just to be extra safe. I did at first start mixing my lye water in a big glass bowl but I joined this forum and quickly learned how risky that is so switched to plastic bowls and find its also so much easier as it doesnt stick like it does in glass. That should have been my first warning.

Since I live alone, I put on my headphones and jam out to some Shaggy.