Soaping in small spaces

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SoapAddict415

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Hi everyone! Does anyone have any tips or advice for soaping in small spaces? When I first started soaping, I had an entire 2nd floor kitchen too use as my workspace. Now we're living in a 1 bedroom apartment and the first pic shows my entire workplace now. I was storing my soaps in the small banana boxes pictured on the top shelf of the cabinet in the 2nd pic but I've got more soap than box room. Any ideas for storing soaps or on how I can maximize my tiny workspace would be greatly appreciated IMG_20171021_150534.jpgIMG_20171021_150613.jpg
 
One thought would be to replace the cabinets with a chrome or stainless storage shelving. Such as these https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CL9204C/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20 or here is a skinny shelving unit https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M5F5KAH/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
If your apartment has a balcony or outside patio maybe get a storage container or even a dock box for storing some of your supplies. Dock boxes are not always cheap but hold a lot! If you cannot get rid of the cabinets then try the smaller storage shelving and set them on top of the cabinets. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0763S7CYH/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
 
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I like similar shelves, but without wheels- https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B018YLFJX4/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

They're a bit taller than the ones cmzaha linked. I have several of them throughout the house, they make great bookshelves and gadget storage, too. And as an added bonus (for me, anyway), they're cat resistant! The wires are a bit too narrow and just a bit too widely spaced for a cat to be able to walk on them comfortably, so mine at least don't even bother getting up on them.
 
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We have a larger living space than a one bedroom apartment but I have my soaping confined to an area quite similar in size to yours. It's the side counter in our kitchen and its accompanying two-door cabinet. I am lucky in that I can store my made soaps in the pantry, separate from my soaping supplies; all the room finished soap takes up seems to be the most difficult thing with your space.

One small item that helped me organize my cupboard is a little wire shelf. It stands on legs and creates a shelf on top of, or between two, shelves. I keep small things under it and it lets me maximize the space without balancing things on each other.

I also find stackable, square-cornered, straight-sided storage bins very useful. Tapered and round containers waste space.

Lastly, I have started trying to order and store things in similarly sized containers, so that more will fit into the same kind/size of bin or shelf area. If I have some coconut oil left in the bottom of a jar and a new larger container that won't fit in the cupboard I might use the older bit for cooking, throw it into a small mason jar with a label listing its weight and later add the rest of the oils for a soap batch, or even put it into a zip top bag if it's a really little bit. If I order micas and they come in half-full baggies, I consolidate them to save room.

I store utensils on-end, in a container just big enough to hold them.

All of this is a pain, but it keeps things small and tidy.

Good luck, you CAN make awesome soap in a smaller area.
 
We've recently moved from a 3 bedroom home to a 1 bedroom apartment also, so I feel your pain. I had half of "the library" (AKA 3rd bedroom) to store stuff in, now I have no space. So I made space. I have soap curing on the shelf that holds the cable box, etc, but in the back. I have soap curing in open plastic boxes under the bed (no bed skirt right now). I have soap curing on the counter top in the bathroom. My supplies and equipment were cut to the bone, but they are in plastic totes in a closet. Those banana boxes, and other fruit boxes from the grocery store, are awesome to store curing soap in, as they stack neatly, and still allow air flow.
 
We've recently moved from a 3 bedroom home to a 1 bedroom apartment also, so I feel your pain. I had half of "the library" (AKA 3rd bedroom) to store stuff in, now I have no space. So I made space. I have soap curing on the shelf that holds the cable box, etc, but in the back. I have soap curing in open plastic boxes under the bed (no bed skirt right now). I have soap curing on the counter top in the bathroom. My supplies and equipment were cut to the bone, but they are in plastic totes in a closet. Those banana boxes, and other fruit boxes from the grocery store, are awesome to store curing soap in, as they stack neatly, and still allow air flow.
Is it wrong of me to want to move into a 2 bedroom apartment so that I'll have some place to keep my soaping stuff lol?
 
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