What do you do with your scraps?

[Carl]

I get a lot of scraps. For example, when I make a loaf, I trim the edges with a potato peeler. I started accumulating little scraps. Sometimes, I just get crumbs that fall to the counter top after cutting, etc.

Do you save these? Toss them?

I thought about mixing them all up together, but each one has a different scent/composition.

What do you do with these?

 

[KiwiMoose]

I grated them up and put them into this:

 

[lsg]

I save them until I get enough and grate them up and rebatch. My family doesn't mind using the rebatched soap.

 

[Atihcnoc]

If it's a mix of all the scraps I rebatch the soap with a new formula, if it is all from the same make the same formula and add the scraps.

 

[Carl]

Interesting.

Wonder how the scent is with so many mixed together?

 

[amd]

Sigh... I currently have 3 buckets full of scraps - I think every soap that I have beveled in the last 4 years is present. This summer I started rebatching them, adding pumice and calling it a "working hands" soap. You can read about it here. I have also made confetti soap with it. I sell, so my biggest struggle is that darn labeling for the ingredients - my soaps have a wide range of additives: AVJ, CM, beer, avocado puree, cider, mashed potatoes, kombucha... and the list continues on. I currently have confetti soaps labeled as "soap shreds" and put an allergen warning on the online listing, hoping people will just tell me what the allergy is, rather than me having to guess at what it might be. This works really well in-person at least. I always make sure to ask before they buy.

 

[shunt2011]

I just put them in another batch as confetti soap. I save them in a smaller bucket. I have been known to just toss them though if it gets out of hand.

 

[IrishLass]

I spritz them with water, heat them only until they are soft enough to be squished together into a cohesive, but pliable mass (like softened clay). Then I press globs of the mass into decorative indy-type molds, toss the molds in the freezer for a day or so, and then unmold. This is what they look like after unmolding:

IrishLass

 

[Marilyn Norgart]

I spritz them with water, heat them only until they are soft enough to be squished together into a cohesive, but pliable mass (like softened clay). Then I press globs of the mass into decorative indy-type molds, toss the molds in the freezer for a day or so, and then unmold. This is what they look like after unmolding:

View attachment 37606


IrishLass

I like this idea!!

 

[KiwiMoose]

I spritz them with water, heat them only until they are soft enough to be squished together into a cohesive, but pliable mass (like softened clay). Then I press globs of the mass into decorative indy-type molds, toss the molds in the freezer for a day or so, and then unmold. This is what they look like after unmolding:

View attachment 37606


IrishLass

Need a LOVE button - I LOVE these!

@Carl mine are all scented differently too - I just make sure that what ever I use to scent the batch for my confetti soap is a fairly powerful one. Patchouli is a good one for that and it smells nice with other fragrances too - so they all seems to blend fine.

 

[Dawni]

I now separate my crumbs. I don't get too many so the crumbs from one batch can usually fit in a small container for me. Before I separated I'd rebatch and they'd end up mostly grey because I used to use a lot of charcoal then.

Confetti is much easier than rebatch.

Sometimes the scent from one soap goes well with another. Try sniffing up combos lol and use unscented soap for the main part if your confetti has a strong scent to begin with.

 

[Meena]

In addition to all the wonderful suggestions above, and especially if you are concerned about random FO mixtures, you could use the "salting-out" method which disaggregates the soap from most everything else that was in it.
It's an interesting-looking process which is on my soaping bucket list to try one day. Our own @DeeAnna wrote a great tutorial located here --> https://classicbells.com/soap/saltOutTut.html

 

[Alfa_Lazcares]

I make balls with the scraps and either use them on the kitchen sink instead of dish soap for my hands or use them for a new batch with “planets” inside.

 

[Hendejm]

I spritz them with water, heat them only until they are soft enough to be squished together into a cohesive, but pliable mass (like softened clay). Then I press globs of the mass into decorative indy-type molds, toss the molds in the freezer for a day or so, and then unmold. This is what they look like after unmolding:

View attachment 37606


IrishLass

Brilliant idea! LOVE

 

[DeeAnna]

I do much as Irish Lass does, but I just smush the scraps in my hands to form a hamburger bun shape. I get one "bun" per batch of soap that's just the right size and shape for use at the sink.

Tip: Lightly spritz fresh soap scraps with whatever alcohol you have on hand (vodka works fine) to dampen the scraps, rather than just water. The alcohol adds liquid to make the soap stick together better but it evaporates quickly so the soap doesn't stay gummy/sticky for very long. This works well for fresh scraps straight from the planer and beveler -- it might be better to use plain water to dampen older, dry scraps.