What soapy thing have you done today?

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I cleaned and organized my vinyl, tape and C.D. collection. And did dishes, which is always epic, and cleaned a bunch of other stuff. Mostly I cleaned. and moved piles of stuff from one spot to another. I also moved soap around. So mostly I moved stuff I want and moved stuff I don't want. Mostly I moved stuff, garbage, recycling, dirt and grime, water, soap, bottles, boxes, furniture. Yep I moved stuff, I created nothing. But it felt realllllly good.

That is a wonderful feeling. I know this isn't directly soap-related, but I just read "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up" by Marie Kondo and it literally changed my life. Now I have more energy/thought/time for soap... so actually it is soap related. If you like an organized space but hate taking the time to clean up, check it out.
 
Not today but I salted out a ton of scraps and made laundrysoap.
Laundry.jpg
 
Nice job, Boyago! Are you going to give a step-by-step, blow-by-blow account of your adventure? Curious minds want to know and all that. I'm curious if my advice to you was off base or reasonably on target, so I can share accurate info with others.

Thank you for the encouragement, FlyByStarDancer. I am infusing more annatto and oil for another batch as I write this!
 
Mom requested a very gentle facial soap for older skin. In blue. Not a spicy or masculine fragrance. Did she mention in blue? Yes, yes she did. Also, blue.

So this is my first Castille in ages, although I guess it's a Bastille since I added honey and sodium lactate, plus a dash of blue ultramarine for a soft blue color. Turns out trace time isn't bad when you use a lye:water ratio of 1.8:1.
 
I have a ton of ugly, stinky salt bars that need a purpose. I should salt them out with my other scraps for laundry detergent. Right now I'm making Lindy's cream soap, it has to cook for another hour or so.
 
Nice job, Boyago! Are you going to give a step-by-step, blow-by-blow account of your adventure? Curious minds want to know and all that. I'm curious if my advice to you was off base or reasonably on target, so I can share accurate info with others.

WHOLE-LEE-SMOACHS!

I just wrote a huge detailed response and poof! I must have accidentally hit something on this stupid touch pad and the window closed and no more response. I'll retype it later on the other thread with a decent blow by blow with my mistakes and what I would do different when I am a little less annoyed.
 
That is a wonderful feeling. I know this isn't directly soap-related, but I just read "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up" by Marie Kondo and it literally changed my life. Now I have more energy/thought/time for soap... so actually it is soap related. If you like an organized space but hate taking the time to clean up, check it out.

THANK YOU! *Runs to Amazon*
 
WHOLE-LEE-SMOACHS!

I just wrote a huge detailed response and poof! I must have accidentally hit something on this stupid touch pad and the window closed and no more response. I'll retype it later on the other thread with a decent blow by blow with my mistakes and what I would do different when I am a little less annoyed.

Long posts should always be done in a word processor or text editor, then copy and paste into the reply area. This is a hard learned lesson....
 
I made three 1 pound batches of ITP tries. Apparently it wasn't my night. Since when does BB's Tobacoo and Bay leaf accelerate? Thwarted by demons who dislike soap.

I am in line to hear about the salting out the soap scraps as well!
 
Started getting all my donation soaps ready to send out to cleantheworld & I can't find the form in my email! I'm having issues accessing their site too. Go figure! Sigh. Will continue boxing & wrapping till I figure it out anyway.
 
Here's a 75% OO soap done with a touch of titanium dioxide (the yellow will lighten anyway) and a fair clip of iron oxide (actually, my New Favorite Color).

While my swirling still needs work, I'm getting better at it slowly. The internal swirl is a combination drop/hanger swirl, so we'll see what that looks like in a few days...

IMG_0434.jpg
 
Aaaand instead of making soap (still waiting on the lard soap I made the other day to finish hardening up so I can cut it! Darn my use of full water...), I'm cleaning soap scum from my bathtub. Hard water + slow drain means I get heavy build up FAST. Usually big thick globs of insoluble soaps within just a shower or two, and they make the floor very slippery. :( I use chelators in my soaps to help, but the slow drain makes every attempt futile. And since Dad isn't the one showering in nearly a foot of water every day, he's in no hurry to fix the darn thing. He's done pretty much all he can from the bathroom to clear it out, including using a drain snake powered by his drill. Nothing's touched whatever is slowing it down. Next step would be to have a plumber crawl under the house to see if the trap needs cleaning, which he's reluctant to do.

So in the meantime, I'm stuck with crazy soapscum in the shower. The sink (which gets a LOT more use) doesn't have a draining problem, and has only the faintest hint of soapscum, despite not getting cleaned as often. Hmmm.
 
I am really interested in boyago's salting out scraps to make laundry soap method. Is there a thread? I have so many scraps that I need to find a use for.
 
Aaaand instead of making soap (still waiting on the lard soap I made the other day to finish hardening up so I can cut it! Darn my use of full water...), I'm cleaning soap scum from my bathtub. Hard water + slow drain means I get heavy build up FAST. Usually big thick globs of insoluble soaps within just a shower or two, and they make the floor very slippery. :( I use chelators in my soaps to help, but the slow drain makes every attempt futile. And since Dad isn't the one showering in nearly a foot of water every day, he's in no hurry to fix the darn thing. He's done pretty much all he can from the bathroom to clear it out, including using a drain snake powered by his drill. Nothing's touched whatever is slowing it down. Next step would be to have a plumber crawl under the house to see if the trap needs cleaning, which he's reluctant to do.

So in the meantime, I'm stuck with crazy soapscum in the shower. The sink (which gets a LOT more use) doesn't have a draining problem, and has only the faintest hint of soapscum, despite not getting cleaned as often. Hmmm.
We have notoriously ornery plumbing in my house. I live hillside below street level, which causes all kinds of meanness for plumbing. Several years ago I cut down my superfat to 1-3% and I never throw my wash water down the sink when I wash my soaping buckets and utensils. Even my hubby agrees that it has helped.
 
"...While my swirling still needs work, I'm getting better at it slowly...."

Ahhhh!!! Glad to hear I'm not the only one who struggles with this. I'm definitely swirl impaired. :shifty:
 
I am working on some more soapie samples for the lard versus tallow test. I am going to add in 100% veggie soaps to compare to. Right now I have rebatch going from all my shavings and recycled soaps to make my extra scrubby mud bars. After that 2 more batches of Dragon's Blood and a batch of Plumeria. You would think I would schedule and inventory better so I Do Not run out of them, which is a big bad for me. Those are 2 out of 3 of my best sellers. I have been so lax at making soap since the holidays. Time to get in the groove or quit selling. One should never never run out of their best selling soaps.
 
"...While my swirling still needs work, I'm getting better at it slowly...."

Ahhhh!!! Glad to hear I'm not the only one who struggles with this. I'm definitely swirl impaired. :shifty:

One of these years, I'll get it right. I will.
 

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