So a few years back I bought lye, and it was labeled Sodium Carbonate Anhydrous (soda ash). Am I going to be able to use this for soap? Thanks for the help.
Sodium Carbonate or soda ash cannot be used to make soap. Sometimes the soap will actually makes soda ash when the lye inside react with carbon dioxide in the air.
You will need sodium hydroxide to make solid soap. You may find it in hardware stores as drain cleaner.