One of my staples from T.J. Maxx and Home Goods used to be foam soap. When I was lucky enough to find the right color of soap or bottle for my bathroom along with my preferred fragrance, I’d be thrilled. That’s a hard combination to find—I’m particular! But, when I did, I’d scarf up every bottle I could find and do a happy dance right there between the toilet bowl brushes and the bathroom rugs.
I couldn’t always get the right decorative bottle or the right fragrance—so I did some research and found the easiest solution: Make my own!
It’s so easy and costs 80 percent less than regular liquid soap.
Here’s how:
- First, buy a beautiful foam soap dispenser. I’ve tried a few and this is the one I like the best. You can see from the picture I have the frosted version.
- Then choose any liquid soap you like. You don’t have to worry about the soap dispenser matching your bathroom decor. Now you just need to find one with a fragrance you like.
- Add five parts water and one part liquid soap, in that order.
- Shake well.
There you have it! Homemade foaming soap for 1/5 of the cost! And now you’ll have a zillion more choices because you don’t have to worry about matching the container to your decor.
There are a few reasons I love liquid soap.
It’s efficient, I use less soap so it’s cost-effective, and also I use much less water to rinse my hands. I worked in an office and now I’m retired. It’s not like I’m digging in dirt or working on cars. I just don’t need tons of concentrated soap or time to work up the lather only to spend more time and water rinsing it all away. It’s overkill.
There are lots of choices of liquid soap from the discount stores and for years, T.J. Maxx and Home Goods were my sources. But I found my favorite liquid soap on vacation a few years ago at a restaurant in San Diego and I’ve been using it ever since. It’s called Essenza Luxury Hand Soap in Rosemary Mint. (Update: Sadly, this soap is no longer available)
It’s elegant, luxurious, and yet not overwhelming. And it’s super inexpensive. At the restaurant, I asked the hostess if she knew where I could purchase the soap since it was in a plain soap dispenser. “Oh, sure,” and she hands me a pre-written scrap of paper with the brand and fragrance on it. “We get sooooooo many requests for this. And we can hardly keep it in stock because people keep stealing it!”
So, a bit of research later and my case was on its way!
I purchased it at Walmart where each 12 oz bottle is only $3.99! Walmart offers free 2-day shipping with orders over $35. Therefore, I buy 11 bottles at a time. I know that sounds like a lot, but this soap rocks! And yes, after turning it into foaming soap, I’m technically paying only .69 a bottle! For luxury soap. That one high-end restaurant in San Diego can’t keep people from stealing!
You’re welcome!