Foam Soap

One of the only DIY Green Cleaning items I've started doing myself is making my own foaming hand soap. Before I realized how many chemicals were in the typical foaming soaps, I used to love and stock up on the Bath and Body Works anti-bacterial foaming soaps. I loved them! Convenient, nice scents, and leaves your hands feeling good.

What I didn't realize however, was that a lot of those chemicals weren't good for me or my septic system. Upon learning that, I inquired around for a better alternative and was given a recipe that has worked wonders, saves us a ton of money, and no one besides me is the wiser. I actually prefer this home made version now.

So, what do you need? It's so simple, I promise you that truly ANYONE can do it.

- A soap dispenser
- Water - regular ole tap water is fine, that's what I use
- Liquid Castile Soap

I use Dr. Bonner's soap. I bought the large 32 ounce Lavender scent. In hindsight, I'm not the biggest lavender fan, so I should have bought another scent or unscented and found my own essential oil. You can buy Dr. Bonners in unscented, lavender, peppermint, almond, and eucalyptus. And, lucky for me and hopefully you, it's conveniently available at Target. I paid around $12.99 for the 32 ounce bottle. I was previously paying $3.99 or so per bottle of the Bath & Body soaps, so after 4 bottles, I'm saving money and believe me, I've already made it there.

Here's what it looks like - In my Target, it's right near the Burt's Bees and other natural cosmetic products.

How do you make it?

- 1 part Castile soap
- 9 parts water

Open your foam soap dispenser, pour in one part castile soap and 9 parts water. It doesn't have to be exact - I eye ball it and it's come out fine every time. Put in the soap first, then add in the water slowly, letting the water drain down the side of the dispenser kind of like pouring beer to minimize foam. Leave a little room at the top and seal the dispenser. Roll around gently (no need to shake, I simply flip it up and down slowly a couple times) just to get it to mix. And you are ready to go!

It's that simple and you'll find that you're quickly saving money. There are also tons of other uses for the Castile soap, but I haven't ventured there yet. I've made what seems like dozens of bottles of soap already and hardly made a dent in my Dr. Bonner's...So it could literally last me forever. If not, I'll eventually buy the unscented and make my own scents, but until then, I'll continue using the lavender and love my soap (and the extra money in my pocket)!

Until next time

~Amber