Coconut And Olive Oil Soap

Recently I was given a couple of bottles of olive oil and a few jars of coconut oil.  I haven't been game to use the coconut oil in cooking so I did a bit of internet research to find a new soap recipe..

We just started using this soap in the shower and so far so good. I've priced a very similar soap selling in an eco store called The Source and it sells for $9.95.  It's marketed as a shampoo bar that comes unwrapped.  It's a slightly larger bar and the only difference I could see in the ingredients list was Castor oil was used in theirs and a few scents and colorings.

• 1 pound (16 ounces or 453.6 grams) coconut oil
• 1 pound (16 ounces or 453.6 grams) olive oil
• 0.303 pounds Caustic Soda (4.844 ounces or 137.339 grams)
• 0.760 pounds water ( 12.16 ounces or 344.73 grams)
• Up to 1 ounce of essential oils of choice (optional)
• Stick blender,  spatula,  rubber gloves for hands,  cling wrap,  moulds,  hand towels and trays to put the moulds on.

Before you start,  please put on rubber gloves and protective eyewear.  Make sure you have long sleeves on and enclosed footwear.

Carefully measure out all your ingredients before you start heating the oils.

Into a large icecream container or metal bowl, add the Caustic Soda to the water and stir until the liquid becomes clear and the Caustic Soda dissolves. Let  the mixture sit for 15 - 20 minutes until it feels warm, not hot  PLEASE do not dip your finger in but feel the warmth from the outside of the container

While the Caustic Soda ( Lye ) is cooling,  gently heat up the olive and coconut oils in a saucepan until they reach 48 degrees Celsius.

Gently and slowly add the warmed oils to the lye mixture and stir.

Using a stick blender combine mixture until it reaches trace.  This looks like thickened custard. You may need to rest the blender every few minutes.  Turn it off and use the blender to stir.

Pour into silicon moulds,  place cling wrap and hand towels over the top.  Place in a safe place to cool and harden.

Start using your soap within a few days.

Here are links to the other soap recipes I use -

http://myabundantlife07.blogspot.com/2015/10/soap-making.html

http://myabundantlife07.blogspot.com/2017/04/olive-oil-soap.html

Getting The Most Out Of A Toothpaste Tube

Do you have squeezers and twisters of toothpaste tubes in your home ?  Do you find it frustrating when a tube is in the bin when others think there's no more to squeeze ( but you know otherwise ) ?

Here are a few simple ways to get more out of the tube

!.
Place the tube in both of your hands.  One hand at the top,  one at the bottom
Starting at the bottom end of the tube,  run it over the edge of a bench until you reach the top.
This should push all the toothpaste to the top of the tube.

2.
Once you can't get any more from the tube after completing the above,  cut the top of the tube off.
Dig your toothbrush in.  There might be another couple of portions left.

3.
Keep squeezing the toothpaste to the top of the tube every few days.  The squeezers and twisters in the family will see that there is more toothpaste to use.  If you leave it until the tube has been twisted to billyo,  they'll just throw it in the bin when you are not looking,
.

Make Your Own Bath Bombs

Making your own bath bombs is quite easy.  Once you've had a go you'll be making all sort of bath bombs to give as presents.  Here's the recipe Jessica and I used recently -  

I cup of bi carb of soda ( baking soda )
1/2 cup of citric acid
1/2 cup of Epsom salts
1/2 cup of corn flour

1 teaspoon of water
2 teaspoons of essential oil
4 teaspoons of olive oil
3 - 4  drops of food coloring

Mix all the dry ingredients together in a bowl with a whisk

In a small glass bowl or jar mix all the wet ingredients together

Slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry ones mixing / whisking constantly as you go. Don't add too much of the wet ingredients or it will foam up.

Press the mixture into bath bomb moulds or silicon baking moulds.

Dry overnight or put into a warm oven for 45 minutes.  The oven temperature needs to be as low as you can get.

Gently unmould when cold and hard.

Put A Pump On It.

Putting a pump on cleaning products and toiletries can save you small fortune.  A few years ago I noticed a family member preparing to wash some dishes.  Out came the dishwashing liquid and SQUIRRRRRRRTTTT.  Yes you guessed it.  An enormous squirt of dishwashing liquid went into the sink.  Combine that with fast flowing water and the family member ended up with a sink full of bubbles and very little water.  Infact,  you couldn't see the water and the bubbles were a foot high.

I know I've been called tight or cheap but sometimes portion control just makes sense.  I don't like to see waste whether it be money,  consumables or possessions.  I would prefer to be a good steward of what I have.  Yes it might save a few dollars here and there.  It could help the environment too.  Portion control in my house really makes life easier.

Quite a few products now come with pumps on them.  You'll find them on large bottles for easy use.  What do you do with those pumps when the bottle is empty ?  If you are throwing them out because you don't have a need for them,  think again.

Here are some examples of how I reuse pumps to save us money -

*  Large bottles of shower gel come with a pump.  I'm unlikely to refill a large bottle simply because it's not cost effective to buy small bottles of shower gel for that purpose.  Sometimes those pumps will fit large bottles of shampoo and conditioner.  TRESemme shampoo and conditioner doesn't come with pumps and those large bottles are hard to manage in the shower.  Put a pump on it and you have portion control.  Dilute the shampoo and conditioner and you'll save even more money.

*  As I mentioned above,  dishwashing liquid is hard to portion control.  I saved pumps from liquid hand soap ( before foaming hand wash days ) and put them on the dishwashing liquid bottles.  I know two pumps of the liquid will wash my dishes.

*  Darren uses hair gel each day to tame his curly hair.  For years he used containers of hair gel and it was messy.  A couple of years ago we found hair gel in a pump bottle.  Now when the bottle is empty we refill it with other brands of hair gel.  No more trying to screw on a lid with sticky hands.

*  We've saved liquid hand soap bottles and refilled them with shower gel.  Portion controlling shower gel,  no matter how small the bottle is,  can be tricky in the shower.  We've even emptied all the little bottles from hotel accommodation into a pump bottle.


Each time you go to throw out a pump bottle,  think again.  Can you refill that bottle with something else ?  If not,  will that pump fit onto another bottle ?  It's well worth a try.

Soap Making

For a few years now I've been wanting to make soap but was too frightened.  I think I was frightened of the safety aspect and the unknown.

Soap making was one of my goals for this year so I thought it was time to take the plunge. I came across a very simple and cheap recipe from a blog I follow called House of Simple.  Phil is the blog writer and he promised it would be easy.  So one Saturday I followed the instructions ( to the letter ) and the soap turned out beautifully.

Here are the instructions from House of Simple ( used with permission )  


Blended Vegetable Oil Soap
Safety Note: Wear eye protection, mask and gloves, keep kids and pets away, perform in close proximity to running water in case of spills, keep a window open for ventilation.



INGREDIENTS

1.25 litres of cheap blended vegetable oil (no name is perfect)
173 grams of caustic soda
450 mils of water


METHOD(please follow method exactly in this order)


1. Place water into a very large plastic mixing bowl
2. Pour caustic soda very slowly into water whilst stirring continually with a wooden or plastic spoon until dissolved
3. Add in vegetable oil slowly, stirring all the while with a wooden or plastic spoon
4. Mix with stick blender till a firm trace has occurred - must look like thick custard.
5. Place into large plastic flat-bottomed container - cover with an old towel.
6. Leave totally undisturbed for 24 hours7. Remove from plastic container (twist the container slightly - turn upside down to pop out).8. Cut into bars with the sharpest knife you have

9. Put bars away on a wire rack in a cool airy place to cure for 6 weeks

This recipe will make about 12 bars of simple, frugal and lovely-to-use soap. This recipe is a great one to start with if you have not made soap before as there is no oil blending required, no thermometers required, no special molds or perfumes required either. The ingredients are not expensive which is important for a first time soap maker and vegetable oil is very forgiving

Wendy's notes -

*  I used silicon baking moulds as well as small oblong cake tins.  Silicon baking moulds can be found really cheap at op shops.

*  If using metal cake tins,  line them with cling wrap first for easy removal of the soap when it sets.

*  If the soap hasn't set enough within 24 hours, leave it for another 24 hours then you should be able to remove it from the moulds.

*  If you have an Aldi near you,  they have the cheapest blended vegetable oil at under $8 for 4 litres.

*  I bought the Caustic Soda from Bunnings.  I think it was in the paint section.  Make sure the container has the words "  for soap making " on it.

*  Make sure you have all your moulds close by and ready to use straight after the mixture reaches trace.

*  These soaps will make wonderful presents when added to a fancy face washer or hand towel.

*  I did not put a coloring or fragrance in the soap as I have skin allergies.

Some of the soaps I made

Reaching trace.  It looks like thick custard

Rose moulds

Waiting for the soap  to set

This was from Bunnings