The other day I was organizing the linen closet in our hallway, which is where I keep our stocks of household necessities (toilet paper, for instance). As I was tidying things up, I noticed that we had quite the collection of bar soap! I buy bar soap for my husband, who is generally the only one in the house who prefers using bar soap to body wash. But I guess I’ve been buying large packages of bar soap lately, which is why we now have a small pile of unused bar soap in the linen closet!
So I did what I usually do when I have too much of something – I started looking for more ways to use it! After a bit of research, I came up with the following list of ways to use bar soap. Even if you don’t have a surplus of bar soap like I do, I hope this list will show you that bar soap is more far useful than it seems. And one day you might be very glad you have some good old fashioned bar soap on hand!
10 Ways to Use Bar Soap
1. Make Body Wash
Turn your favorite bar of soap into your new favorite body wash! You’ll be surprised at how much body wash you can get from one little bar of soap! It’s easy, economical, and takes just a few minutes to do.
To make body wash from bar soap, grate the bar soap and mix it with water in a pot, heating until the soap dissolves. Let the mixture cool, then pour it into a container for use. A good ratio is about an ounce of grated soap* to a cup of water. If you want a scented soap, try adding some of your favorite essential oils just before putting the liquid into the container.
*Loosely grated soap (box-grater curls, not packed) yields about 8–10 tablespoons per ounce. Dr. Bronner’s rule of thumb is one 5 oz bar ≈ 3 cups grated, which works out to roughly 9–10 Tbsp per ounce.
2. Make Felted Soap
Making felted soap is a great way to add some extra exfoliating power to a standard bar of soap. It’s easy to do, and it makes a pretty addition to any bathroom! I think a bar of felted soap would make a thoughtful handmade gift. This felting kit at Amazon is just $20 and comes with instructions and an assortment of beautiful colors of wool for felting.
3. Keep Fingernails Clean
Here’s a great tip for keeping your fingernails clean when you’re doing yard or garden work. Scrape your fingernails over a bar of soap, so that a bit of soap remains under your nails. The soap will serve as a barrier between your fingernails and the dirt. Then when you’re done with the yard work, just give your hands a good washing and the soap will come right out!
4. Fix Smelly Shoes
Did you know that a bar of soap can actually absorb odors? Place a bar inside a smelly shoe and let the odors absorb overnight.
5. Keep Clothes Fresh
A bar of soap can also help absorb musty odors in your drawers and closets! Just wrap a bar of soap in a cloth bag or a piece of fabric, and store it with your clothes. This should also help repel insects!
6. Relieve Bug Bites
A bar of soap can provide quick relief from an itchy bug bite! Just dampen the soap and rub it across the bug bite. The thin layer of soap will help soothe itch and will serve as a reminder not to scratch. :-)
7. Coat Sewing Needles
Certain fabrics can be tricky for sewing, but a bit of soap can make it easier! Just stick the tip of your sewing needle into a bar of soap before using them. The soap will help the needle slide smoothly through those difficult fabrics.
8. Mark Fabrics
Use a bar of soap to mark hem lines on fabric for your sewing projects! It washes right out, and you don’t have to run to a craft store for a special pencil.
9. Unstick a Zipper
Run a bar of soap along a zipper that tends to snag or get stuck. The zipper will help the zipper slide smoothly!
10. Pick Up Glass
It’s easy enough to pick up larger pieces of broken glass, but the tiny pieces can be really hard to see. Use a bar of soap to help pick them up! Just get a bar of soap wet and press it down around the area where the broken glass is. The bar will pick up any stray shards of glass. Just make sure to toss it out when you’re done!
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What do you use bar soap for?
When you speak of leg cramps are you talking about Charlie horses? If so, do you think or know if this also works on Charlie horses that you get in the stomach, back, arms, hands or throat.? I get them really bad in all of those places and the ones in my legs and feet too. So please explain how to use the soap if it will help me. Thank you
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I had no luck with soap, but please try adding zinc, calcium and magnesium to your diet, or the pills you take. Also, try Hyland’s Leg Cramp medicine from your local nutrition store, or Amazon, for immediate relief. I used to get up to ten cramps a day—no more!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.What worked for me is really increasingly my plain water consumption to 50 ounces plain water not coffee or tea or juice but plain water
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I work in a garden nursery and we recommend hanging a few slivers of Irish Spring soap near the tasty plants. It keeps the deer away!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Does it work for frogs too?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.You left out the best use of all.. It makes leg cramps disappear! My Grandpa told me that to help me with terrible night cramps during my pregnancy last year. I listened to him and thought it to be quite silly but was willing to try anything and oh my gosh did it work wonderfully! I even took it with me to the hospital and used it after birth. The nurses were ever so curious as to why I had a bar of soap under the sheets placed between my calves so I told them also!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Right you are Shawny !
I put a bar of soap under my bottom sheet for leg and foot cramps. I have even brought along a bar when I traveled – just in case there wasn’t an extra one where I was staying.
When I first read about this – “Ask the doctor” column in my local newspaper – i thought it was a stupid idea and would never work. But I know it does – a few times the soap fell on the floor and that night I had foot cramps once again! I’ve been doing this for years!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Does it matter what brand of soap? Where do you put it? Interesting idea!
In the People’s Pharmacy column that runs in many newspapers, the Graedons say that Ivory soap (specifically) works for restless leg syndrome/leg cramps, fibromyalgia, and menstrual cramps when placed at the foot of the bed beneath the sheets. For the cost of a bar of soap, I am willing to give this a try for fibromyalgia. Why not? I actually had to buy 8 bars as that’s all Target had, so I happily gave away the other 7 at my community meal for my neighbors to try. We will see if it does the trick. It can’t hurt.
When I buy my favorite soaps (very lightly scented), I store them in my clothing drawers to harden and give my clothes a gentle scent. If it keeps bugs away, so much the better.