In my journey to save money, I have found so many solutions to problems that I didn't even realize were problems. With my fancy French Press, I realized I was spending my days in a tail spin and it forced me to slow down and take a little time in the morning to rearrange my day and find a better routine. Looking at that grocery bill that was higher than necessary, I noticed how much we spent on cleaning supplies. Once I delved into the world of homemade and handmade cleaning products and soaps, my head was spinning. So I started with the easiest thing I could find. It didn't just turn out great, it also helped heal my psoriasis.
Foaming hand soap. Oh-la-la. That's fancy, and now I make my own. This was my first experience with Castile soap but it certainly wasn't my last. It is an amazing product with so many uses around the house, you could just spend all day making different things with it. But, let's start here.
What you need:
-Dr. Bronner's Castile Soap (liquid to make your life easier)
-Foaming Soap Dispenser like this one
-Essential Oils of your choice
-Water
I took my Soap dispenser and filled it up about 1/5 of the way up with the Castile soap, added roughly a cup of water (don't fill it all the way up or when you put the lid on, it will spill out everywhere) and about 5-10 drops of my favorite essential oils. That. Is. It.
You can also use this as dish soap! I use mine as both so when I chose an essential oil for the kitchen dispenser I went with the sweet orange and clove. It is one of my favorite winter combos and the orange is great for cleaning products.
Here is the real kicker- this soap has sincerely helped soothe the psoriasis on my palms. Living without a dishwasher means I am constantly washing dishes. It was really wreaking havoc on my skin. Now, you may not have Psoriasis but I know most people struggle with really dry hands, especially in the winter. You can wash your hand 30 times with this and because of the oil base of the Castile soap, your hands will not dry out. It's amazing!
So here is the breakdown of cost. The Castile soap will be anywhere from $12-15 for a 32 Oz. bottle. For this particular soap, you will be using appropriately 2 Oz. of Castile soap per round. I got the Dispensers for about $10 for three. The essential oils I already had so I didn't have to buy those but you can get with your favorite "Oil Girl" to help her grow her business! In our house we wash dishes roughly three times a day and wash our hands in the kitchen primarily. One batch lasts us at least three weeks but is really pushing closer to a month. I was going through a bottle of regular dish soap almost every other week previously. Basically, we are spending about a dollar a month to wash our dishes and hands. I'll take that win!