Frugal Friday


One of the minor "problems" of homeschooling is that you're at home most of the time, and so are the kids. While this is wonderful for personal relationships, it does mean a considerable drain on resources. Bathrooms, especially, eat up resources and therefore, money. I've found a great way to stretch the soap we use.

Have you ever seen the foaming hand soap that's so popular these days? You can actually buy pumps that dispense foam instead of thick liquid soap, but they're pretty expensive. The filled pump is about twice as much as a filled bottle of regular liquid soap, and I have NO idea how much the refill bottles cost. But I found a way to use those bottles without having to spend money on the pricy refills.

First, of course, you will need to purchase the special foaming soap dispensers. Sorry, but there's no way around it. I have two, but I got mine with freebie coupons.

After using the original contents of the dispensers, all you need is a bottle of regular liquid hand soap, in whatever brand and scent you desire. I wouldn't recommend getting any of the newer kinds that have moisturizing beads in them, though, as I'm sure that would clog the dispenser. You need just regular soap.

Open the foaming soap dispenser and squeeze in a couple of tablespoons of liquid hand soap - about a quarter of an inch in the bottom. Gently fill the rest of the dispenser up to the line with water from the tap. (Do it gently so as not to create too many suds in the bottle.) Cap the dispenser, then simply shake well. Give it a couple of pumps to get it started.

There you have it, foamy hand soap at a fraction of a fraction of the cost! I have two dispensers in the two bathrooms, in a house with 4 people. In over half of a year, I have only gone through a total of about 1 large bottle of the liquid soap refill. (About 1/2 a large bottle in each bathroom.) And that's including the times the dispenser had run out and I was too lazy to refill it, so we used the straight soap for a day or so! I love the foamy stuff, it washes off so much easier than the thick liquid soap, and kids love the neat foam, so it encourages them to wash properly.

Enjoy!

Today's post is part of my regular "Frugal Friday" series, and I've discovered that others in Bloggityville do Frugal Friday, too! Please take a peek at the other entries here.

posted by Homeschool Help Web at 7:40 AM |