Foaming Hand Soap

While this is a recipe, it's not a recipe in the sense of all of our other recipes because it's not edible.  It is, however, kitchen-related.  Whenever I cook or bake, I wash my hands many times.  And when I say "many," I mean many!  I wash my hands so much that I usually have to replace my hand towel, because it ends up soaking wet by the time I'm done cooking.  Washing your hands with soap and water often while cooking is a good practice.  For example, every time you handle raw meat, you should wash your hands with soap and water before touching anything else, whether it be other food, equipment, towels, counters, etc.  As a result of my frequent hand washing, I tend to go through soap rather quickly.

Foaming hand soap seems to be the trend right now.  Surprisingly, this is one time where following the trend is actually a way to save money.  "How?" you ask.  I actually got the idea from my parents.  They've had a foaming hand soap dispenser for a couple years now, but instead of buying the expensive soap "specially" formulated for foaming hand soap dispensers, they buy regular hand soap and water it down.  I'm sure that's all those "special" foaming hand soaps are anyway - watered down soap.  You will need to buy a foaming hand soap dispenser, but once it's empty, simply fill the dispenser about one-third of the way with regular liquid hand soap, then fill the remainder of the dispenser with water.  Put the lid on and shake vigorously until the soap and water are mixed.  Depending on the type of soap you buy, your ratio may differ a bit.  Since this method requires less soap to fill up the dispenser, it's a money-saving technique!  You can also use body wash instead of liquid hand soap.  I've been able to get body wash for free or very inexpensively, but I don't use body wash in the shower too often.  Using it in foaming soap dispensers is a great way to use it up!

Regular liquid hand soap

Water has been added and it's been shaken.

I have purchased foaming soap dispensers for all our sinks.  It may not save a whole lot of money, but we'll take savings anywhere we can!