This Friday we are doing “Great Idea Day” at the Mom’s group I lead in my community. Each woman brings with her a tip or trick that works for her. It could be a discipline tactic, a favorite product, a great book, how to motivate your kids to clean, a great day trip etc. As I was preparing a few tips to share I thought why not host a Great Idea Day here at Infarrantly Creative!
Now I expect all of you to participate. If you have a blog you have a great idea! Come and share them here on Friday (oh and grab a button on my sidebar).
For now I will leave you with my all time favorite great idea. Some of you may already know this but for others it will BLOW your mind. You are welcome in advance.
I loves foaming hand wash. It saves me time when I wash mine or my kids hands because the soap is already in a lather. I simply hate the regular pump stuff especially when trying to clean a wiggly one-year old girl’s hands. Yes, you can buy foaming hand wash at the store. But why not reuse a foaming hand wash pump and make your own for pennies? I have been making my own for about four years now.
Start with an empty foaming hand wash pump and Goo Gone to get the label off…
{Mix one part of liquid hand soap with 5-6 parts water}
I used to use 6 parts water for years but I like 5 parts since having kids and washing my hands one beeeellion times a day, it seems to keep them more moisturized. I mix a big batch and keep them in gallon jugs under each sink.
For Christmas I get all sorts of scents of the Bath and Body Works regular hand soap as a gift.
Then I mix one of the soaps with 40 ounces of water and it lasts me at least 6 months! I like to vary my scents so I have a different scent in each bathroom.
I also do this with my Dawn dishwashing liquid. I got the Dawn Direct Foam over a year and a half ago and now I just keep refilling it.
Foaming hand wash makes me smile…yes it is the little things in life. Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeease join me Friday.
Disclaimer: After a while your pump will stop working and you will have to buy a new one, I guess they are not made to last forever. Try and keep them as dry as possible, that helps.
Also use soap without any of the gritty beads in it.
Good idea! I'll have to try to think of something to share… 🙂
We go through this stuff. I'll definitely have to start making my own.
I already have my great idea tip for Friday 🙂 I leave for a 12 hour car ride that morning, so I might have to beg someone else to post it for me!
I told my hubs not 15 minutes ago that I had to find a refill for my daughter's foaming body wash. Guess what I'm making tomorrow! Thanks for the awesome tip! 🙂
OOhh! Fun! I have an idea (storage) but I need to take some pictures!
Beckie, I've been doing this for years (refilling foaming pumps) however, I never thought to make up a whole batch ahead of time. I have about 5 bottles that I refill all at one time. Using one at a time, then waiting till they are all empty, then doing it again. I like this idea of the gallon jug.
thanks!
gail
Such a great idea!!! I'll definatly be trying this!
I've never seen foaming hand wash before. Why is it better? I thought the rubbing of regular hand soap helped rub the germs and ickies off. I'm so lost on this one!
~ Sarah
Thanks so much! I was just thinking I needed to find a recipe for this. I am gonna give it a try this weekend.
Wow – that IS a great idea! I really need to make my own. Thanks so much!!!
Love your blog!
XOXO
Jen
We gave homemade foaming soap for Christmas gifts this year!!! I loved it. Everyone really liked it too!
You can see how we made ours here if you'd like…
http://akasarah.blogspot.com/2009/12/forget-those-pesky-chemicals.html
Great Idea! Never really knew you could make your own. Totally buying a foaming pump this week and making some!
This is truly one of those 'now why didn't I think of that before?' ideas!
Where can you purchase foaming pumps? Without the soap that is.
THANK YOU!! we use foaming hand soap and i will definitely start making it myself!
Great idea, I'll have to try this!
I'm confused. You mix one part hand soap to five parts water….then you add all that to 40 ounces of water??? Sorry, I'm not the sharpest one!
I've been doing this ever since you told me a couple of years ago. Love it! I did make the mistake though of using the Bath and body works with the antibacterial beads and it ruined my pump. Lesson learned! 🙂
Nic W.
I guess the place to go for pumps that I can see is http://www.bottlesandfoamers.com They are around 1.89 each…that's sound pretty dang cheap to me! I wish they had some clear ones…I'll keep my eyes peeled!
Have you found that there are some soaps that don't work for the dawn one? Right now, mine is all gunked up and won't squirt much after using a castile liquid soap.
Other than that, I use this all the time. Thanks for the tips.
tia
I love foam soap too because it doesnt drip and drizzle all over your sink.
I just tried this and LOVE it. Thanks for sharing!
There is actually another way to refill these—you just pour about 3 millimeters of liquid soap into the bottom of the pump-then fill with water to within 1/2 inch of the top of the bottle (where the spout screws in). Attach spout, shake very lightly, and voila-you are good to go.
I have also found that the pump bottles only last for awhile-but think of all the money you'll save! 🙂
There is actually another way to refill these—you just pour about 3 millimeters of liquid soap into the bottom of the pump-then fill with water to within 1/2 inch of the top of the bottle (where the spout screws in). Attach spout, shake very lightly, and voila-you are good to go.
I have also found that the pump bottles only last for awhile-but think of all the money you'll save! 🙂
There is actually another way to refill these—you just pour about 3 millimeters of liquid soap into the bottom of the pump-then fill with water to within 1/2 inch of the top of the bottle (where the spout screws in). Attach spout, shake very lightly, and voila-you are good to go.
I have also found that the pump bottles only last for awhile-but think of all the money you'll save! 🙂
There is actually another way to refill these—you just pour about 3 millimeters of liquid soap into the bottom of the pump-then fill with water to within 1/2 inch of the top of the bottle (where the spout screws in). Attach spout, shake very lightly, and voila-you are good to go.
I have also found that the pump bottles only last for awhile-but think of all the money you'll save! 🙂
I had to come back and re-read this post. 6 to 1 ratio. ah ha!!! I put half soap/ half water the other day and IT DOESN"T WORK. I guess I'll just keep adding water for a while till it evens out to the right consistancy. Isn't it interesting the price of the foaming handsoap is the same as the full strength hand soap even though it's 1/6 the amount of ingredients? Those sneaky marketing people….
It sounds like a great idea at first, but then when you consider that you are literally diluting the amount of soap you use each time, I wonder how effective the cleaning power is. Any food handling certification teaches individuals to wash their hands for at least 20 seconds (or singing the Happy Birthday song)using full strength soap. Speeding up the process and using less soap sounds like less sanitation is going on.