Handsoap for the Ultra-Frugal!

Up to this point, I've been diluting liquid Dr. Bronner's Castile soap to put in our handsoap dispenser. The consistency was always too liquidy for my liking, and in actuality not as cheap as I thought it was. When we ran out I decided to try making my own liquid soap from a tutorial I found online. It costs about $4 for a 12 oz. pump-soap of paraben free, non-antibacterial soap at Target or Trader Joe's--this method is a lot cheaper!

First, I bought two bars of Sappo Hill soap "seconds" for 75 cents each. (To total around 8 oz.)

I shredded them both using a cheese grater. This was surprisingly fast and easy. 

Then, I boiled a gallon of distilled water (78 cents) and added the soap shavings, and stirred till they dissolved. 

Then, I took it off the heat. It was very watery for several hours after, but the next morning, it was nice and creamy like handsoap should be. Interestingly, most of the soap was whitish, but there was orange residue on the bottom of the pot. I think this must have been the dye & sandalwood scent settling. I tried to separate that out. Then, I used my immersion blender to whip it all up and get the globs to an even consistency. 

1 gallon handsoap = $2.28

Note: The tutorial  also said to add 2 tbsp of liquid glycerin, but Sappo Hill (made in Oregon) doesn't remove the glycerin so I didn't bother. I did add 1 tbsp of safflower oil because I had it on hand--one commenter on the tutorial said any carrier oil would work. Don't know if it made any difference.

I'll store it in the gallon jug the distilled water came it, and decant what we need into our handsoap dispenser.