…but that is because I usually have a shower [quicker, uses less water etc.] When I do, I enjoy some bubbles – I buy the large economy plastic bottle of ‘muscle relax foam bath’. It is too tall for the bathroom cupboard, and usually stands on the corner of the bath – but isn’t that pretty. So when I bought a new bottle recently I decided to be a little more creative. I dug out some empty bottles from the box in the garage [this is the ‘too pretty to consign to recycling just yet, but maybe one day…’ collection] and refilled them.
Now they catch the light and look really pretty on the windowsill.
Bob suggested recently that we had rather too many slivers of soap lurking in soap dishes. He was [as usual] quite right. I collected all the bits and refilled the dishes with new bars. Then I blitzed them in my processor.
Now I have a jar of soap granules in the Futility Room all ready for handwashing delicates. We take soap for granted these days – it is inexpensive and readily available. I recall reading about Jack the Ripper when I was a teenager – one of his victims had 6 small pieces of soap in her pocket, another was involved in a fight over a bar of soap just a few days before her murder. That was back in the 1880’s, just about the time that William Hesketh Lever was starting his business which developed into the multinational company Unilever. There is no excuse of lack of cleanliness now!
By the way, ‘cleanliness is next to Godliness’ is not an excuse for washing the car on a Sunday instead of going to church. This verse is not in the Bible. It is an old Hebrew proverb, quoted in a sermon by John Wesley.
Your blue glass looks so pretty.
ReplyDeleteI haven't yet got my readers list back!
I am sure they will re-appear soon!
DeleteOh, I had the same problem, must be a blip! Mine are now back x
DeleteNice use of the bottles x
I love putting things into prettier containers, we really do "eat" with our eyes don't we?
ReplyDeleteIf you have any lavender in the garden a single stem in each bottle would look really sweet :)
x x x
Brilliant idea about the lavender, Jen, thank you - off to pluck a few sprigs now!
DeleteFor a split seconding was worried when I read your heading!
ReplyDeleteGreat idea.
I recognise the maple leaf bottle!
ReplyDeleteJane x
It was too pretty to get rid of, after we'd eaten the syrup! And it reminds me of your visit.
DeleteYour bottles look so pretty!
ReplyDeleteWe still just have the shower of doom, but we have a bath in the garage ready to be installed when we get around to refurbishing the bathrrom. It was secondhand, and we also have 8 boxes of tiles which we got for less than £10, so it should be another bargain makeover.
If it won't bore you too much, please can you elaborate on how you make and use your soap granules. Thank you very much
ReplyDeleteHaving collected all the slivers of soap, I snap them [or saw with a breaknife] so that the pieces are all around the size of a 50p piece/3cm in diameter. Then I drop them down the feed tube onto the whizzing processor blades. Run till they are small granules. Do NOT try to do too many at one go! Watch out for clouds of powder when you open the lid.
DeleteFor washing tights or similar, I put a small bowl in the sink [about 1.5 litre capacity] half fill with hand hot water, add a heaped teaspoonful of granules and swish about with my hand till dissolved. You don't get a lot of lather, but the liquid is good for laundering hosiery, bras, gloves and silk scarves. After swishing, [and sometimes leaving in soak] make sure you rinse well.
I keep a larger piece of white soap in the jar for use on Bob's shirts - I dampen it, and rub collars and cuffs before they go into the machine.