Ivory Soap, My Favorite Workhorse

Yesterday I happened upon a fantastic clearance deal on my favorite soap, Ivory soap. I was at the grocery store picking up an impromptu day-off-from-cooking dinner when I decided to go to the back of the store and check out the clearance rack. I’m often able to get large boxes of kitty litter at a steep discount because of package damage and since we are running low I thought I’d take a look. There was no litter to be found but something on the bottom rack, pushed way to the back, caught my eye…bulk packages of large, bath-size bars of Ivory soap marked 50% off! With vision swirling in my mind of all the great things in store for this soap, I scooped them up and headed to the check-out.

Here are my top 5 favorite ways to use Ivory soap:

1.  Laundry spot treatment- I keep a bar on hand in my bathroom, where I change my clothes and one in the garage above my utility sink that sits next to my washer. When I see a spot or stain on clothing, I dampen the spot then rub the corner of the Ivory bar into the spot. If I’m in the garage loading the washer, I just toss the item in and wash as usual. If I’m in my bathroom, I drape the article of clothing over the edge of the hamper so that the damp spot can dry out. Later I wash as usual. 
2. Brushing teeth- Just dampen your toothbrush then tap it onto the Ivory bar a few times to get a small amount of soap on the bristles. Brush your teeth as usual. This works great though the taste takes a little time to get used to.  
3. Homemade liquid hand soap- Grate 1 bar of Ivory soap and heat on the stove with a gallon of water. Once the soap bits are melted and the mixture has cooled some, pour it into a gallon jug and use it to refill your pump containers. If the texture becomes lumpy you can shake or stir it to break it up. Consider adding 1 T. glycerin to future batches if it is really a problem. 
4. Homemade laundry soap- recipes abound on the internet for homemade laundry soap. You can substitute shaved Ivory soap 1:1 for whatever soap is called for in your recipe. It works great and is much cheaper than the laundry bars that are usually used. 
5. General cleaning- I use Ivory soap to clean mirrors and windows (among other things). Just dampen a washcloth and get it soapy. Wash the entire mirror, or window, then rinse the rag out with plain water and wipe the soap from the mirror. It might take a few rinses to get all the residue off. Follow up with a dry cloth to dry the mirror. It will be crystal clear.

Do you have a favorite way to use bar soap? Sound off in the comments.

Heidi