Best way to store soaps?

[MrsFusion]

Just wondering how everyone stores their soaps until they sell or gift the bars? I googled...came up with many answers...found one that I liked...store each batch in a brown paper bag.

Has anyone done this?

Or how do you store your bars?

Thanks!

 

[krissy]

i use those shoe hanger thingies. each row hold a batch.

 

[punkflash54]

i just put each batch in a ziploc bag after it cures

 

[Sunny]

make sure it's not something air tight! it needs to breathe!!!!!

I have mine set in little rows on a wooden shelf. so the air can pass through them.

 

[cwarren]

I have a shelf i use until 4wks cured the paper bag

 

[American Valkyrie]

I've heard a cardboard shoebox is good, too. It's a good enough excuse to go buy more shoes.

 

[steffm]

I have a wire rack covered with chicken wire. I cure and store on that and wrap the soap when it ready to leave my house forever.

 

[TessC]

Cardboard trading card storage boxes, they work great.

 

[heyjude]

I have used paper bags and shoe boxes with vent holes. I make small batches and give them out to friends.

 

[soapbuddy]

I use plastic boxes with the lid slightly raised.

 

[BakingNana]

I use the 99 cent plastic shoe boxes from Walmart. Hubby drilled vent holes in the sides. Each one will hold an 18-bar mold's worth plus some. I cure on shelves for 2 weeks, then move the batch to its box to continue cure. They stack really well. I too don't like to pkg until they go bye bye.

 

[Jezzy]

I have mine on a shelf too.

 

[Stacey]

More questions about storage...

If you store them in plastic boxes or even cardboard boxes, do you have to store them in a cool, dry, dark place?

The main hall closets we've got has a furnance duct running along the back side of it. It's dry and dark in there but now that the Minnesota winter season is coming along, it isn't going to stay cool in there.

The other choice I have is the basement. Cool and dark but not dry. (as basements go, anyway) So I've been storing my soaps in our guest bed room. Cool and dry but not dark!

See my dilemma?

Any suggestions? Or do you think they're ok in the guest room? I haven't had any problems yet...other than the fact that I gotta clean the room out any time someone comes for a visit.

Another question: So I recently gave/traded a bunch of soaps to a friend. I packaged them all in seperate paper lunch bags to give to her. (5 bars of this in one bag, 3 bars of that in another bag..etc.) But I wonder about the scents traveling from one bag to the other after awhile. I encourage her to store them away from each other just because it sounded like the smart thing to do.

Have you ever had trouble with soap scents traveling between bars? How bad was it and what did you do to prevent it?

 

[American Valkyrie]

I would store it in a cool/dry place to preserve it as long as you can. Humidity and moisture can degrade the soap, and an environment that is too warm can speed up oil rancidity. As long as the soap isn't in direct sunlight, I don't think the amount of light matters as long as it's not hot as well. Whatever container you store it in would probably filter out most of the light anyway.

As far as fragrances, if you're going to package them together I would package them with similar fragrances. The fragrance of one bar shouldn't affect the inside of another bar, but it will affect the immediate first impression when someone smells the outside. If it's for a gift, I would certainly put them into individual wrappers. Separate paper bags, as long as each bar in the bag is the same fragrance, shouldn't be a problem. The soaps aren't rubbing against each other and transferring oils. I found some cellophane bags at the dollar store, and I cut a small hole in each one (stationary hole-punch size) for air flow. But not too much scent will pass through the little hole.

 

[Stacey]

Thanks for the answers! Mucho appreciated!

 

[BakingNana]

Stacey, my soaping area is in my basement, but I use dehumidifiers to keep the storeroom dry. So yes, you need a dry, on-the-cool-side, area. I'm happiest when the dehumidifier reads 35%, but when several new batches are curing it runs around 45%.