how do you store your finished soaps?

[doggonegardener]

I am new. I have made about 8 batches so far. HP. Really enjoy it. Now I have this abundance of finished soap. It's just my DH and myself using the stuff. No kids.

My question is this: How do you store your finished soaps over the LONG haul? I have a few different fragrances going. I'd like to store them in some shallow, loose lidded plastic tubs or something but I wonder if I have to have a separate tub for each fragrance. Will they all smell the same if I store them in the same tub so long as I am careful that the bars aren't touching each other?

Thanks for any guidance you can offer.

Rene

 

[seven]

hi Rene and welcome

i shrink wrap my soaps right after they finished curing (4-6 weeks). after that i store them in shoe boxes, or just stack them in one of my curing racks.

 

[Consuela]

If you store them together they WILL for sure start to smell the same

I wrap them in paper once they're cured, and then I store them on a shelf - that hubby put up, just for that purpose. If I start to get overrun, then I put the wrapped soaps in paper bags, grouped together, left open to still breathe - and then in boxes - NO Lids...You want them to still breathe.

I dry them on stackable wire racks though - so that they can fully dry and cure. (Or alternatively, you can dry them on some kind of mesh - and rotate them.

 

[goji_fries]

hi Rene and welcome

i shrink wrap my soaps right after they finished curing (4-6 weeks). after that i store them in shoe boxes, or just stack them in one of my curing racks.

Any problems with the soap after shrink wrap? <like breathability>

 

[seven]

Any problems with the soap after shrink wrap? <like breathability>

i've not used this system for a long time (3 months maybe). so far so good. i keep all sides sealed, except for 2 super tiny needle pokes (otherwise the plastic bubbled and won't shrink properly).

i'm no chem savvy, but my logic is the soaps have cured properly during the 4-6 weeks, thus they will have no problem when kept sealed. cmiiw.

 

[Seawolfe]

Mine all get cigar bands so I know whats what and are organized in rows in a big cardboard box - I haven't had a problem with scents bleeding onto each other, but if I were selling maybe Id be more careful.

 

[Moody Glenn]

Hello! I let my soap cure for a month so they are dry then I place the same scented bars in a gallon size plastic freezer bag and seal it. I can get 12 bars of soap in each bag. I label the bags of the name of the soap and the date each batch was made. Then place all the same-scented bags in card board storage boxes (with lids) and label each box with the soap name and quantity. I have never had a bar go bad and no DOS. The fragrance is highly retained within the bags. I have had a bag of pine scented soap bars unopened for two years and they look like I just made them. As for their combined scent - super strong! I used one about a month ago to test it and was shocked at how the fragrance was maintained and how sudsy it was. Soap bars do improve with age.

I sometimes wonder if you really have to have the bars "breathe" if they are stored when dry. For all my bars they are sealed up tight and stored in a dark box. Anyway, this works for me.

 

[shunt2011]

I use shrink wrap bands. After curing I wrap and label then they either go on one of my curing racks or if no room there then I put them in baseball card storage boxes 1 scent per box then stack them in large plastic storage containers. I can fit 15 in each container. Makes transporting for shows easy too. I've never had DOS

 

[doggonegardener]

thanks

Thanks for the replies. I just didn't know if my scents would get all mushy. I have learned to make much smaller batches so I can soap more often and we can use it up in a timely fashion.

I found some cheap little shoebox sized plastic tubs today with really loose fitting lids.

I also had some shrink wrappers on hand that I just got from BB. As soon as I nail down some labels I am on my way to some cute little shrinky soaps in little organized boxes.

:crazy:

 

[Jstar]

Mine get shrink wrapped at 4-5 weeks..no DOS and very little shrinkage if any..some soaps 'will' transfer scents if one is strong and one is weaker..I have noticed this even while they are drying.

 

[cmzaha]

i've not used this system for a long time (3 months maybe). so far so good. i keep all sides sealed, except for 2 super tiny needle pokes (otherwise the plastic bubbled and won't shrink properly).

i'm no chem savvy, but my logic is the soaps have cured properly during the 4-6 weeks, thus they will have no problem when kept sealed. cmiiw.

I do the same and have done it this way for 3 yrs. Worst case scenario is I have to zap with the heat gun to tighten up the wrap if they have sat for to many months. I hav enot run into any problems, but in humid weather do leave a little bigger hole for breathability. I then store them in produce crates that I can stack

 

[girlishcharm2004]

From personal experience, fragrances will bleed if differently scented soaps are in the same box together. Also, I've had synthetic fragrances that just. never. fade. I have had one bar for more than a year and the fragrance is still incredibly strong while my essential oil scented batches, when left out, faded. Secondly, I have heard a rumor that plastic made from polypropylene (like a plastic shoe box, storage container, or Tupperware) will hold scent, while polyethylene (like Ziplock baggies) will allow scents to escape and fade.

 

[Ellacho]

I store my cured soaps in shoe boxes. Unless a box has side holes(some do), I cut holes for airflow.

 

[Earthen_Step]

I package them (paper + hemp twine) and load all the same kinds in a paper bag and fold the top closed. This allows them to continue to breath some, but the process is slowed down.