Long term storage for soap

[Ugeauxgirl]

I've read several accounts of soapers finding and using old bars and enjoying them more after really long cures. I'm going to store a bar from each batch to try later on- is a cardboard box fine, or is there a special way you'd store these?

 

[dixiedragon]

Cardboard is fine. After they've passed their 6-week cure and are no longer sticky, you may want to consider wrapping them lightly - maybe in a paper towel or even a sheet of computer paper - and put one or two in each of your clothing drawers so you can enjoy the scent.

My friend'd grandma would do that with soap I gifted her - it stayed in the drawer for a year or more until the scent was faded, then she used it.

 

[Ugeauxgirl]

Cardboard is fine. After they've passed their 6-week cure and are no longer sticky, you may want to consider wrapping them lightly - maybe in a paper towel or even a sheet of computer paper - and put one or two in each of your clothing drawers so you can enjoy the scent.

My friend'd grandma would do that with soap I gifted her - it stayed in the drawer for a year or more until the scent was faded, then she used it.

What a great idea! I'll do that and then I can label the paper with the date made, recipe number and when I want to try it. Thanks!

 

[Zing]

I keep cured soap in shoe boxes punched with a few holes. I throw in a couple of silica packets.

 

[The_Phoenix]

I also use shoe boxes for cured soaps. They are sturdy, can each hold a lot of soap, and are free.

 

[Todd Ziegler]

I use small boxes from the dollar store. They are a$1.25 each and they hold around 20 bars, depending on the size of your soap.

 

[lucycat]

I like baseball card boxes. A box can hold all bars from the log and they stack easily in a small space.

 

[Eleanor Thorne]

Hi All!

I'm new to the forum--though not to soap making.
For my trial soaps (testing FOs/EOs for discoloration, scent longevity, etc.) that I store for a year or more, I put them in the equivalent of pizza boxes. That way I can write their identifying info by each bar and store the boxes several layers/boxes deep on a shelf in my store room. (I use cavity molds for my trials so each "bar" has its own FO/EO.) Every month or so, I pull them out, inspect them, make notes, and back they go onto the shelf.
For my pretty soaps (in which I want the scent to last as long as possible and that I use as gifts), I put the soaps in 3" x 5" cello bags from Paper Mart, stick a label on them, and put them in a cardboard box. I either put a Post-It on the box that tells what the content is, or just write on the box with a Sharpie.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

I store soaps in empty drawers in the guest bedroom.

 

[PapsSoaper]

Is it ok to store wrapped and labelled soaps in cardboard boxes?

 

[soapmaker]

Is it ok to store wrapped and labelled soaps in cardboard boxes?

I don't wrap and label (for sale) until I need them. The soap continues to shrink and the wrapper gets loose if you wrap and then store.

 

[user 49910]

Is it ok to store wrapped and labelled soaps in cardboard boxes?

Of course it is acceptable to store your cured soap in cardboard boxes. I would however let the soap cure for a minimum of six weeks prior to wrapping and storing away. By that time, the soap will have lost about 90% of the water weight and shrinkage will be a minimal issue, if at all.
In addition, you get the added benefit of the continuing development of the soap crystal structure within the bars of soap which improves the longevity and lathering ability.

 

[soapmaker]

Of course it is acceptable to store your cured soap in cardboard boxes. I would however let the soap cure for a minimum of six weeks prior to wrapping and storing away. By that time, the soap will have lost about 90% of the water weight and shrinkage will be a minimal issue, if at all.
In addition, you get the added benefit of the continuing development of the soap crystal structure within the bars of soap which improves the longevity and lathering ability.

I guess I don't have that experience. I cure for 6 weeks and still if wrapped soap sits for a couple months there is shrinkage. I use 33% lye concentration.

 

[Mistrael]

I have a guinea pig & buy 10lb boxes of hay for him, then store my soap in the emptied & dusted out boxes. They're very sturdy & I use those uncoated paper treat bags w/ sticker labels for wrapping... for now. If I start selling I'll probably do something different. (And fyi half my family is allergic to the hay but there have been 0 problems using soap from hay boxes.) I've been soaping for less than 2yrs (I think?) but so far so good.