What to do with mountains of soap

[Garden Gives Me Joy]

I have several kilos of soap that have no rancidity or mold despite being 3 and 4 years old. Using them is still very pleasurable. Unfortunately however, most of them were a little too soft and got dented so badly that it might seem ridiculous to sell or even given them away. I started to very successfully rebatch some of them using Tellervo's method but soon stopped because for every 1 kilo of old soap, this method produces 3. I figure I must cut my losses some way because many of these soaps are too costly to make commercially. However, even if I cut my losses by rebatching them to improve the hardness with a hardening recipe, the new soaps will be inconsistent with my line. I therefore do not even know how I will get rid of them. I thought of getting unemployed young ladies in the area to sell them through door-to-door sales.

Happy for suggestions.

 

[artemis]

I have seen some sellers here discount them and put them in a "scratch and dent" or "ugly duckling" basket.

 

[dmcgee5034]

If it’s good and safe soap, you might consider a donation to your favorite shelter or service. I believe it might have been @TheGecko who said she puts a soap and washcloth in a zip baggie to donate.

 

[AliOop]

I donate mine to the local homeless shelter. They are always thrilled to get a big box of handcrafted soap!

 

[FFLinOhio]

I would make a special event soap with them and sell them.

 

[mx5inpenn]

My family uses the odds and ends, leftover seasonal, and ugly soaps. When I accumulate a bunch, I donate them to a local shelter.

 

[paradisi]

I suggest a sale of seconds too. Here's why:

While donation may sound great at first, --as a person who's both helped out at a food pantry and been in a position to need assistance,-- donations of low quality items so often seemed more about dumping a problem or taking a tax writeoff, than doing something in order to benefit the recipient.

Donating goods that you can't sell because they're unappealing to buyers can just shift your disposal problem onto someone else.

Goods of normal saleable quality, that pantries ask for or know their clients need, are awesome. Charity is a wonderful human act.

But the impression given to the recipient of ugly, old, unsaleable, lower quality items is that substandard goods are good enough for them.

And the pantry may be saddled with random castoffs that they have to make room for and may feel compelled to accept.

Donating the proceeds of selling that scratch & dent stuff would separate the act of charity from the disposal quandary.

 

[AliOop]

@paradisi i agree with you on the idea that shelters should not be saddled with crappy anything - not clothing, not furniture, and certainly not soap. Thus, I agree that the point needs to be made that the shelter is not a place to send your junk.

But the reality is that I don’t donate new furniture to the shelter, or new clothes (other than new coats when they have coat drives). Nor do they expect only new, top quality donations.

Of course I won’t donate used soap, lol. However, I do give them soaps that aren’t as visually appealing but are still wonderful in quality. From the beginning, I’ve asked our local shelter if they want these soaps. The answer was a resounding YES - their recipients love receiving gentle, handcrafted soap. Their workers get big smiles when they see my husband get out of the car with boxes of my soaps. I am pretty sure they end up with some of it, too - which is great because their jobs aren’t easy or well-paid.

Perhaps that is the best way to approach it; ASK if what you are donating is a good fit for their clientele. Then RESPECT the answer they give you, even if it isn’t what you hoped to hear.

 

[cmzaha]

@paradisi i agree with you on the idea that shelters should not be saddled with crappy anything - not clothing, not furniture, and certainly not soap. Thus, I agree that the point needs to be made that the shelter is not a place to send your junk.

But the reality is that I don’t donate new furniture to the shelter, or new clothes (other than new coats when they have coat drives). Nor do they expect only new, top quality donations.

Of course I won’t donate used soap, lol. However, I do give them soaps that aren’t as visually appealing but are still wonderful in quality. From the beginning, I’ve asked our local shelter if they want these soaps. The answer was a resounding YES - their recipients love receiving gentle, handcrafted soap. Their workers get big smiles when they see my husband get out of the car with boxes of my soaps. I am pretty sure they end up with some of it, too - which is great because their jobs aren’t easy or well-paid.

Perhaps that is the best way to approach it; ASK if what you are donating is a good fit for their clientele. Then RESPECT the answer they give you, even if it isn’t what you hoped to hear.

I totally agree with Alison, we donated to a womens shelter, they are hard to locate but my daughter did, and we also donated to our local Salvation Army which provides housing. They were extremely appreciative of the soaps pretty or ugly. We did shrink wrap and plain labeled them, just not our regular labeling. Many times the women and their children would escape a dangerous situation with just the clothing on their backs. Our local food bank never seemed to want them but shelters certainly so we did not care to pursue any other food banks.

 

[mx5inpenn]

Same as @AliOop and @cmzaha here. I don't just dump stuff, I ask. I might give them uglier soaps from test techniques or fragrances, but the soap is still high quality and always appreciated.

 

[Zing]

Speaking as a nonprofit administrator, BIG YES on asking first if an organization will take a particular donation. A local professional soaper regularly donates her end pieces with simple but nice packaging and sometimes includes her retail soaps. They fly off our food pantry shelves. I think donating (if wanted) good quality artisan soap even if less than ideal looking is awesome.

 

[Georgeandstella]

I donate mine to the local homeless shelter. They are always thrilled to get a big box of handcrafted soap!

Hello, I’m going to do this. Do you wrap them?
At our shelter they have to leave every day with their belongings. I’m trying to think of a wrapper that breathes so the soap doesn’t stay wet and melt all day when/if they take them with them.
Or should I do tiny soaps that they use once and throw away?
Any input is appreciated, thank you

 

[janesathome]

Hello, I’m going to do this. Do you wrap them?
At our shelter they have to leave every day with their belongings. I’m trying to think of a wrapper that breathes so the soap doesn’t stay wet and melt all day when/if they take them with them.
Or should I do tiny soaps that they use once and throw away?
Any input is appreciated, thank you

I donate plenty of soap to a local nonprofit organization (I did ask first if they wanted it, and YES they did!) I cut the bars into smallish pieces for the very reason you suggest - many of the people using the donated soap do not have a way to store/ carry a wet bar. They prefer a small soap bar that will not take up a lot of space, and wont last long.
Thin end cuts of soap loaves are a good size to donate as well

 

[MomInWA]

@janesathome and @Georgeandstella - all of you! I love that you donate to the homeless shelters! Our church is supporting an incoming Ukraine family and I'm donating soap for that. So many amazing people and generous hearts here!

 

[AliOop]

Hello, I’m going to do this. Do you wrap them?
At our shelter they have to leave every day with their belongings. I’m trying to think of a wrapper that breathes so the soap doesn’t stay wet and melt all day when/if they take them with them.
Or should I do tiny soaps that they use once and throw away?
Any input is appreciated, thank you

I sometimes wrap and sometimes don’t. Our local shelters don’t require that, but check with your shelter since local laws abs practices vary.

 

[Kaybrantley]

A friend of my sister’s does a big event to benefit a local children’s hospital. I always donate soap to her and she makes baskets for a silent auction. Also do this for local Hospice events.