What would you do?

[Babyshoes]

I have a medical condition that limits my energy levels. On a day when I have both sufficient time and sufficient energy, it seems that I can usually manage one batch of soap, though I might well need to pause in between stages...

I should have time, and am hoping to have energy tomorrow, assuming I get a decent night's sleep tonight.

However, I can't decide which soapy thing to do!

What I *should* do is a small test batch, uncoloured and split into single bar portions to test if / how much some new FOs I bought will behave. Two of them definitely have vanillin in them, so I want to see how dark they get. The others don't seem to have any, so it's just a general test for those - acceleration, ricing, smell retention, how it changes vs OTB etc.

What I actually *want* to do however, is make a fun batch with the rose FO I bought that smells amazing. I have a rather pretty, subtle powder pink mica to play with, might combine it with a tiny swirl of bright pink mica for contrast. Need to decide if I'll do an ITP swirl or mica drizzle on top...

Decisions decisions!

 

[KimW]

hmmmmm...Not to minimize, but I went through a similar thing during menopause, so I can understand a little of what you mean.

If I put myself back there, I'd probably go for the fun batch because "fun" was far too lacking in those spastic low energy days.

 

[dibbles]

I vote for fun!

 

[Tara_H]

Can you combine them? I'm dealing with something similar, although thankfully on the upswing at the moment *knock on wood*. Soaping wise I've been two things that help - doing 'generic' prep as much as possible to start with so that I'm not committing to something that might turn out to be too much, and combining projects to save on having to do the same steps twice.
So given the options you listed, I'd start with the aim to do a big batch that gives enough for the tests and the fun batch, line everything up, and then see if I still wanted to go through with it all by the time I was weighing out the ingredients.
Not sure if the same applies to you, but for me once everything was ready to go, it would be easier to include the fun thing!
Happy soaping, whatever you decide

 

[cmzaha]

Go for the fun. As for the vanilla you will have to wait for the soap to finish curing to actually know how dark the vanilla will cause the soap to turn so no use wearing yourself out when you will not get your answer immediately.

 

[Mobjack Bay]

I hope you have a good soaping day. If you haven’t tested the rose FO, just keep in mind the potential for some acceleration. I use BB’s Wild Rose, which mildly accelerates if I’m soaping on the warmer side.

 

[Babyshoes]

Thanks everyone. So far this morning my energy is being consumed by cleaning up after a foster cat with a very unhappy tummy! Thankfully *most* of it is on wipeable surfaces, but I'm still having to pause in the middle and plan how to deal with the splatter...

Hopefully I'll be able to pull back a bit of energy for soaping later.

@Mobjack Bay thank you, it's one of the few that has a good review from this seller (few FOs here in the UK have reviews at all it seems), so hoping it'll be ok. I won't plan anything too intense - a simple quick swirl if it cooperates, or dollops if not! I mostly just want a nice smelling soap with my improved recipe for myself and to give away...

My first batches of soap are now useable, and I can definitely feel the difference on my skin between batch 1 from a kit which was quite high in CO, and batch 4 where I changed the recipe massively to include 40% lard and a few other oils...

 

[Tara_H]

Oh no!
Cats do have a great way of messing up any plans that don't involve them, don't they?!
Hope you still manage to get some of your soaping done!

 

[Peachy Clean Soap]

I'm siding w/ everyone " Go for the fun". Smaller batches & Pre-Prep. I like to soap first thing in the morning when my energy is up.

 

[earlene]

I hope your foster kitty starts feeling better soon. Cleaning up after kitty accidents in itself can be tiring, what with the getting up and down off the floor and all.

When I stand for too long, my back hurts for days afterward, so I need to consider how long each step of a project will take that might lead standing for extended periods. One way I have been able to shorten my time on my feet when soapmaking, is to do what prep I can ahead of time. For example, take a half hour the day before to weigh out my oils, and melt the together. Then that's less time on my feet the next day (or two or three days later). Making my lye solution (master-batching) is another thing that has really helped with that. Sometimes, I'll mix up my colorants ahead of time as well. Any little step that can be done a day or so ahead, really helps when stamina or whatnot gets in the way of soapmaking.

Still, I'd probably go for the fun soap first.

 

[Tracy von Elling]

I fully understand and often plan on making soap and then I .... just can't. Chronic illness has a way of taking my energy, but this week I gave myself a little push and now the batch I made is the highlight of my week!
Sometimes I break it up - weighing on one day, creating on another. Anything to be able to keep making soap and being creative too. It has a sort of healing aspect to it and helps me remember who I am!