Where do you keep all your soap?

[MadTeddyBear]

I've been using Ivar shelving from Ikea. It wasn't cheap, but I really wanted to have all of my soaping stuff in one place with enough room for soap to cure as more is made. The 5 smaller shelves each can hold about 8 rows of 12.

 

[dixiedragon]

I like cardboard produce flats. The blueberry flats from Costco are my favorite. I get a whole bunch of the same type, so they all stack together.

 

[shunt2011]

I use the raspberry flats from Costco as I can fit two 16 bar batches in each box. I will use those when my curing shelves are full. I keep about 10 of them on hand.

 

[melinda48]

I've been using Ivar shelving from Ikea. It wasn't cheap, but I really wanted to have all of my soaping stuff in one place with enough room for soap to cure as more is made. The 5 smaller shelves each can hold about 8 rows of 12.

View attachment 35940

What do you put your bars on to protect them from the wood?

 

[Mississippi soapmaker]

I bought my trays off ebay. Keep looking!

 

[melinda48]

Am I the only one that 'tucks my curing soap in to bed' every night by going to have a wee look at it, touching it, smelling it, and generally admiring it?

And every morning to make sure it made it through the night ok.

 

[earlene]

I don't that much anymore unless it's a newly made soap. After awhile it just doesn't seem necessary anymore.

And every morning to make sure it made it through the night ok.

As to where I keep all my soap, well it has evolved over time. I used to only stack it in my trays (cardboard box lids, plastic drink crates, whatever I find free or cheap) alternating them to allow for air flow. I line the trays with plastic mesh for added air flow. After cure, I used to then continue to keep them stacked on racks for continued air flow, but last year I started using paperboard boxes for storing them. The problem with keeping them inside the boxes is that they are not visible when I go to gather more to give away, so it takes more time when I want to put together a package to send to family, etc. But the fragrance seems to stick a bit better in an enclosed box. Another drawback is that without the air exposure, I fear if DOS develops inside a box, I won't notice as soon as I would if it were open to the air, smell and sight.

One thing I like about putting the cured soap into boxes, though, is that I can add a desiccant packet inside the box to absorb any moisture, so that seems like a good idea.

 

[Omi Davis]

Hi all. I just lucked up on some bread trays/shelves like what they use at bakeries. Found mine at a thrift store for $3 each. You might check to see if there are companies in your area that sell used business furniture. Good luck.

 

[earlene]

Actually, the best place to buy used restaurant equipment is at places that specialize in selling used restaurant supplies. Most big cities in the US have such places. In the old days, I would say look in your yellow pages, but nowadays, I'd say look online for 'used restaurant equipment sales' near you when you type in your search parameters.

Sometimes I find stuff at the Goodwill, but the best bet for specific restaurant or bakery equipment are the restaurant supplies re-sale places. The prices may not be as cheap as we'd like, but you'd get an idea of what's out there and can even go in and look around if you have something in mind.

Another option is to go talk to a business going out of business. Sometimes you can buy stuff off them if you are willing to take it with you right away and pay up front. However, often they have already contracted with a re-saler to come pick it up and/or sell it for auction. So looking for a restaurant supply auction is another option.

 

[Pat McGlothlin]

When I first started soaping, I had a very big basement so room wasn't a factor. I had two dining room size tables: One was for soaping and the other for curing. I quickly ran out of curing room and bought two large four-shelf racks that stood side by side. One was lined with towels and used for curing. The other was loaded with plastic shoe boxes, each labeled for a particular soap.

When we moved from Colorado to Arizona, I only had room for one rack so my soap making was quickly reduced. I'm back to soaping in the kitchen where water is readily available and carrying the soap upstairs to my craft room to cure.

 

[redhead1226]

My BF made me shelves in my soap room closet. It cost about $80 total. Works great. Holds a million soap bars

 

[Zany_in_CO]

My BF made me shelves in my soap room closet. It cost about $80 total. Works great. Holds a million soap bars

Awesome.

 

[Cherrydene soapy]

My BF made me shelves in my soap room closet. It cost about $80 total. Works great. Holds a million soap bars

Wow amazing

 

[karon L adams]

AAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!! OH, the memories that question brings back!

When I first started, we had a few little bars to play with. We had floor to ceiling bookshelves, 4 of them in the living room 3 in our bedroom (yes, we read a lot)

When I started, we used one shelf in the living room. that became 3, which became one of the full Floor to Ceiling shelves, eventually ALL the shelves. we bought a house that was split level, a living room and a small downstairs den. we spent our family time in the den, so we had a little tikes playhouse in the living room along with other toys. eventually, that was moved upstairs. the two daughters decided they wanted to share a bedroom and use the second room for a playroom. the little tikes went to the playroom.

then, I set up the two enourmous tanks in the living room. made cinderblock stands for them and had the 200 gallon Nalgene lye tank and the 200 gallon Stainless Steel soap tank in the living room.

By then, all the books had been removed from the bookshelves. on the floor were stacks of shipping boxes, sti;l flat for sending orders and all the other supplies I needed.

as for setting the soap to dry after cutting, that took the bookshelves in the living room. then the ones in our bedroom, in the dining room, and the den. eventually, the only room that wasn't used for soap in SOME way was the children's bedroom.

that's why, when we moved to Chattanooga, we decided the business needed commercial space. it had outgrown the house and it was either going to grow or die in the next couple of years.

the shelves we eventually had (and you can see them behind my family in the old pictures) were purchased at a going out of business sale. they were display shelves, very sturdy, easy to set up and break down as well as configure.

 

[karon L adams]

if you want cardboard, and it is an excellent option, look around for box companies. many make cardboard trays. you can usually buy them by the 25/50 or 100. they come flat and you just fold them together. you can see them in some of my old pictures on the shelves. they were VERY handy.

 

[Dawni]

Oooh I use cardboard. Recycled ones though.. I'm using brownie and donut boxes and the like (as slab molds even), as long as they don't have food on them. I'm also using the lids of shoe boxes.. They all sit on shelves near the ceiling in my teenagers room, opposite his robots lol He's the only one with empty space and kindly lets me in his room to check my soap every once in a while.

It's one reason I'm able to "hide" my soap from myself. When he's in there I give him his privacy, so I have to wait for when he's not there AND I have spare time, which never usually happens simultaneously haha

 

[karon L adams]

Am I the only one that 'tucks my curing soap in to bed' every night by going to have a wee look at it, touching it, smelling it, and generally admiring it?

My mother and husband used to call it "Communing with the soap" We'd set up one day, mix the oil and put it in the tank to come to temp, mix the lye and let it cool and come in the next morning to make the soap. remember, 400 pounds. 20; 20 pound batches. we'd get it all poured and be exhausted by shortly after lunch. inevitably, I'd want to go to the shop that evening to "Check on the soap". I always had a sheet of butcher paper on the top surface to prevent Soda Ash forming.

so, I'd go in and just run my hands over the surface of the butcher paper on top of the soap. I could feel the heat from the saponmification process in my hand and it gave me a gauge of how well the batch was mixed and setting. but, yeah, the husband called it "Communing with the soap"

meanwhile, I had soap on the living room shelves, soap on the bedroom shelves, soap in the dining room and kitchen and even the den. the barrels live in the garage and the two giant mixing tanks were in my living room. when we moved back to Chattanooga, we had already understood that we HAD to move into commercial space cause if we didn't we'd have nowhere to live.

 

[KiwiMoose]

This li'l Kiwi has been to Chattanooga.

 

[kasilofchrisn]

I don't sell my soap yet so I only make smaller batches.
I do have some plastic bread trays but they're a bit big for what I need.
But what I'm using now are the plastic trays used for delivering soda bottles.
Their lightweight, have handles mold in, holes all the way around, and they're stackable.
I've purchased some cheap metal shelving from home Depot that I'm going to set my trays on.
this isn't the best picture but it's the only one I have for now.
Not sure where you would get these trays from because I believe these were on the property when I bought my house a few years ago.
Since they were free they work out great and like I said they're sturdy, fairly lightweight, and made to be stackable.

 

[karon L adams]

look around at restaurant supplies and such. I had TONS of plastic bread trays. they were perfect to hold a full 20 pound loaf once it was cut and allow for air flow. what I REALLY loved about them was the nest/stack feature. they nest inside of one another when you don't need space between, but turn them 180 degrees to each and they stack with space between. this is how they can carry loaves of bread without crushing it, as well. Currently, I use those trays to raise silkworms in the spring. Perfect for that function, too.