I am kind of cheap when it comes to liquid hand soap. It could be because there are six people in my house, so we use a lot of it. I usually buy the little bottle that sits on the counter and then buy the big refill bottle that goes with it, so I am not constantly spending money on new small bottles.

So, when I found a blog on how to make your own liquid hand soap out of a bar of soap, how cheap it was and how much it made, I was hooked. I found that with one regular size bar of soap I could make a half gallon of hand soap, and I could use my favorite bar soap too. Here is what you need.

1 bar of your favorite soap (4.25 ounces)

1 tablespoon glycerin

1/2 gallon of water

Grate the soap with a cheese grater. Throw all three ingredients into a big pot on medium-high and stir constantly until all the soap shavings have melted. Turn off the stove and let the mixture sit until cool.

Once cooled, beat the mixture with a hand beater until nice and smooth. You can add more water if the mixture is too thick for your liking. Pour the mixture into containers and use this to refill the soap dispensers that sit on your counters.

Joy Larson is a mother of four boys, graduate of The University of Montana, animal lover and writer.

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