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Refillable liquid hand soap is a tiny step that everyone can take to reduce plastic waste. If you have the basic family home you may have two bathrooms; each with liquid soap dispenser. Most folks keep one in the kitchen as well. Now consider a family of four and how much hand soap gets used each day (or how much should be used each day). That’s a ton of soap and a lot of dispensers.
If you aren’t already using refillable dispensers it’s time to start. You can buy refillable containers everywhere. You can buy hand soap in bulk bottles or try something much better which is to buy on large refillable bottle and refill it with soap from the co-op or other natural food shop in your area. Most natural shops have an area with turbo sized bulk natural soaps. You simply pump soap into your bottle and buy. They charge by the ounce or pound.
If you want to buy new plastic dispensers make sure you get bottles you can recycle and really think about the energy it takes to make the dispensers. Is it worth it? Another option would be bar soap but for my family that gets crazy messy.
Remember each small step you do adds up and this is a really simple one to try.
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I avoid antibacterial soap – I read somewhere once that it is not that great. Finding non-antibacterial soap has become a pleasant past-time, as most mfgs add it to their product.
To refill our sons’ soap dispenser, we make soap “slime” out of those little bits of bar soap that are hard to use up at the end of a bar. Our four-year-old shoves the bits into the dispenser, adds a little water, and shakes it up. It’s extra slimy, a gross-out factor which appeals to the boys. They don’t appreciate most froo-froo smelling soaps anyway.
What do you know about soaps labeled “anti-bacterial”? Isn’t all soap basically anti-bacterial? Does the label “anti-bacterial” indicate something about specific chemicals added?
Holy! I’m so glad that most (maybe all) of you already use refillable soap containers! That’s great. Navi; kids are odd huh. You know they do have refillable soap pumps made especially for homes that can be mounted on walls — that would allow you to use the refillable pump while stopping your son from taking it. As long as he’s not handy with a screwdriver.
Angela, I agree but at our house bar soap gets everywhere. I use glass containers in my house but the same plastic one for refills. The best way to buy bar soap is with no packaging at all. Most co-ops sell locally made soaps that aren’t packaged.
Thanks everyone for visiting :)
We use the refillable liquid soap. However, if you stop and think about it – using the bar soap is even better because the cardboard that it comes in can be recycled. Thus never having to use plastic to hold your soap again!
we go through a ton of it here innkeeping :) Thanx
gp in montana
I’m new to your blog and it looks great. Good tip!
unfortunately my son takes off with all our soap dispensers (he has a thing for tapping on bottles – we really don’t need to buy him toys – just clean out the empty bottles…). We tend to end up with one that gets transported between the bathrooms/kitchen, or we just end up using dishsoap. The last time I got a bulk container of soap it disappeared… Bar soap isn’t an option, as the aforementioned son tries to eat it….
I probably should spend the time and money on the natural food stores, anyway, though, not just for the benefit of the environment, but for the benefit of my son’s digestive tract…
It is always a bonus when helping the environment saves money as well. I like our decorative dispensers better anyway, so we just fill them back up with the big bottle of soap every time!
We also use refillable hand soap (the big one from Costco). We also try to recycle, buy local and organic, use g diapers…
This is a great idea. We sometimes refill and sometimes throw away. I would like to get better at that.
I have just purchased a Klean Kanteen and have stopped buying plastic water bottles. I couldn’t believe how many of those we went through in a week or so. Now we use a brita filter and use our refillable water bottles.
Great idea, we have been doing this for a while too. CostCo makes it easy with the big bottles of refill goo. However, like Peggy, I sometimes get tempted – yesterday I saw the cutest (disposable) soap dispenser for Halloween. It took all my will power (and a reminder from my green 7 year old daughter) to put it back. Ack, maybe I could just put stickers on our old bottle!
BTW, I think the same can be said about individual servings of milk or juice. Spend some dough, buy a nice drink bottle and buy the big sizes of the beverage of your choice to pour individual servings into your new drink bottle. Less trash, much better for the environment.
I’ve been using refillable soap dispensers, but I do sometimes get tempted by those dreamy-smelling Bath & Body Works soaps. Even though their bottles are recyclable, they are small. I haven’t seen any refillable sizes in those.
Hey Gala, you’re right, this is one of the better easy steps but one that can still make a big difference. Since this is a ‘family’ oriented blog I try to post simple stuff with a few bigger tips mixed in. Families are busy and it can seem impossible for a whole family to go green but when you start to add all the tiny stuff up it seems much closer.
Thanks for stopping by and a happy October to you as well :)
We have been using refillable sope for a very long time!!!
There are many small ways to protect the enviroment and become a “green” family that we don’t even think about.
And this…is one of the biggest ones!!!
Thanks for posting this thought provoking post!!!
Happy October!!