Willow Soap Saver.

It seems to me that soap savers used to be readily available but I suppose with the advent of all the plastic pump soaps / detergents that are available, the idea of soap savers are not so necessary.  I realise there are soap dishes around which can be very pretty but don’t allow for drainage of the soap leaving it a bit wet and gooey and not inviting to use.  There is a lot of waste in plastic soap pump packs and varying amounts of chemicals too, depending on what you buy.  If you read the list on the back you will need a degree in chemistry to understand what it all is.  There are some skin advocates that say if you can’t eat it, why would you put it on your skin!

Some people still like to use soap and there are some lovely hand made varieties around too.  Anyhow, that’s how I came up with the idea of making a soap saver as I couldn’t seem to buy one.  The ones I remember were plastic, but I thought, what could be better than a natural product.

Something else I’ve noticed in the last few years is all sorts of homeware type decorations made out of some sorts of sticks or twigs which are fetching good prices and I can’t help but thinking that this is a small way that people can bring  a bit of nature back into the home.

I have made this little soap saver from willow, however, it could also be made with any other potential weaver, such as, blackberry brambles, narrow grape or glory vines, thin shoots of fruitwood or even narrow canes of wisteria or mulberry.

Its a good small project to begin a little basket weaving if you have the inclination.   I’ve had this one in use for a few years now and it has worked very well.

There is always something so much more alluring about natural products and even though it has a rustic look I really think that is what makes it so appealing.