I’m dedicating these next four or so posts to batch holiday gifts so for those of you who normally receive holiday gifts from me, avert your eyes or the surprise will be ruined. You’ve all been warned.

Moving on, did you all roll your eyes a little bit when you saw a picture of another bar of soap on this page? I get it. However, this is not just any bar of soap. No, my friends, this soap was made by yours truly. That’s right, I made about 23 bars of soap in about 1.5 hours. Prior to this class, I had never been interested in making my own soap because 1) I love buying soap from local vendors and look forward with anticipation for which scent I will try next and 2) I already make so many other things, adding soap to the list just seemed a bit more than I can handle right now. So when the shop keeper suggested the class I initially said no but then when she mentioned there would also be a batch soap class to make enough for holiday gifts, I said, “Take my money, sign me up.”

This class seemed right up my alley. It was pricey at $129 (since you walk out with so many bars of soap) but thankfully my birthday just happened so when parents/in-laws asked me what I wanted, I told them money to put towards the class. One of the nice things about taking this class was that I didn’t have to shop for any of the ingredients or supplies. I just showed up, listened, followed the directions, and walked out. I didn’t have to clean up, either! Another thing that made this class worth my time and money was that I walked out of there with not only 23 bars of soap but I had acquired a new skill. I now know the basic process of how soap is made and I can do it easily from home. Though I probably won’t start making our soap, with the shelf life of up to a year, there’s a good chance I will make a batch or two to keep on hand for host gifts or that last second birthday gift I forgot to get.

Here’s my encouragement to you, budget some money (most classes were $20-$60) and do a google search in your area about classes being offered that teach you a skill that you can use to create less waste. In some cities there are even online databases that have many of the classes listed that are offered in your area. I signed up through dabble.co and saw that there were more classes such as sewing a small zipper pouch, how to use a table saw, making kombucha, fermenting fundamentals, and intro to gardening, just to name a few. So many of the skills I have acquired since living less waste, I have learned on my own through reading and for once, it was nice to have someone just tell me what to do and how to do it so I didn’t have to spend hours researching.

How about any of you? Have you taken or want to take any classes that teach you a skill? Were you glad you did it or would you rather have saved your money and just researched it?

These next few weeks, I will be posting batch holiday gifts that I am making or have made in the past to maybe make your holiday gift giving a little easier this year.

Thanks for reading! It feels good to be back.

P.S. Making soap is super easy. Not to take away from professional soap makers who work hard to perfect their craft. But for us makers at home who don’t need to make specialty bars, all it required was distilled water, olive oil, castor oil, lye flakes, clay powder and a fragrance. If you’re interested in making it, let me know and I can walk you through it.