5 Smart Ways to Use a Bar of Soap in Your Garden

Even if you prefer to wash your hands and body with gel or liquid soap, there are still plenty of reasons to have a few bars of soap on hand at home.

As we’ve discussed in previous Lifehacker articles, a simple bar of soap can be used for a variety of household purposes , including making drawers easier to open and close and securing a hard lock. The bar is still useful, even when cut down to a few small pieces that can even be made into a “new” bar of soap .

But wait, that’s not all: a bar of soap is also a versatile and inexpensive gardening item. Here are five ways to make a bar of soap work outdoors.

How to use a bar of soap in your garden

Hide a bar of soap (or several) where you keep your garden tools and supplies so they’re always on hand when you need them. Here are five ways to use it:

Keep your nails clean

Before you get started, scrub the bar of soap to get it under your nails. This will prevent dirt from getting inside and make it much easier to wash your hands when you’re done.

Lubricate garden equipment

Garden tools such as hand saws and scissors are usually stored in sheds, garages or basements all year round and fluctuations in temperature and humidity can cause metal components to stick. Wipe down the loop with a bar of lube soap and you’re good to go.

Some gardeners also coat the blades of saws or scissors with a bar of soap . While soap makes sawing and trimming smoother, soap can harm plants if not diluted, so skip this step if you are using clippers or any other tool that comes into direct contact with the plants you are interested in (although you you can definitely use them on weeds). Oiled saws and shears can also be used safely on wood.

Get rid of some pests

Use a vegetable peeler or cheese grater to shave or grate the bar of soap, then sprinkle the shavings all over the garden , adding more a few days after it rains. While it won’t repel all unwanted critters, it can help repel common garden pests such as aphids, slugs, and earwigs.

Also, deer and mice don’t like the smell of soap, so this can help keep them from chewing on your garden. If your main goal is to keep them out, you don’t even have to rub a bar of soap: just insert a strong stick into the bar and then stick it into the ground.

Add it to your compost heap

Cut biodegradable bar soap into chunks—or use leftover chunks—and mix into your compost heap. The soap should take about six months to decompose, and at the same time it makes the other materials in the pile more resistant to mold.

It’s important to note that this only works with biodegradable bar soaps , such as those made from hemp seed oil, beeswax, avocado oil, or babassu oil. Liquid or gel soap, or any non- biodegradable soap, will damage the composting process.

Clear

Gardening can be messy, so having a bar of soap to wash your hands, tools, or other supplies right away with a garden hose or sink makes life a little easier.