Soap Sachets

Last night my friend gave me a deliciously fragrant soap sachet made by the Zum soap company. If you’re not familiar with Zum, they make wonderful natural soap from goat’s milk. They use pure essential oils and offer a variety of amazing scents. I couldn’t stop smelling it and wanted to buy more. Unfortunately they were sold out at Whole Foods, but the nice sales lady showed me how to make my own. It was really easy and fun and made an equally delicious-smelling sachet. These are nice because you can make a small size and decorate as you want. They would also make great gifts.

I just bought three Zum bars, picking Cinnamon, Lavender-Mint and Eucalyptus as my scents. Then, per the sales lady’s instructions, bought these cloth tea bags to use as the sachet pouch.

Using a carrot-peeler, I peeled little curls off the soaps, mixing the different kinds together.

Then you just fill the bags with the peels and you’re done!

To add some flair, you can sew on buttons or add a ribbon.

DIY Sachets

Do you ever feel like Trader Joe’s can read your mind? I feel like they always have just what I want (and a few other things I didn’t even know I wanted!). Case in point: I have been wanting to make my own sachets with dried lavender and so of course when I walk into Trader Joe’s last night there is a basket with bunches of dried lavender and a little notecard that read “Make your own sachets.” So nice to have a grocery store that can grant your every wish!

I just love the smell of lavender- it always makes me feel more relaxed.
Anyway, here’s what I did to make really simple sachets (fragrant things that go in clothes drawers that I don’t know how to pronounce):
1. Pull the lavender of the branches. I cut off the branches one-by-one and collected the lavender buds in a container.

2. Cut squares out of old fabric. Be sure to use a breathable fabric such as cotton. You can even use things such as old pajama bottoms that have perhaps ripped down the backside (I wouldn’t know anything about that).

The cutting doesn’t have to be straight because you’re just going to gather into a pouch.

3. Place a bit of lavender on each square.

4. Gather into a pouch and tie a ribbon or piece of yarn around the top. You can twist the fabric a bit to make sure the lavender stays inside. And you’re done!

I made a few smaller ones first and then increased the size a bit.

These would make great presents and you can add a little sprig of lavender in the bow if you’re giving as a gift:

Another variation, if you have more time, would be to sew the squares shut. Or, you could add other dried herbs – I want to try rosemary or mint. You can also make an eye pillow with the left-over dried lavender by combining it with rice or wheat berries for some weight. I have a homemade eye pillow that my sister gave me for christmas one year that I use every night. It still smells like lavender, and the scent, combined with the weight on my eyes, always helps me relax and fall asleep.
If you have left over lavender sprigs, display them in a vase: