# I'm excited!



## hsmomof4 (Oct 31, 2008)

We are going to be converting our garage into my soaping area. I've been eyeing used stainless steel restaurant equipment (prep tables, 3 compartment sinks, etc). Anyone have suggestions as to what I should not be without?


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## Kalne (Oct 25, 2007)

Lucky you! We've been saying we're going to do just that for the last couple years. But other things have to get done first and they aren't happening fast enough. *sigh*


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## Jenny M (Nov 21, 2009)

What a good husband you have. Most guys think of the garage as their holy place.

I would love the ss prep tables with storage for bins & bucket below. The 3 hole sink for sure & if the budget allows, a real restuarant type faucet with the seperate spray nozzel. That thing can clean up your soaping equip fast!

Your floor is propabaly concrete so don't forget some rubber mats to help your legs & back. 

Jenny


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## 2Sticks (Dec 13, 2007)

Congratulations Stacey! How wonderful, I know it will make everything so much easier :yes


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

I am doing this right now, well it's a room addition, ceilings are going up today. Have you ever really worked at a commercial sink? They simply hurt my back. I have a deep sink in my barn and even just cleaning lambars and dairy equipment on Saturdays, by the time I am done bending over into the bottom of it, my back hurts. I am putting a normal two bay sink in my soap room addition. Then with the counter top put at my hipbones just like in the soap room now, I can stand and stir and pour and cut for hours  Make sure your faucet has a hand/wand sprayer at the sink also.

At Lowes and Home Depot type stores over by the carpeting they have these foam rubber mats, they are 2 feet by 2 feet and there are 4 of them for $20 in a packet, they come in black and also in kids room colors even with race tracks printed on them. You interlock them, can cut them with a razor knife and they are wonderful for your feet! Plus if you buy a spare package of them, if you ruin one of the squares, you can either turn over that square and still use it or you can throw it out and pop in a new one. When I had my 3.5 gallon bucket disaster, I was able to simply pull up the mats, take them outside and powerwash them clean. So much cheaper and so much lighter to work with than the commercial mats. And the really nice commercial mats from uline.com etc...are slippery when wet! This way also you can go with any flooring or just keep your cement in the garage, and float these mats over them, in your work areas.

Lighting, have enough lighting, task lighting and you really really want fluorescent over your work space, that way no shadows.

I am setting up my work space in a U so although I look out a window to soap, behind me is a bar for customers to sit at, a mirror hung over me at just the right angle will be perfect for soap classes. And storage storage storage, look for salvage yards they purchase the racks you can buy at Sams in bulk and resell for about 1/2 of what Sams charges. Vicki


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## MF-Alpines (Mar 29, 2010)

Congrats, Stacey. That is awesome!!!


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## Jenny M (Nov 21, 2009)

I was thinking that if I ever do get another space I'll organize it into three sections - manufacturing, packaging & office. With easy flow between the three. The office is neccessary, I think, but not especially large. Just room for a computer, printer & small filing cabinet. Would be so nice to be able to print product labels, mailing labels & do my ordering & invoices instead of going back & forth to the house.

What Vicki says about the sink is true sometimes - I've worked in a lot of resturants in the last 30+ years. But 3 hole sinks come in a lot of configurations & you can find them at used equipment stores at great prices. Mine came from a small coffee shop & the sinks are smaller & not so deep (& low). It fit right in my 25' travel trailer which we gutted to make my soap room. The drain boards/work space on each end are invaluable & makes clean up so easy.
If I get rid of this old trailer the sink goes with me to my kitchen & beyond.

Jenny


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## hsmomof4 (Oct 31, 2008)

I'll have to check out different sinks. I'm pretty short (5'2") so that probably makes a difference, too. I am so looking forward to this. Right now, I have an entire room in the basement, but it's entirely too small, the floor is carpet (yuck) it needs lots of shelving and storage space, more counters, etc. ATM, I only have 2 tables, so where the soap sits in the mold after I pour is also where I cut it and where I shrink wrap, and I have to haul stuff upstairs to the kitchen to wash it. 

I talked to the zoning and plans people yesterday, and since we are going from one auxiliary use to another (garage -> workshop) without changing the footprint of the house or anything, we don't even need a permit. We've already started reconfiguring things in the barn so that we can move a lot of stuff that was in the garage down there. 

And for the icing on the cake, it looks like I just got my soap in 2 more stores, just on word of mouth! :biggrin


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## Kalne (Oct 25, 2007)

That's great Stacey!


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## buckrun (Mar 7, 2008)

Awesome Stacey and well deserved. You make a beautiful product. 
I am sure happy for this expansion of your fame as well as your work space!
Lee


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## hsmomof4 (Oct 31, 2008)

"Fame" :lol


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