We have the Jotul F400 and love it. I did not look at the soapstones because we wanted a traditional cast iron stove with an old-fashioned look - and picked Jotul because was the best looking one IMO. I prefer the radiant heating over the convection, mainly because I like being able to stand right next to the thing and thaw after being outside in the freezing cold. I also like that the Jotul doesn't have a catalytic converter - it burns well and is easy to use and maintain. Our house is 3000 sq ft, and when we get it cooking, the F400 heats the entire house -- we have a very open floorplan that allows the heat to travel (we had planned to use it to heat only the family room and kitchen, which is why we went with such a small stove - we weren't aware of how dramatically the heat would travel around the house), plus our winters aren't usually super-cold (we're in PA - usually in the 20s-30s during the day and teens at night). Today is colder than normal and very windy and I'm a little chillier than I prefer, but still no need to turn the furnace on. I will say that we tend to burn the stove pretty wide-open and maybe that's why we can heat so much more space than Jotul says the F400 is good for. Unlike the older cast iron stove I had in college, it seems impossible to overheat this stove, even when you stuff it to the gills and leave the damper wide open. And I guess because our house plan is so open, it seems that we really have to burn hot to feel warm in the room where the stove is - the heat dissipates through the house so quickly. So we burn usually at about 550 degrees (Jotul recommends 400-600) - we get great heating but we do blow through the wood - if I'm home, I'm usually reloading it every 2-3 hours to keep the house toasty. I would think that for your house, you could probably damp it back like it should be and get much longer burn times. We load it up for the last time at night around 11:30 and damp it way back and at 7am, there are still enough coals to relight quickly, although the house has gotten pretty cold by then. Depending on how whiney the kids are, I'll turn the furnace on to take the chill off in the morning but the stove has pretty much taken over by 8:30 or so and the furnace doesn't run for the rest of the day. We have it installed inside our masonry fireplace (it's freestanding but inside the firebox) and since the masonry heats up, we get a bit of the soapstone's extended heating in that the masonry continues to radiate heat after the stove has cooled down. Good luck!

I had ordered some a little while ago even though I had the Cheer hear and tried some of the Tide liquid, but I couldn't resist after seeing the reviews here. When I had my reg TL, I was using All free clear as the other ones irritated our skin. Hanging up laundry didn't seem to be a problem with hardness so I thought nothing of it. My clothing came out a little stiff, but not concrete. I had heard that the FL rinsed better so people with sensitivities could use anything as their was no residue, so I bought leading national brands. We had no reactions, but my line dried clothes have gone from stiff to concrete and I had to start using my drier again. After trying the Charlies, my clothes are gradually going from concrete back to the state I am use to. Plus, they may get softer still. I like it so much, I don't even want to use up the rest of the Cheer I have here. I have also tried it on cleaning different things around the house and it is excellent. Definitely worth ordering.

I made my partner a shaving soap that he loves... Unfortunately, I'm at my parents' house this week and the recipe is at home!! But, it wasn't really anything special - I added some oils (I used calendula-infused safflower oil) and sandalwood e.o. I remember reading somewhere about adding clays to shaving soaps, but I'm not sure why/how much/etc... I hope someone else can be more helpful! :)

Mine is for hand soap, which I know isn't what you asked about. I wouldn't be without one. I lived with one in my old kitchen for 10 years. Loved it. Never had any problems with leaking. We're in a temporary house during reno without a dispenser. It makes me love the dispenser even more. I hate chasing a wet, slippery soap bottle around the counter trying to wash my hands. It falls over. I picked it up and it flies out because it's soapy. I can't wait to have one at both of the sinks in my new kitchen. I'd rather have a discreet hole in my marble then another "thing" sitting on the counter looking possibly cluttery. My kitchen is a working kitchen too. Doesn't mean it can't have some thought put into how it looks when it doesn't impact how it functions.