Homemade soap?

I am not a serious naturalist, but the idea of getting back to life in a simpler way is very appealing to me.  I grew up camping (loved it!) and I wonder if I wasn't meant to live on a farm, somewhat self -sufficient.  I would have to go the store for my meat though, unless my husband would take care of that for me.  Seriously, if we had farm animals, they would all have names therefore they would not end up on my dinner table!  I love the idea of having a garden and canning jams, but I realistically live in suburbia so unless we move, it will remain a dream.  There is something simply innocent when I think about hanging sheets on a line in the sunshine to dry.  Appealing.  There was a television series where modern families who voluntarily lived in a 3-4 house village with other families and they learned to truly live off the land the way it was done long before electricity.  I can't remember the name, but it was fascinating.  Watching teenagers used to texting learn to make soap and bread from scratch, mend fences, raise livestock and build barns - amazing!  They came out of the experience so much richer.  I may have to Google it. 
On that simple life note, I am seriously thinking about trying to make my own bar soap. I want to see if it would be cheaper than buying it and I would feel pretty good about knowing what was in it and that I had made it for my family.  I have been researching ingredients and how to make it.  It is much more involved than I thought, but I am still going to try it.  I want to make a simple lavender and maybe a vanilla to start off.  There are lots of sites to order ingredients from but I am going to try and find the ingredients locally so I can actually see and smell them first.  The only item I can't find easily is the lye.  From what I have seen, using lye can be dangerous so I will have to educate myself on it.  Who knows, if it goes well, I may start a homemade soap business and add lotions and such later.  I will post later on what I find out.  If any of you have any tips or advice, please post them.

In Him,

Sara