Before I was successful in locating the individual ingredients for my own Gritty Mix version, I purchased bonsai mix from a large local garden center. It was ungodly expensive, though, for a very small bag. Another option may be purchasing small amounts of fir bark or a ready mixed orchid medium if there are any local orchid greenhouses/growers... and if the fir bark or mix they use is of small enough pieces. I don't require very large quantities of medium, so I buy small bags of a product called ReptiBark reptile bedding. It's very clean fir bark, though many people say the pieces are a bit too large. I think the small bags contain a decent enough size for my use... though I do notice that the larger bags contain larger pieces that are too big. I use perlite, which can be obtained almost anywhere garden supplies are sold. I prefer coarse perlite, but I'll use the regular stuff and simply sift it if I can't find the coarse stuff. I purchase granite chips at a farm supply store... around these parts, that's either Rural King or Farm & Fleet. The product is just granite chips, sold as grit for chickens/poultry, and it does require sifting or rinsing to remove dust. Turface is hard to come by for me... there's no local NAPA store, and I know one must be careful about other brands and types of oil dry/calcined clay... I omit it if I can't locate any, and I work with those items I can find. I find it extremely helpful to soak the fir bark in water overnight before using in a mix... so it doesn't become hydrophobic. Another good place to search for various medium ingredients would be Hydroponics type stores.

maybe call some pet stores?

I would be wary of trying to make lye out of stove ashes from what I have read it sounds difficult and well as it is unstable. I started with soap making in late November and was having a ball with all the different kinds that I could come up with. Finding Red Devil lye seemed so easy. Though I didnt not pay attention to the fact that I could only get it in one store in my area. That is until this week when I went back for more and I have been looking in every store I come to to on avail. I finally found some in an off the wall store in a small town. That is when I found out that it will no longer be sold in any of the stores. You might know that I would pick a new hobby that will be hard to get supplies for.

blitzyblond, here are the rest of the instructions: THRIFT JOY SOAP 1 Blender 1 Quart stainless steel sauce pan 1 Stainless steel spoon 1 Measuring Cup 1 Set measuring spoons 1 Large canning kettle 1 Piece cheese cloth Small boxes (candy, shoe, etc.) Cloth to line boxes (old sheet) Left-over grease, Lewis Lye, Ammonia, Borax, Sugar, Salt, To Prepare Grease: Save cooking fat from pork, beef, foul, etc. and keep refrigerated so it does not mold as it accumulates. Coffee cans make good containers. In large kettle with cover, put equal amounts of water and grease and heat to a boil. Remove from heat and cool as fast as possible. Winter months is best time to do this. When completely cold (24 hrs.) the clean grease will have risen to the top and foreign matter will have settled into the water. Remove clean grease, cutting off any dirt adhering to bottom of clean grease. Put into kettle to re-heat. When it spits, sprinkle with salt. When fat has boiled and appears clear, purify with a few slices of raw potato. Remove when brown. Strain clear grease through cheese cloth and set aside until ready to make soap. Prepare boxes while waiting for lye water to cool: Tear strips of old sheets width and length of boxes. Wet cloths, wring out and completely cover bottom and sides of box by laying one cloth in each direction, allowing ends to hang down outside of box so it does not fall in when the soap is poured in. HINTS Make Soap in Basement. A shoe box requires two batches for nice size bars. Keep several cans of lye on hand so you wont run out making several batches of soap. Put a small amount of sugar in container to be used for soap only (separate from food. Lay newspapers on floor where you will be working with soap project for easy clean up. To make you project more interesting, have a Soap Making Party. Save 8-10 cans of fat, purify and invite a couple friends to make soap. It is easier when two or three work together and they can divide the soap and all have a years supply.