For whatever reason I have it set in my brain that I don't want to be classified as crunchy. I have nothing against people who choose a more holistic approach to life, in fact I am constantly trying to find ways to eliminate chemicals, prepared foods/mixes, and the need to purchase products that I can make myself. No one has even referred to me as "crunchy" but I think the fact that lots of the blogs I use for ideas are written by women who classify themselves as such makes me feel like I might be. As I go thru the list of things that I believe qualify someone as meeting this stereotype I have become painfully aware of the fact that I just might be a little crunchy.
Over the last year or so I have eliminated the need of almost all of our commercially produced cleaning products. I make my own bathroom cleaner, kitchen cleaner, glass cleaner, stain remover, dishwasher detergent, laundry detergent, and use white vinegar instead of fabric softener and jet dry. I make my own lotion, toothpaste, elderberry syrup and hand soap. I make almost all of our own baking mixes including shake and bake and bisquick. I not only participate in a joy school (in home preschool trade off with other moms) but recently started home schooling my first grader as well. I am very much a supporter of natural childbirth, breastfeeding, baby led weaning, and baby wearing and will be cloth diapering our new baby A.
As I look at this list I have to admit that I just might be a little crunchy. and maybe it isn't a bad thing to be classified as such. Since switching over our cleaning products our house has looked and felt cleaner and we have had much less illness and speedier recoveries (elderberry syrup has helped us with this as well). I have been able to stop using my very expensive prescription cream for my keratosis pilaris (red bumps that used to cover my arms) by switching to a coconut oil based lotion (which when mixed with some peppermint oil makes an amazing pain reliever). And for the first time in 5 pregnancies I haven't developed any new cavities (I've averaged 2 new cavities per pregnancy, most of my molars have been filled twice). In fact prior to switching to a homemade toothpaste I had never had a dental cleaning under an hour and most required a second visit. I have extremely good oral hygiene, I floss multiple times a day and brush at least twice a day, but I am a plaque producer and a sugar lover. Needless to say, just 4 weeks after switching toothpastes (and already suffering from severe sensitivity) my teeth were miraculously in perfect condition, and so clean that it took mere minutes for the hygienist to scrape and polish my teeth (oh and I haven't had any tooth sensitivity since about 2 weeks in).
I decided to write this blog post as a way to encourage/motivate myself to post about some of the recipes I'm using. I realize that there are a thousand other blog posts about homemade laundry detergent, but sometimes trying a new recipe can be intimidating. What if it doesn't work right? What if you don't like it? I thought it might be nice to have all my recipes in one easy to find place and maybe someone will try and like them too. I am needing to make more laundry detergent and dishwasher detergent in the next week or two so I will post recipes when I make them.
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