Make your own life!

Hey y'all! So I know this blog is mostly supposed to be about, like, food, or whatever, but I do more than eat and work out! Lately I've been trying to find ways to become less reliant on chemical-filled products like commercial deodorants, laundry detergents, shampoos, and conditioners. I want to do this because 1) I am broke, and homemade alternatives are literally always cheaper; 2) I want to eliminate weird artificial stuff from my life as much as possible because it just feels better, and 3) ... I'm really broke. Saving up for a giant trip after graduation means the next five months will be Brokesville, PA.

Anyway, so far I've made laundry detergent and deodorant based loosely on The New Architects: Make Your Own Life series (which stops short its journey toward liberating Americans from their dependence on large corporations, unfortunately, as these are the only two videos they made about product alternatives).

Here's the laundry detergent tutorial:

I used Fels Naptha laundry soap instead of random chunks of soap from around my house (because I have none, and because Fels Naptha smells damn good and is an awesome stain remover). This stuff works SO WELL!! So excited about it. I've washed my own laundry and my rats' laundry in it, and it's done a stellar job on both. Never going back to the old stuff again. This was stupid easy, took me about 20 minutes (not counting the overnight-sitting-time), was very cheap, had my apartment smelling like a bubble bath, and the ingredients I bought will last me another zillion batches. I really could not be more pleased.

As I said, I also made homemade, all-natural deodorant based loosely on the Make Your Own Life video. Let me come right out here and say it. I am a stinky, stinky lady. I sweat quite a bit, and that sweat smells extraordinarily unpleasant. I haven't had a lot of luck with commercial deodorants-- they always make my poor pits feel uncomfortably dry (before they wear off and I'm sweating fountains again), and I've never found something that actually keeps me from smelling. I've tried it all. Dove, Dove Clinical Strength, every Secret product there is, multiple Degree products, BAN, Mitchum, Arid, even Old Spice. Nothing has worked for me for more than a couple of hours. The best I can hope for with a commercial deodorant is that whatever scent I've chosen will overpower my body's natural stink. Usually, this does not happen. However, I know now that there is hope, and IT IS CHEAP, and IT SMELLS GREAT, and SO DO I!

Here's the tutorial from The New Architects. My measurements differed and are included after the video.

My recipe:

1/2c extra virgin coconut oil

1/2c baking soda

1/3c corn starch

a bunch of drops of grapefruit essential oil

*Basically, use equal parts baking soda and coconut oil, and a little less corn starch or arrowroot powder. Add as much essential oil as you want-- stop when it smells good to you!

Thomas and Jason used arrowroot powder, but I didn't have any, and I know I don't react badly to cornstarch, so I just used what was in the kitchen. I've seen recipes including lavender and/or tea tree oil, and, provided you like these scents, these could work equally well. Grapefruit essential oil is what smelled good to me at Whole Foods two days ago. Also, it's relatively cheap as essential oils go, and has antibacterial and anti-fungal properties that I thought my armpits could use! The bergamot oil smelled luscious (but at $15, I wasn't about to buy it!), and I imagine there are others that would work well. Find what scent or scent combination works for you-- just make sure one of the oils you choose has anti-bacterial properties! Pour it into a container (I'm using a small tupperware container), stick it in the fridge for half an hour, and just rub on a little every morning!

Folks, this is the BUSINESS. For real. I worked out today for 45 minutes-- running, free weights, ab stuff, whatever. I left the gym, went home, took off my shirt, sniffed my pits, sniffed my shirt, and had LITERALLY ZERO B.O. This has never happened to me in my life. Holy crap. I have found the holy grail of deodorants, and it smells lovely and makes my armpits all soft. I really truly hope you try this!! 16oz of coconut oil and the little bottle of grapefruit essential oil cost me $16 at Whole foods, and each of these can be found for cheaper online; a more realistic price would be about $14. This will yield me four batches of deodorant (including the one I just made), at $4 each, but I use so little of it I can see this lasting as long as two or three commercial sticks would. So, let's call it $2/stick if we're comparing to the commercial stuff. That's REAL CHEAP, y'all. And it works better than anything I've ever tried. I am so very pleased!

Okay I need to go to sleep. First day of class tomorrow! Night y'all, and cheers to self-reliance!