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### <center>Why you should take the first step
<br>

  As many of you know, we post tutorials on how to make items that we make ourselves.  Our goal here on Steemit is to encourage individuals to replace the items they are buying at the store, with ones they can make themselves.  Why is this important?  Well, I believe that it is such an empowering moment when you no longer have to buy an item, because you can make that item yourself.  Whether it be things like bread, spaghetti sauce, and salsa, or bigger projects like making your own clothing, power and fuel.  I believe many of us here have the goal of becoming self sufficient …and we all have to start somewhere. 


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Now, I am fully aware that many individuals in this Homestead Community already make their own soaps, knives, furniture, clothing, tinctures and a list of other amazing things.  But, I have also discovered that there are others that may be growing their own food, making things from scratch and even raising livestock that haven’t considered making their own lotions, deodorants, or herbal medicine.  I hope that this post, along with my tutorials, will encourage them to do just that. 
 

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It seems that when the majority of us decide to “go natural” we initially focus on our food, which I too believe is extremely important, and then maybe we switch to a more natural body product from the store.  The idea of actually making these products ourselves doesn’t really cross our minds initially…. but why not?  Well, I think it might be because we run across more people in our day to day lives that make their own bread, than those who make their own lotion.  So, I want to share with you our story (you know …the people who make their own lotion) to help encourage you to try something new. 


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Our journey first began with making our food from scratch, rather than buying prepared items from the store.  While “junk food” wasn’t something we had in our house normally, we were buying condiments, sauces, pastas, breads, and other items that we could technically make ourselves.  We started by focusing on replacing a few items each month with ones we made ourselves, until we had replaced them all.  It felt amazing to be feeding our family healthier options and also having total control over the ingredients, not to mention the money we were saving. 


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Then, one day I realized that I still had a bathroom loaded with expensive products (full of questionable ingredients) that I hadn’t even considered replacing… and the idea of making them myself didn’t even cross my mind.  Why not?  Well…It seemed undoable to me…it was something I had absolutely no experience in, and I didn’t even know where to start.  So, like many others, I started purchasing natural alternatives to the toxic products I had previously used. The price tags were high, but the products were a much better option for us.  Then, one day when applying one of the products I read through the ingredients again…and it dawned on me that I had access to every single item on that list.  I started to explore the idea of making it myself.



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So, after doing some researching and experimentation, I made my own baby wipes. It really doesn’t seem like such a big deal now, but at the time it was a huge accomplishment.  We had an infant then, and were spending a ton of money on wipes.  Plus, even though we were paying extra for the “natural” baby wipes, they were still full of preservatives, fragrances and other ingredients that don’t belong anywhere near your skin. After making those wipes, guess what?  I had the confidence to try to make another product ….I think this is key… the confidence and courage to try.

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After that I tried many different recipes for things, some just didn’t work and some were..eh, just ok.  Then, I began to educate myself more on the ingredients and came to understand how they worked together in different combinations to change the end result.  Somewhere along the way I fell in love with herbs and their health benefits.  The fact that I could grow these herbs and then use them in the products we were making was beyond exciting.  I started to experiment with my own recipes, adding healing herbs whenever possible.   One by one I replaced every item in our medicine cabinet…talk about empowering… it felt amazing. 



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So here we are, four years later and I have the confidence to make pretty much any natural product you can throw my way.  I find myself coming up with recipes in my head and being able to replicate that into a great product.  I can look at labels, understand the ingredients, and even replicate the item using better ingredients or ones more easily accessible. I have family members that call me to ask me what I think of a product and if it’s something they can make themselves…I haven’t found one yet we couldn’t replace.  How? I have found the knowledge and the courage to do so…and it all started with baby wipes. 


Why am I telling you all of this?  Well, because I believe that the confidence you find from making your own products (no matter what they might be) encourages you to get out of your comfort zone and have the courage to do all sorts of other things.  I believe it changes your mindset on what is truly possible and empowers you to try to do things, or make items that you never saw yourself doing. 


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Now, I know I have focused on beauty and toiletry products here, but that is only because I see those items being something us as Homesteaders don’t think about initially.  I believe the concept of trying to make an item you didn’t think you could make yourself, goes way beyond lotion.  I think it gives you the courage to make your new beehives yourself (out of salvaged material) when you were told by the local beekeeper that it is just something you should buy… because that is easier after all.  Or it will encourage you to experiment with producing your own lye for soap making because…well… why not?  These are the things those first steps have encouraged us to try, among others. 


The point is, that taking those first small steps opens the door to so many possibilities.  Those simple steps give you the courage and confidence to try…. try something that you just never thought you could do, to get out of your comfort zone and take the leap.  Whether that be replacing your bathroom items or building your own solar powered hot wheels.  We all just have to take that first step…I hope this post has given you the motivation to do just that. 


Thank you for reading,

Happy Homesteading!

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