I have been trying to make more of my own household and beauty products.  As I was wandering around the internet, I found different descriptions of people who were washing their hair with only baking soda(at the roots) and vinegar as a rinse–which you rinse out.  They loved it, so I thought I would give it a try.  I think I only used the baking soda and vinegar for about six weeks.  I did notice that my hair felt really soft when I did this, but it wasn’t shiny at all, and it was pretty frizzy.  I was willing to stick with it, though and see what happened.  Then last week, I went for a bike ride along Lake Michigan with my sister-in-law, Cindy.  It was a beautiful day and I was working really hard to keep up with her–it has been a while since I rode a bike.  Anyhow, it was fun and challenging, and at the end of the ride, I took off my helmet.  I was overwhelmed (only a bit of an exaggeration) by the smell of vinegar.  That was it for me!  No more vinegar and baking soda.  I bought some devacurl no-poo and conditioner.  It smelled amazing and my hair looks so much better!  I am still glad that I tried.
Happily, my attempt at making my own laundry soap went much better and I am loving it.  I bought a kit!  I love buying kits to learn how to make new things.  I bought this one from Soaps Gone Buy and used their recipe for liquid soap.  It came out kind of lumpy, but I think that maybe I didn’t heat it long enough.  But the smell is mild and lovely, and it works really well.  I noticed especially that my towels come out of the laundry very soft.
 

Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better.

Samuel Beckett

(One of my favorite quotes–good for a mostly reformed perfectionist)