What’s better: Hand Sanitizer or Hand Soap?
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We create and sell both (hit up the Homemade Essential oil hand sanitizer page!), and believe in both.
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But, hands down, we support the power of SOAP!
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True, effective, All natural organic hand SOAP.
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Hand Sanitizer is great when you’re out and about, on the go, at the park, on the playground, in a pinch. But it doesn’t attach to the germs on your hands and rinse them away.
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Only SOAP does that. Hand sanitizer is better than nothing. Hear us loud and clear there.
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But washing your hands (yes, for at least twenty seconds) with real SOAP is the only way to rinse those germs off your hands.
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Don’t overlook the power of a good hand washing session with a good bottle of effective soap. Especially right now.
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It’s time to stock up. And, probably time to go wash your hands right now, too. Go, go! And then stock up on our organic hand soap. 👊🏼

• Hire a professional pest control expert to ensure that the job is done effectively and safely.
• Block all entryways and fill in any cracks or broken screens to prevent pests from entering.
• Make sure there is no standing water anywhere, as it can be a breeding ground for bugs.
• Clean up any messes quickly, dispose of food properly and wipe down anything coming inside.
• Following these tips will help reduce the number of pests in your home.

This is a blog series highlighting the amazing women who are living examples of the MamaSuds Manifesto.

How did you find MamaSuds in the first place?

I honestly cannot recall exactly how I stumbled upon MamaSuds. One way or another, it was luck! I do know that 2 years ago I began looking into non-toxic products and making my own products at home. I know I acquired a post on Pinterest from the MamaSuds blog, so I may have found MamaSuds through Pinterest, or I really think it was when I was searching for an alternate option to Dr. Bronners Castile Soap that everyone likes to rave about. I was far from impressed with the price to product amount ratio with Dr. Bronner's, and I like to find products that aren't so commercialized. When I found MamaSuds I remember coming back to the site a few times knowing I wanted to place an order but hesitant about splurging on the gallon of Castile soap. I finally "took the plunge" and ordered laundry soap, all purpose spray, and a gallon of Castile Soap! Best purchases ever!

What's your favorite MamaSuds Product? 

I love the Castile Soap and Laundry Soap. The Castile soap is so versatile and I am able to make my own all purpose cleaner, face wash, and floor cleaner from one product! The laundry soap is the safest I have found and probably will ever find, and I was excited to find a liquid! The absolute best part of all of this is to know that I am buying from the US and from a mother who started her own business and is so passionate about her products!

What is your favorite thing about yourself? 

My favorite thing about myself is my personality. Don't get me wrong -I have my moments- but overall I am an easy going, happy, there to help everyone kind of person. Life is too short to dwell on things or be mad at the people you love!

What is your clean living tip? 

My clean living tip is to take it one day or one week at a time! Start with one item in your home and replace it, and then find another item and try replacing that one. It takes time and does not have to happen overnight. In time you will love the changes and keep moving forward towards a more non-toxic living environment, that you can be proud of!

What inspires you to live more sustainably?

My family is what inspires me to live more sustainably. After having my daughter, I began to become even more aware of the toxins that surround us. I began working at changing out everything from personal care products to cleaning products and everything in-between, as well as living a more "greener" lifestyle. I work in a Cancer Center and it truly is scary to see all the different types of cancer and what people and their families go through. I would like to think and hope that small changes made in my home may help my family to avoid unnecessary health issues that are linked to toxins in our daily environments.

We hope you enjoyed Jessica's story! If you have a story to tell, we'd love to hear it. 

 

How did I get here?

In my last post in this series I talked about how while I was pregnant with my second daughter I had a small bottle of commercial baby shampoo leak on brand new nursery room furniture.I wiped up the small drop that leaked from the bottle and the finish came off with it. This sparked a question in my head, "What am I putting on my baby's skin?" Little did I know how much this little question would change my life. So...

Where does my story lead to next?

See Part 1 here.    See Part 2 here.

So here is Part 3 in my series.

I instantly researched the crap out of soap. Soap is.... soap, right? Nope. I do most of my research late at night, long after the hubs is sleeping and I distinctly remember sitting in bed with my laptop on my pregnant belly and learning that the soap I have been using on my three year old, and soap we used on ourselves actually had a bunch of "chemicals" and toxins in it. What!?! Hubs was sleeping next to me and I had no one to look over at and spew this information at! A million questions led to hundreds more and I was soon lost in the abyss of the internet.

A life changing decision

That night (almost 6 years ago!) I made a decision that, in hindsight, changed my life. I decided we were getting rid of the baby shampoos and body wash and I bought Dr. Bronner's Castile Soap. I loved it. I only heard one comment from hubs, "this stuff feels different". That was it.

I bought a 16 ounce bottle. Then I bought the bigger size. Then I started reading about all the things you can use castile soap for. I switched out our hand soap, dish soap, made all purpose spray..... it had endless uses! I needed a gallon before long. Then I needed another gallon..... then I had another thought: Can't I just make this stuff myself? (to be continued)

How I Make Liquid Castile Soap (from scratch)

Originally this video on how liquid soap (castile soap) is made at MamaSuds was created in the summer of 2015. It is the highest viewed post ever on our blog! 

Two things I learned while making this video. 1) My blender made a lot more noise on the video than it does in person. Sometimes the blender is heard over my voice, but I promise I don't say anything life changing. 2) I say the word AND too much. Which is better than saying the word UM, but I am aware of it and I'll try to practice. <---- I call myself out on this only because I KNOW someone else will :).  So if you are into soap making, want to see what goes into making MamaSuds Castile Soap- which is in the Body Wash, All Purpose Cleaner and Laundry Soap. It's the very first MamaSuds product.  Grab your popcorn and your Junior Mints, it's a nail biter! How to make liquid castile soap....

• Do not mix vinegar and castile soap together as it will neutralize their cleaning power.
• Castile soap has an alkaline pH of 8-10ish and vinegar has an acidic pH of 2-3ish.
• To prove this, a glass measuring cup filled with an ounce of castile soap and 15 ounces of distilled water had a tested pH level of 9.7.
• Adding an ounce of Distilled White Vinegar to the mixture resulted in an almost dead on neutral pH of 6.9, meaning that the soap's cleaning power was neutralized.