Anti-Consumerism April: Round 2: FIGHT!

This is it.  Year 2 of Anti-Consumerism April.  I'm still trying to wrap my head around what this should look like for me.  Last year, I said I could buy nothing new.  This year, I'm saying nothing at all.  From now until the end of the month.  No new shoes, clothes, craft stuffs... nothin'.  And let's be clear: last year I was not successful.  So, I'm pullin' myself up by my bootstraps and am making it happen.

One way I "celebrated" today, just to ring it all in, was making my second and third batches of homemade cleaning supplies.  That's one way to be mindful.  (I wanted to say "one way to stick it to the man" but decided to be a tad bit more positive, and to let this be about personal mindfulness, and not all the negativity that I want so badly to fight).  I've been hoping that, instead of being so ANTI this-or-that, I would be PRO-something, so as to send some more positive energy out.  Kind of like the concept of instead of being "anti-war, be pro-peace".

So, here are a few EASY recipes you can use to try to consume less corporate products and things that are down-right bad for you and the earth.

Laundry Powder:
1 Cup Borax
1 Cup Washing Soda
1 Bar Soap, finely grated

Mix all three ingredients and viola! Use 1 tablespoon/load.  It should last about 48 loads.

Now the funny thing, is that to make this, I had to use *gasp* corporate products.  But the beauty of it is that I am able to use far less.  A box of borax will yield up to 10-12 laundry mixes, and the washing soda up to 10.

Dishwasher Powder:
1 Cup Borax
1 Cup Washing Soda
1 Cup Kosher Salt

Mix all three ingredients and, again, viola!  Use 1 tablespoon/load and it will yield about 48 loads.

Part of the cool thing about this is that you can make really neat hostess gifts (for those of you, like my mother, who feel this sort of thing necessary), wedding shower gifts or any other type of gift.  Whip it all up, throw it in a mason jar (which you can very easily find 2nd hand), put some ribbon and fabric on it and you have created a thoughtful and mindful gift.

I made both of these with my kids today and put the finished product in reusable containers.  Don't get me wrong: I'm not necessarily trying to be "green" or any of the other things that go along with this type of behavior.  What I am trying to do, however, is rethink my buying habits and what my buying habits teach my kids.  It feels really good to be truly involved in my daily experience, as opposed to buying in to what a commercial tells me I need to buy and what needs to go with what I just bought and where to buy it again.

This month, I hope to think through my buying habits with food, gas, items for my children and home, and anything else I find myself pulling out my 6 square inches of plastic for on a daily basis.  If you've got any ideas, let me know.  In the words of some show my kids watch on PBS "The more you know, the more you grow."