Coming Out of the Crunchy Closet

My name is Candice and I am (apparently) a crunchy mom. Why do I say "apparently"? Because I would never in a million years have ever thought that I would ever be considered "crunchy". Taking a step back, I can see where I may have earned this label.

It started out innocently enough--- wanting to cloth diaper to save money on disposables (those buggers get expensive after a while!) and then deciding that I'm too lazy to use a different soap for my laundry and my diapers (don't judge me, I'll take a little convenience wherever I can get it). So, I started making my own laundry soap (I'll post the recipe eventually).

At about the same time Monkey (my 3 year old son) was constantly spraying his little brother, Bug (1 year old) with whatever cleaner he could get his sticky little hands onto. He showered Bug in Comet cleaner and called him a snowman.... So, in an attempt to save Bug from being blinded or poisoned, I threw out all of the cleaning supplies and opted for a homemade multipurpose cleaner and vinegar.

Then I realized that I had all of the ingredients I needed to make my own dishwasher packs! Once I learned that white vinegar can be used as a rinse aid, we said goodbye to the last remaining commercial cleaning product in our home.

About a month ago a friend of mine saw that I cloth diapered on Facebook and asked if I wanted her stash (heck yes!). She then said, "I didn't know you were crunchy!". Here I was just trying to be cheap and keep my kids from eating poison, and the next thing I knew I'd fallen into a whole new niche (as if being a military spouse wasn't enough). I laughed at her and said that I was just doing to save money.

Fast forward to now. I now make my own almond milk, refuse to buy certain unhealthy foods, and am starting to make my own cloth diapers. I've even thought of attempting to grow a garden in our barren El Pasan backyard (it's actually very green, and I live in Horizon..... but you get the idea!). And to top it all off I looked into a cow share! So, this is me. Coming out of the closet before you all today and sharing my journey with you.

Hello. My name's Candice, and I'm a crunchy mom.