Going all Crunchy

I saw a family in Meijer today. I admit I was a bit judgmental. I saw the woman and the girl's hair tied back in handkerchiefs, a baby that I'm pretty sure was nursing as his mother carried him along (I have to give her credit for that - I can't imagine how that works without some sort of superhero arm strength...)the long flowy skirts with t-shirts, the man's suspenders and long beard, the sheer number of children... I immediately thought "Crunchy."

If you've never heard the term "crunchy," it's used to refer to all-natural purists who make everything from scratch, birth their babies at home... or out under a tree (no kidding, I read a birth story where the woman gave birth out in the woods... on purpose,) etc. Sometimes they are called "crunchy granola" families. I'm not sure why the term is crunchy and I just don't feel like looking it up today. But trust me, they were crunchy.

I'm starting to wonder how far off of that I am! For as I was raising my eyebrow at the large crunchy family, I was heading to the soap aisle to buy borax, washing soda and fels soap to make my own laundry detergent that would work for my new stash of cloth diapers.

And just as the Crunchies get their fair share of guff from others, I get it too. But I'm starting to care less and less. Because of said cloth diapers, I am going to have about $50 extra a month. Because of said homemade laundry soap... I can't even fathom how much I'm saving because of the sheer volume of detergent that can be made from the $7 or so dollars I spent today. I've always been a little slow in math but I lost count somewhere in the thousands of loads this stash will clean. All I know is the 2.5 gallons of concentrate I made today does 640 loads, and I used 1/2 cup of one and 1 cup of the other cleaners that came in over 3 and 5 pound boxes. I know, it's just mind boggling... or maybe that's just me. Some of you are shaking your head that I graduated high school. I know MacGyver is. He is my superior in math by a billion to the tenth degree. No, I have no idea what that is. But I did get an A in geometry, thanks, Mrs. U.!

ANYWAY, so I admit my Crunchy tendencies are increasing. Please talk some sense into me if I do something crazy like stop wearing makeup or trying to ride a bike to the grocery store with four children on Trabue road...

I'll tell you all about the cloth diapers I bought and give you a full review tomorrow. I'll also share the detergent recipe and instructions.