You’ve probably seen the meme that says, “Why buy it for $7 when you can make it yourself for $92 worth of craft supplies?
So why make anything yourself if it seems to be less expensive and less complicated to just buy it?
1. Making anything yourself is rewarding. You’re doing something. Moving your body (we can count that as exercise if you’d like) and challenging your mind–you’re creating. That’s always so rewarding. Little children always want us to “look at this!” Why? Because, they’re creating something and want someone to see them learning and growing.
2. Less expensive. Believe it or not, many products, remedies or foods you can make, are actually more cost-effective to make. You’re not paying for the marketing or the brand name that increases the price generally. You can buy in bulk which will save money in the long run. You can even sell your product to off-set the costs. For instance, I can make organic elderberry syrup for one-third the cost of buying it.
3. You know what is going into your creation.You can choose the finest ingredients when quality is what you want or poorest ingredients for whatever you’re making when being cost-effective is most important.
My husband’s grandfather was a tomato farmer and he remembers tagging along to take the tomato harvest over to Philadelphia where he sold them to a local sauce company. He can still see allof the tomatoes being put on a conveyor belt—the perfect red ones, the green ones, the rotten ones—and knowing that the sauce would be inferior as a result.
Knowing what’s in your product is peace-of-mind. Along with the ingredients, you know WHEN you made it. You can label it and rotate it.
4. Better for the environment. More than likely you’ll be creating very natural products. Cleaning products with vinegars, essential oils, witch hazel work just as well and smell cleaner and fresher. Natural remedies using coconut oil, shea butter, essential oils, herbs are going to be better for your body in the long run. The foods you prepare or preserve will have just the foods in them, no additional chemicals–nothing hidden or slipped in there. You’ll reuse bottles and use silverware and tools from your kitchen. You’ll be producing less trash for the landfills.
5. Variety and self-reliance! With the internet and social media, the recipes, techniques and advice are endless. You can experiment and find which homemade deodorant works for you, for instance. You can use your brain and means to learn and grow and develop interests and knowledge. You’ll then pass on your enthusiasm to someone else. You’ll help others and create a small or large community of similar thinkers.
Ultimately—you’ll change your world!
Trackbacks/Pingbacks