You know, I initially sat here intending to share a blog on a project I had stumbled upon and became lost in a thought of how "frugal"  is so much more than just a word. 

Frugal is a state of mind, a lifestyle, a way of being, that is categorized into so many different types of people, and expressed in so many different types of ways.  I began thinking of the different types of frugal people that I know of, and decided to label them below for an uplifting, kind, fun and healthy excercise for us to explore. Please join me with your feedback telling what kind of a frugal or thrifty person you think you are. These were all the categories of  "frugal people" I could think of. Please add more categories to my list. I cannot wait to read your kind, fun, and uplifting responses on this thing we all have in common here...Being Frugal.

Category A:  Some of us are frugal when life calls for it because we have no choice at the time for whatever reason, maybe our finances will not allow us to live any other way, or the way we'd like to which is usually the case and so we work with what we have until we can do better financially. For many of us like this, we only whip out our frugal skills and talents when needed.

Category B:  Some of us are frugal all the time by nature. The trait immediately kicks in and whenever you see an object you see so many uses and ideas for it to be recycled over and over again giving new life to the thing with each idea. For example, mayonaise jars are not just mayonaise jars to some of us. Initially they start out this way of course, but when the mayo is finished, some of us prolong their use by washing and drying the jars reserving each to use them for a number of things like: making butter, spray painting the tops and garnishing the jars with ribbons to match the bath salts we've made, and so on.

Category C:  Some of us are frugal through wearing  items we have given makeovers to by adding ribbons or appliques, or just wearing mostly things we have made ourselves by way of sewing, knitting, crocheting, or crafting in some way which saves them a ton of money and usually results in sparking a new fashion trend and idea for others to try.

Category D:  For some of us, most who see us would never know or think we were frugal at all because on stage, in life we seem to enjoy what everyone else considers to be the finer things in life, but offstage we frugalize here and there to make the finer things in life affordable. For example: Coach has a designer bag in its display window for $350. We want it and have the money to march right inside to buy it, but will go home and find the same bag on ebay for alot less, or better yet wait for it to go on sale for a cheaper price, or visit an online site where others trade or sell for even less. We love yard sales and thrift shops and have an eye to find a treasure there for little to nothing in price.

Category E: Some of us are frugal by the way we shop at the markets and feed our families and we are so creative at how we do this, taking time to preserve foods, use coupons, plan menus, preparing for emergencies, etc.

I personally love the idea that I am a frugal person. Its part of my lifestyle and I have been this way all of my life, long before I even knew there was a name or word for it. I more or less fall under  a combination of  categories B and C, E, and a little of D (love a good yard sale and own alot of designer stuff that I bought dirt cheap). C'mon guys, which category or combo fits you? 

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I am happy to report that through faith in the Almighty Creator and determination, I have found two great alternative remedies to using any store bought antiperspirants/deodorants. My story is below:

Several months ago I decided to never use antiperspirants again and to make and wear only all natural deodorants.  I came to this conclusion after reading the ingredients labeled on the back of the antiperspirant I was using at the time. I don't know what made me read this as I never really cared before.

While reading this, my attention drew to the ingredient alluminum sulphate (chlorohydrate and alluminum zirconium tetrachlorohydrex GLY). I said to myself, "Wow, what is that word I can barely pronounce without twisting my tongue" so I researched online and found out that this ingredient is a harmful chemical and thought to be the cause of breast cancer or lumps in the breast. In addition to this research information I found out that there is a difference between antiperspirants and deodorants. I thought they were all the same.  The difference is that antiperspirants contain the ingredient alluminum sulphate used to stop perspiration under the arms. The information I had gathered going from site to site was basically all the same and drew me to the final conclusion to use an all natural alternative all together to avoid harmful chemicals all.

I had no clue as to how I was going to do this so I continued to research online for a solution thinking the whole time that if I was going to stop using store bought deodorants I'd better come up with something very effective as an alternative, and fast. I live in the mideast and it gets pretty hot here (ha,ha,ha). I tried numerous recipes and none of them worked well for me. Also I noticed that while experimenting, my underarms would emit this foul odor. I had never experienced this before and became very annoyed with this reoccuring odor. I became so annoyed that I almost gave up but what made me hang in there was that I had stumbled upon a blogsite where a blogger was sharing her deodorant recipes and she stated in her notes that the body goes through a transitional stage of about 2-3 weeks of expelling the years of harmful antiperspirant chemicals our armpits have been storing and one may experience a foul odor during this time which fades away by the 3rd week. I at this time was on week number two, and about a week later I noticed that the foul odor did fade away, but still I hadnt found anything really effective I liked until one day I nicked my underarms shaving and dabbed by hand regular rubbing alcohol on them to soothe them forgetting to apply the deodorant I made and went about my day. I cannot recall what I was doing at the time but realized that I hadnt applied any deodorant.

I immediately lowered my head to smell my armpits and smelled no foul odors. I had no idea that alcohol alone really worked. I had read about this during my research, but doubted its strength, so I never tried it as an alternative.  "Eureka lol I have found my remedy" .

So for months I used rubbing alcohol and a spritz-fragrance I made using a mix of essential oils and 1/4 parts distilled water  under each arm. However, I did notice that I had to apply this deodorant under my arms about 2-3 times a day, washing them before applying with soapy hands, lightly rinsing and blotting dry with toilet paper.

This works so well for me and I still use it but there was one other alternative deodorant I had used that also works well, so I just  alternate between the two, being sure to apply the rubbing alcohol first when using either one. The recipe for the second alternative is: 1 parts of each: 100% pure coconut oil, baking soda, and corn starch, several drops of essential oils (used with dosage caution) or fragrance oils of your choice. Blend well and use as liberally as you would use any other cream deodorant.

Since using these two all natural deodorants, I have noticed three things.

1. I am saving so much money by not having to buy from the stores,

2. I actually feel alot healthier.

 3. Sure I lost some of the conveninces that store bought antiperspirants provide through their long lasting strengths, but at the same time I reduced my chances of being harmed by the chemicals they use.

Doing this led me to take a closer look and special notice to all things I use on my body as well as what I  eat. I have suggested this to others, and plan to share this info as much as I can (if The Almighty Creator wills). Please leave a response to this or feel free to respectfully ask me of my experiences with this, or please share any experiences you may have concerning this. Thanks for reading.

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