Washing your hands just became a business

The last few weeks have been an utter whirlwind. People may be beginning to return to a new normal, slowly; however my family bubble are adapting and changing to what could be a new normal for us.

The main difference in our ‘normal’ has been the recent focus on the production of environmentally friendly soap – and not of the hand sanitiser variety! For around 2 years now Chris has been discussing how exciting and what a nice project it would be to make our own soaps from the ‘leftover’ oil that we have on the farm. This has always been on the backburner, until our youngest, Robyn (pictured), came home for isolation and sprang into action to use our rapeseed oils!!

It has been a real family effort too, Lydia helped Robyn with her first batch, I’ve been helping her with all her marketing (god help me!!) and George has even recommended novel ways to cut up the soap evenly. All of the packaging that Robyn and I have sourced has even been recyclable, it’s been a big mission, but every day the soap gets better, more professional, and closer to being the next environmental project that our family take on.

You may want to know a little more about the soap… Every part of the packaging has the smallest ‘food miles’ possible, is fully recyclable, is using Northumbrian products (some from as close as the fields I walk the dogs in), and is made here by hand. Even our stickers are coming from Berwick!

The name for the soap brand is also all down to me, no matter how begrudgingly Robyn would be to admit this! The name is ‘Foam-O’, so that we can have a great tongue-in-cheek tagline of saying ‘Don’t get FOMO; get Foam-O’! At the moment, Robyn and Chris are having a great time experimenting with different colourants and essential oils, it’s really keeping us all on our toes and given us a new lease of life in regards to the lockdown. Of course, we are very aware of the global situation, and are continuing to help as many bird food customers as possible during this difficult time, but it is truly lovely to see my smiling daughter bouncing and excited.

Just because something negative may happen in the world does not mean you have to react negatively towards it. Encourage those around you, and wash your hands!

NB:

Now, making soaps can be quite dangerous, so it has been awfully surreal to see my daughter wandering around our house in a hazmat face suit and her John Deere overalls, but I’m becoming slowly accustomed! However, I would not recommend trying to make your own soaps due to the fact that the lye product can be harmful. Please do read all warnings before attempting any products and lockdown projects.