Why do I encourage people to take care of their people with cows milk soap? Well, yes of course I want people to buy my soap - I wouldn't have a business if I didn't! But I also see my soap as a way of taking care of families, someone going through a hard time, a traveler who longs for something that feels homey when they are away from home. We need to take care of the people around us because, well, we need each other. There are so many ways of doing this, and one of them is giving beautiful and practical gifts like soap.
When I asked myself questions like, "what does my soap do for people?" and "how have I seen people using my soap over the years?" there were several things that stuck out to me. And they all came back to people caring for themselves and each other.
First of all, soap is a basic necessity of life. It is used multiple times a day, every day, by everyone! Soap in general literally takes care of people by keeping us clean and protecting us from germs and pathogens. It keeps our food safe and our bodies healthy.
Secondly, people love giving soap to those around them to show them they care - especially beautiful handmade soap. One of the most touching stories I heard from one of my customers was this: after this woman purchased my soap she told me she was going to give it to a friend of hers who recently lost her husband. "A little bit of self-care is important in times like that," she said. That really moved me. I imagined that hurting woman receiving a thoughtful gift of natural body care products from her friend and feeling so seen and loved. While I was saddened for this woman's loss, I was also touched to be a small part of that act of kindness.
Lastly, the brands and products we use daily become a part of our life. The smell, texture, and therefore comfort people get from using their favorite bar of The Sudsy Cow soap becomes a part of their daily lives. For example, the Chocolate Mint soap I made this Christmas was a fun nod to a tradition my great-grandfather had. Something I remember about him was that he always had Andes chocolate mints in his pocket, and I would get one every time we visited him. Little things in life like a certain candy bar, a certain scent, or style of artwork - whatever it is - it becomes little reminders of our home or a memory whenever we see them out and about. I have a friend that travels frequently and she always brings a bar of The Sudsy Cow lavender soap with her because it is a sweet reminder of home and something in her day than can feel "normal" even when she is in other states or countries.
These are all examples of how my soap can take care of people. But even more I hope that this 'slogan' of sorts, "Take Care of Your People," challenges you to consider how you can take care of the people around you even in the smallest of ways. If you are a parent (especially a mother), you take care of your people all day long, so this is an easy one for you! It is so important to start in the home and take care of our family members, as I believe if things in your home aren't right, then you aren't going to show up well in the world for others.
However, I also hope that you can think of ways to take care of your friends or people in your community, like that woman who bought some special soap and body care products for her friend who lost her husband. Take someone a meal who just had surgery or a baby or had a really, really bad day. Send a note to someone who needs to know you are thinking about them and think they are special. Shovel snow off your neighbor's driveway. It could even be as simple as saying a kind word to someone or smiling and being pleasant to the person behind the checkout counter at the grocery store.
Let's take care of the people around us. God gave us the Bible as a blueprint for how to live as a human in this world according to the way He designed us, for our sanctification and His glory. He created us to need each other, and in so doing it is not surprising He commanded us to "look not only to [our] own interests, but also to the interests of others."(Philippians 2:4)
I'm sharing all this not because I think I am really great at taking care of the people around me, but because I want to be better at it. I need to remind myself of this often. Even daily. Don't you want people looking out for you? Don't you want to look out for others? Then let's take our eyes off ourselves a little bit more and instead look for the needs around us and take care of our people.
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