“If we are going to learn how to tame the paper tiger, do we get paper whips and chairs?” This was Gayle’s question before we attended a seminar yesterday on getting organized. The seminar was titled “Taming the Paper Tiger in the Digital Age”. The speaker was Barbara Hemphill with The Paper Tiger Institute.

We received some good information, some things were not new but it is helpful to get a refresher from time to time. Her basic message was that organization is a very personal thing. Everyone has to find what works for them and turn it in to a habit. The system you use should “Save You Space Time Energy and Money”. She did not advocate, like so many reality shows these days that you should throw away everything and completely purge your files, closets, computers, etc. Keep anything you want as long as you are aware of the trade off in space, time, energy and money. If that trade off is worth it to you, keep your things. They should be stored in an organized fashion, but you don’t need a dumpster to be organized.

“Clutter is only postponed decisions” Everything that is lying around the house, office, car, etc is just awaiting a decision. Should it be filed, tossed, or have some immediate action taken for it…..once those decisions are made, the clutter is gone. Those decisions can be hard to make and for many people are put off and put off until the piles are seemingly everywhere. For some people, the inability to throw things out is an indicator that they have suffered a big loss somewhere in their past. The things take the place of whatever was lost and it is almost impossible to let go of those poor substitutes.

For me personally, the information given was a great motivator to get things organized. Having a small business means things need to be organized so nothing falls through the cracks. Business can be lost easily without a system for keeping up with it.

What are some organizational things that work for you? Share your tips; they might help someone else tame their paper tiger.

Jenn

We sent out our Glynne's Soaps Newsletter today. If you're not subscribed to our newsletter...you can do so here. Anyway, we though our blog readers might be interested in the same information on flea treatments.

Poisoning your dog, just to get rid of fleas, doesn’t make much sense. Yes, fleas are annoying and can make everyone miserable. However, using pesticides that are known to be toxic, can shut down internal organs, cause cancer and disrupt the endocrine (hormone) system is sort of like cutting off your arm because you have a paper cut.

No matter what your veterinarian says, all topical flea treatments (prescribed and over the counter) are pesticides. They do enter your dog’s system through the skin and cause damage, even if used appropriately. Why do you think they caution you not to come in contact with the oil? To wear gloves when applying? If it is hazardous for you, it is hazardous for your pet.

These hazards are not taken seriously by many in the industry. Since 2004, the EPA has received a total of 25,000 reports of reactions to these pesticides by pet owners. Many companies that produce these topical products credit the high number of these reactions to improper use of the product, but a large number of veterinarians express concerns about the product. “Even if it’s owner error much of the time, something is not working the way it should be. I think at the very least there needs to be much stronger warnings on those products cautioning pet owners about the dangers involved with using them”, said Stephanie Shain, director of outreach for the Humane Society of the United States.

Unfortunately, it’s almost impossible to know what ingredients are in these topical flea treatments due to the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act which was passed by Congress in 1949. Companies claimed that in order to keep their formulas from being stolen by other companies, they should be able to keep the ingredients confidential. All the ingredients they want kept under wraps are labeled as “inert”. This doesn’t mean that they are safe or benign, just that they are not as regulated by the EPA. They are usually even more toxic than the active ingredient, but have only been tested one time, not over a long period of use.

Some symptoms of pesticide poisoning to look for in your pet are burns on the skin, lethargy, tremors, vomiting, confusion, seizures, drooling and an unwillingness to eat or drink.

What Other Options Are There?

There are alternative treatments to ensure that your pet does not suffer for the potential adverse effects of topical pesticides. Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is a safe way of eradicating any insect infestation. It involves a whole new way of thinking about how to keep your pet happy and healthy all while preserving the quality of life on this planet. It addresses not only the damage to your pet from the pesticide, but also the damage to the earth as a whole and the dangers of pests becoming resistant to the toxic chemicals requiring even more toxic chemicals to be used.

The IPM system involves using supplements, dietary changes, and washing your pet with a soap that contains essential oils that are known for their ability to repel pests and are safe. Some of the most common flea repelling essential oils are Eucalyptus, Citronella, and Cedarwood. Eucalyptus and Citronella are also good for keeping the mosquitoes at bay. And Lavender oil will safely repel ticks. All these essential oils are safe to use on your dog. Please do not use them on your cats. Neem oil is not an essential oil, but it is great at killing fleas and ticks. It is safe for cats and dogs.

All of these oils can be found in the soaps on our website www.glynnesoaps.com Get some now so you can keep your pet safe and still get rid of fleas and ticks.

Yesterday was a big day here in the Glynne’s Soaps Research and Development Lab (aka our kitchen). We tried some new soaps and improved on a nearly new soap. The curing area has some great smells this morning.

The first smell I noticed come from the chocolate peppermint cupcake soaps we have created for Coastal Cupcakes, a local cupcake shop. They look great. Our resident “cupcake froster” did a great job after a tutoring session with the owner of Coastal Cupcakes. They look, and smell, good enough to eat. This brings us to the scary part of yesterday. It seems that Wrigley, our sales manager, also thought the cupcake soap looked good enough to eat, or at least taste. It seems that after a small lick of the cupcake (which really is just the oils and lye going through their chemical process to become soap) he decided they were not edible. I’m sure his tongue got quite a “zap”. We quickly took him outside and rinsed his mouth with lots of water, then called the vet. Her opinion was that he should be fine…..which he is. We told him to stick to being the best sales manager and not to worry about product testing.

We are truly excited for our cupcake soaps to be featured alongside the wonderful (and edible!) cupcakes at Coastal Cupcakes. Look for them there soon.

The next smell that I experience walking past our curing area is of the two beer soaps we made, testing some beers we received from breweries participating in Wilmington’s Brewgrass Festival. We had an IPA from Foothills Brewing Company in Winston-Salem, NC and a Peach Beer from RJ Rockers in Spartanburg, SC. My personal favorite is the peach, but they both have very nice scents.

I think that is one of my favorite aspects of soapmaking – the different scents and blends that can be produced. My shower favorites now are the Front Street Brewery Scottish Ale and the Citrus Zing, a refreshing orange ginger blend.

What are your favorite scents and smells? Leave us a coment and let us know. They don’t have to be soap smells, but maybe someday they will be!

Wrigley wants to remind you to visit our websire www.glynnesoaps.com to purchase any of our soaps...remember, no matter how good they may smell Do NOT taste them!

Jenn
soapmaker@glynnesoaps.com

PS – Wrigley would like to offer a rebuttal to yesterday’s soap tasting incident. “They look (and smell) like cupcakes!” WOOF WOOF

Now that things have settled back to a normal roar, I thought I’d take the time to update everyone on our weekend. We had a very busy, productive, and fun time this past weekend.

Our first stop was to volunteer at the 3rd Annual Brewgrass Festival in downtown Wilmington. It was held Saturday afternoon and featured 10 breweries from North and South Carolina. Each brewery brought 3 of their brews and gave unlimited tasting plus great conversation. The representatives from each brewery were knowledgeable and personable. We were able to talk with all of them about the opportunity to make soap using their unique brews. We pointed them toward the Front Street Brewery tent where they had our soaps made with their very popular Scottish Ale available for people to purchase. They all seemed very interested, and two breweries sent us home with samples (one is a peach beer and the other is a pale ale). We are excited to see how the soaps turn out. Another brewery was unable to give us a sample, but we are still excited about the opportunity to work with them. They make a blueberry beer that was my personal favorite. I think it will make a great soap as well.

Sunday afternoon we headed to a festival called “Kids Summer Stock”. It was a fundraiser to support the local food bank. They had all sorts of fun things for kids to do, like three inflatables (bounce houses), free popcorn and ice cream, a clown doing face painting and making balloon animals and kid friendly entertainment (a kid’s singer and story reading). They allowed us to set up as one of the vendors for free so we could sell our soaps and also talk with kids and their parents about buying all natural products because they are safer for them and also for the environment. Wrigley, our sales manager, went with us and he was a big hit. He loves it when people pet him and comment on how soft he is. Then he points them toward the all natural soap he uses. (That’s why he is the sales manger!) We did have a great time talking with a variety of people, and even sold some soap as a bonus.

Continuing in to the week, Monday morning we met for coffee with Kimberly to talk about face and body care and essential oils. She works at a local salon performing facials and body wraps and is very knowledgeable about the healing benefits of essential oils. She had some great ideas and information and was just fun to spend time with. Kimberly told us that coffee and coffee grounds are a great natural way to fight cellulite. I'll be using the coffee soap on my thighs from now on

In the middle of all this, we are also in negotiations with someone who wants to place a very large order. It has us very excited about all the future possibilities, but scrambling to get all our ducks in a row so we can fulfill his needs.

Take some time from your busy summers to show around our website. We have all natural soaps for dogs and their human companions in many different varieties. Our “Bug Off” soap is getting rave reviews for it’s ability to ward off the flying insects with it’s non toxic, good for the environment blend of essential oils.

Jenn
soapmaker@glynnesoaps.com

I don’t know about your area of the world, but here in Coastal North Carolina the season of bugs is upon us. There are times when it seems that nothing can be done except pull out the chemical bug spray. Unfortunately, the chemicals in most bug sprays are far more hazardous than some annoying biting and itching. DEET, for example, can cause skin rashes, lethargy, muscle spasms, nausea, and irritability. An extreme reaction can cause seizures and even death. This is because approximately 56% of the chemicals sprayed on your skin enter the blood stream.

There are natural ways to reduce the annoyance and biting caused by insects. There are essential oils that are good at repelling those nasty critters. These oils are citronella, eucalyptus, cedar wood, lemongrass, peppermint and lavender. They are all aromatic essential oils that are all natural and will diminish the biting and stinging.

Fortunately, Glynne’s Soaps has a soap that contains all these essential oils plus ravensara, which has been shown to be a natural antihistamine and can reduce the itching caused by bug bites. This soap also has a very pleasant aroma, in fact the different scents are more pronounced to different people. Some really smell the peppermint, others the eucalyptus, and others smell different aspects.

Another soap to consider is the Misty Mountain. This soap contains a refreshing blend of Eucalyptus and Tea Tree oils. The Eucalyptus properties help keep the bugs at bay, and the Tea Tree oil is a natural antiseptic which can keep down the itching and reduce any swelling and inflammation.

Both of these soaps are available on our website at www.glynnesoaps.com

*The all natural essential oils are not as powerful as the chemical bug sprays. If you have a condition where receiving a bite can be life threatening, please use what is recommended by your physician.