Headed Back to the Bar

I continue to be a big fan of HoCoLocal Twitter account @ECPix. They combine a love of Ellicott City with great photos around a variety of themes. I shared one here once on baked goods. Throughout the holiday shopping season the account featured several visual shopping/walking tours of Main Street businesses and their varied goods.

Today Ellicott City Pix focuses on making an environmentally sound change in the new year: Giving up liquid soap and using locally made bar soaps.

...so much better than purposefully rubbing a paragraph of complicated chemicals all over the skin, and ... no plastic containers. They last a pretty long time if you keep them dry. Plus, they can double as potpourri in the closet as they await use.

Locally made soaps mentioned in this thread include Milo Soap, Biggs & Featherbelle, and Breezy Willow Farm soaps made by Rose Caulder. I have bought the latter to give as gifts and they smell heavenly without being overpowering.

What do you think? Is it time to say no to the endless plastic pump containers and choose natural bar soaps? What would happen if we made a concerted effort to purchase locally made soaps instead?

Do you have any local businesses you’d like to recommend to my readers and/environmentally friendly changes we ought to be considering in the New Year?

Let me know.

Comments

Getting Fresh

One of my favorite days in the Spring comes when this year’s list of Farmer’s Markets is released. That happened this week. New this year are markets in Old Ellicott City and the “Merriweather Market” which, according to the address, will be located here . I mistakenly thought at first glance that it was in the new-construction part of the Merriweather District. I find the name confusing considering its actual location. I’m going to guess that this market is an initiative of the Howard Hughes Corporation because the name seems chosen more for branding purposes than anything else. Alas, the market in Maple Lawn is gone. The thread on the markets on the County Executive’s FB page will provide you with quite the education in who actually runs the Farmers Markets vs what people often think is going on. Short answer: they are not chosen nor run by the county. Each market is an independent entity, sometimes started by community volunteers, other times supported by local businesses...

They Can Wait

This is not a typical Saturday post. That’s because, in my community, it’s not a typical Saturday. Oakland Mills High School, after years of deferred repair, needs massive renovation. It’s pretty simple: when you don’t fix a problem it gets bigger. The school system itself said the the OMHS school building was "no longer conducive to learning" back in 2018. 2018 . But Thursday the Boad of Education voted to push it out of the lineup of important projects which will be given the go-ahead to proceed soonest. In my opinion it’s a terrible decision and sets a dangerous precedent. To explain, here’s the advocacy letter I sent in support of Oakland Mills High School. I was rather proud of it. I am writing to ask you to proceed with needed renovation at Oakland Mills High School in the most timely and comprehensive manner humanly possible. I have read the letter sent to you by the Oakland Mills Community Association and I am in complete agreement. You are extremel...

What Kids Are Thinking

It’s a Monday in February, and if you guessed that a lot of Howard County students have the new cell phone policy on their minds, you’d be right. It will mean big changes and it will be stressful, no matter how much good we hope it will do in the long run. But on this particular Monday cell phones might not be top of mind, as amazing as that seems. Some kids will go to school wondering if they or family members will be seized by ICE. Some will fear that their parents’ employment will be purged by the ongoing rampage of Elon Musk and his cronies through Federal Government. Some fear heightened and renewed racism as programs that supprted Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion are vilified and destroyed. Some worry that it soon won’t be safe for them to use the bathroom in school anymore. It goes without saying that some kids fear going to school every day because of the prevalence of school shootings. And look! Here’s something new to fear. That old hate group, Libs of TikTo...

Village Green/Town²

Search This Blog