I have a confession to make…I have never really had a bucket list. I know many people have elaborate or exciting lists that they have added too and scratched things off of for years! I think that is so amazing. For myself however, I have never really come up with a big dream board or lists of things I hope to do one day. 

I believe this is partly because I have been blessed to be able to travel to so many different countries & experience life & cultures all over the world. And if I am honest I think it is also because I am afraid of wishing for things that might not come true. It feels safer to be surprised by something unexpected & have it fall into my lap rather than hope, plan & dream for something that may never come to be.

I find life is often a tug of war between hoping for things and being satisfied with the life you have.

But when too much emphasis is put on either side it takes away from the other.

I remember distinctly one afternoon my husband Joseph and I were visiting and he asked me what was on my bucket list. Surprised by the question, I quickly answered that I don’t have a bucket list. It was quiet for a minute and then he started to list a few things off of his list. We were quickly interrupted by one of our sweet children and the conversation stopped there. 

As I replayed our conversation in my mind, I began to feel a little disappointed that I did not have a bucket list. I felt like maybe by not making one I might be missing out on something I hoped for but never said out loud.

 

A few days later, before we were about to go to sleep, I brought up our bucket list conversation and sheepishly told my husband “I have something on my bucket list that would never be on yours”. I then shared my special wish of using only all natural products for our whole family of eight for several months, I wanted to see what it was like. Everything from our laundry detergent to our toothpaste, only with natural ingredients that were good for us all. He agreed that my wish would never be on his bucket list, but then He urged me to “Go for it, do whatever you need to do to make it happen”.

Down the rabbit hole I went, trying to educate myself and find the least expensive all natural products I could for our family of eight. And it was surely an enlightening quest! 

I found so many products that appeared to be natural but were really just greenwashed with eye catching labels. I found some really amazing, totally clean product lines, but knew our family wouldn’t be able to afford them. I also found many amazing DIY blogs and recipes to make your own all natural cleaning and skincare products. This aligned with our budget and this is what eventually led to the creation of Rooted For Good!

When I started out on the quest of only using natural ingredients to clean our home and care for our family, starting a business was definitely not on my radar. I loved the products I was creating so much and wanted my friends and family to be able to enjoy all natural products at more affordable prices as well. I offered to make skincare products for them as well and thought that would be as big as it would ever get.

Well I guess God had other plans! Rooted For Good has been a gift to our little family, people in need all over the world, and hopefully it has blessed your life in some way as well. Thank you for supporting our small business!

Brooke Summers