I Found an Old Box of Soap • Notes from the Mountain

I Found an Old Box of Soap

Notes from the Mountain • Issue No. 16

Notes from the Mountain is Mountain Goat Soap Co.'s weekly journal, where I share stories from the outdoors, the workshop, travel, and the everyday adventures that inspire both my life and my work.

A funny thing happened this week. I was supposed to be packing hiking gear. Instead, I was cleaning and organizing my supply room in the workshop. Sometimes life has other plans. A climbing trip was canceled. A trip to Germany I had been looking forward to won't happen this year after all.

For a minute, I found myself looking at the calendar wondering what to do with the empty spaces where those plans used to be. I'm sure that has happened to all of us. Not every year unfolds the way we imagined it would. Since I wasn't going anywhere, I decided it was finally time to tackle a few projects around the workshop that I'd been putting off.

It wasn't long before I found a box in the way back on a shelf behind a stack of molds. I almost set it aside without opening it. I'm glad I didn't. Inside were some of the very first bars of soap I ever made. Yikes.

Let's just say I've learned a thing or two. The layers and swirls weren't exactly graceful. The colors were...enthusiastic. Some bars looked less like mountain landscapes and more like geology experiments. The funny thing is, I remember being incredibly proud of every one of them.

Long before I ever offered soap for sale, I spent countless hours experimenting. I tried recipe after recipe, different oils, different additives, and different techniques. Some batches were wonderful. Some...weren't. But every one taught me something.

Looking at those old bars this week, I realized something. The recipe may not change much anymore. But I still do. I genuinely love the soap I make today, and hearing customers tell me it's the best soap they've ever used never gets old. That doesn't mean I've stopped looking for ways to make things better.

Can I create a cleaner swirl? Can I improve a design? Can I make the packaging feel a little more special? Can I make shopping on the website a little easier? Can I make opening a Mountain Goat Soap Co. box feel like a little event instead of just another delivery?

I don't think that part will ever be finished. There's always another idea to try. Another skill to learn. Another little improvement to make. Standing there looking at those old bars, I realized they weren't reminders of how much I've improved. They were reminders that I've never stopped trying to improve.

Maybe that's one of the unexpected gifts of plans changing. When we're always looking ahead, it's easy to forget to look back once in a while. I still wish I was going to be standing on a mountaintop next week. I still wish we'd be visiting family in Germany. But, those adventures will have to wait.

Instead, I found myself spending an afternoon remembering where this business began. And it reminded me why I still love walking into the workshop every day. Not because I've figured it all out.

But because I haven't.

From the Trail:

A short reflection inspired by the outdoors.

"Sometimes the journey back is worth taking."

More soon,

Dianne

Bring the outside in.