optimisticsoap.bsky.social

I get so wrapped up in activist content that I sometimes forget I'm a soapmaker. Back to my roots. Fun fact: Billionaire Tears is sea salt, seaweed and white tea. Calm the Fuck Down is lavender and fresh hay. Shockingly soothing. All of it's at optimisticsoap.com

Races you know nothing about? vote411.org is a great resource! (League of Women Voters. Nonpartisan and it shows YOUR ballot) You can also check who's endorsing them and look them up on ballotpedia.org. Still stuck? Ask a politically savvy friend. I'm in a group text where we do exactly that.

Portland, OR: No Kings is Saturday, 10/17! Salmon Street Springs, rally at noon, march at 1. RSVP: www.mobilize.us/nokings/even... Elsewhere? Find your own at nokings.org

The Reflecting Pool is refilling. The contractor's own reports blamed its mistakes, not vandals, including one worker's sweat sealed under the paint. Same contractor, no bids, $16M+ spent. The Deflecting Pool is back in stock. optimisticsoap.com/product-page/the-deflecting-pool

When my friend Ali told me she'd joined the Oregon Justice Resource Center and wanted to do something, it was an immediate "fuck yeah!" We I go way back to Nasty Women Get Shit Done. We're at it again. $10 = a shot at 20 bars of soap. Ends 10/19 ⚖️
oregoninnocence.org/optimistic-soap-fundraiser

One-woman show for YEARS, stubbornly refusing help. But asking for help isn't failure. It's growth. Since hiring my friend Jane, I haven't had to shut my site down once. We met on the board of Nasty Women Get Shit Done. Doing hard, important activist work together makes you lifelong friends.

Oct 17's No Kings event is Vote Early Day — same energy, aimed at the ballot box this time (not a rally as before). Check registration, find your polling place, make a plan: nokings.org In 2018 after 2 years of organizing, midterm turnout hit a 50-year high and flipped power in DC.

After 2016, my friends Ali and Kirsten co-founded Nasty Women Get Shit Done and we got a LOT of shit done, including designing the In Our America flag. You can still purchase merch at InOurAmericaLoveWins.org Now Ali and I are teaming up again and we are so excited ! Find out what tomorrow!

I just couldn't do a salesy reel today. Too much that's genuinely frightening. But my fall soaps are here:
🎃 All Hallow's Eve: lime, florals, spun sugar, vanilla
🍂 Pumpkin Spice: cinnamon, brown sugar, vanilla The world is scary enough. Your shower doesn't have to be. 🧼 www.optimisticsoap.com

Comment here: www.regulations.gov/commenton/FS... Tip: don't just say you're against it — name a place and why it matters to you. Agencies have to substantively respond to comments like that. Form letters, not so much. Include places and your own story! Deadline: Oct 6.

Every time I post these, they sell out fast. But today, I've laid in an ample supply. Shhh: 🤬 5-pack $3 🤬 Shit ton (50) $20 🤬 Fuck ton (100) $30 🤬 Unholy Fuck Ton (666) $150 38,000+ have been released this year. What would YOU do with yours? www.optimisticsoap.com/product-page...

I've used vote.org myself — legit, nonpartisan nonprofit, no spam, no donation asks. VoteSafe.org, on the other hand, is run by Elon Musk's PAC and sells your name, address, and registration status to advertisers. Bookmark vote.org. Skip VoteSafe.org.

Why the midterms are crucial: Flipping the House means real oversight — hearings, votes that never reach the floor now. To all who think they’ll just steal the election: officials are war-gaming interference. Our job is to VOTE. Don’t give up (that’s what they want).

“I Will Always Love You” wasn’t a love song — it was Dolly’s goodbye to Porter Wagoner, who launched her career, then sued her when she left. Years later, when he struggled, she bought and gave back his company. They reconciled and was there when he died. Such grace. I want to be more like that.

Small makers — this is your space today. So many of you aren’t getting the attention I’ve been lucky enough to get. There’s room for all of us. Brag about your shop. Never made a sale? Say so — let’s fix that. Not a soap maker? You’re welcome too! Followers: find your new favorite maker below.

SAVE America Act: passed House twice, NOT the Senate — not law yet, expected back in September. Be prepared. If it passes: proof of citizenship to register. Marriage certificate alone doesn’t count. What works: passport, or birth certificate + matching photo ID. Free help: VoteRiders.org 🧼

Create a free account at Vote Forward. Browse campaigns, pick one. Adopt voters (start with 5). Download templates, write something real. Mail by the date given. Mine: “Sick of the chaos, sick of not affording daily life? Then VOTE — for you, your family, this country.” votefwd.org

I’ve been doubling the number of stickers in every bulk order (oops!) — orders moving forward are now correctly sized. Box text: “Unholy Fuck Ton. 666 tiny fuck stickers. Use responsibly (or don’t).” The full liability disclaimer in this product listing: www.optimisticsoap.com/product-page...

Libraries make us a harder target for authoritarianism. Equal access to info, ideas, and space that doesn’t require a purchase to belong. Also: using the library means money stays in your community instead of streaming out to Amazon. 📚 What’s checked out on your card right now?

It’s here! My Deflecting Pool soap. Murky greens, American Flag Blue curls, wildflower fragrance. This week, Pirro’s office admitted in court: the pool wasn’t vandalized, it was faulty installation. Charges dropped. Deflection, karma, a good soap. www.optimisticsoap.com/product-page...

This isn’t just a feeling. It’s real. A 2024 study found progressive IG accounts saw reach drop 65% after Meta’s algorithm changes. Liking, commenting, saving, sharing — one of the only levers we have. Look for: Heather Cox Richardson, Robert Reich, PoliticsGirl, Joy-Ann Reid, Aaron Parnas.

✍️ Start a letter-writing party. Tea, snacks, an hour of writing. @votefwd gives you free templates and has run 29 experiments testing whether letters move voter turnout — most show they do. votefwd.org 💸 Fundraise (yard sale, bake sale, trivia night) for groups fighting the chaos.

Confession: @dogfooddude threw me under the bus — he was just as guilty in this fuckery. History will remember the truth. Tiny stickers, big damage: 🤬 5-pack $2 🤬 Shit ton (50) $15 🤬 Fuck ton (100) $24 🤬 Unholy Fuck Ton (666) $100 optimisticsoap.com/product-page/tiny-fuck-stickers

I trust @votesaveamerica (Pod Save America’s folks) to send donations where they matter most. Giving direct to a candidate? Skip the text link — fewer middlemen take a cut. I’m donating $1/bar sold in August to the Anxiety Relief Program. Join me! votesaveamerica.com/donate/anxie...

Some of you think calling Congress doesn’t matter. I got skeptical too — turns out personal, specific contact genuinely sways lawmakers, and staffers track it. That’s why I like 5calls.org: real issues, tailored scripts, no form-letter energy. Ninety seconds. No outside pants required.

Someone recently disagreed with something I said [can’t recall what] and unfollowed over it. Fair enough. I’m kicking off Tiny Acts of Resistance and know it’ll bring disagreement. That’s allowed — just do it constructively. We link arms or we lose.

Nightstand stack: “On Courage” (Angwin & Fields-Meyer), “Democracy in Retrograde” (Sage & Amick), and Jenny Lawson’s “How to Be Okay When Nothing Is Okay” — hope, real tips for engagement, and laughs for the exhausted activist. What are YOU reading? Beach reads count too. 🧼

🗳️ Donate monthly to a legal watchdog 🪧 Yard sign for a progressive candidate 🤝 Help an immigrant neighbor know their rights 📣 Amplify posts — like, comment, share 🥫 Volunteer at a food bank 📰 Renew a lapsed news subscription $1/bar this month → Democracy Forward. Who will you adopt?

It smell like algae — it’s a green, energizing wildflower-meadow scent. What should I call it? Team Algae, after @warriorgoddessfortheresistance’s reflecting pool protest. Also in the running: American Flag Blue. The Reflecting Pool. Or your idea — win and get a bar. Thoughts?

Starting a series: Tiny Acts of Resistance, built with this community. Not about doing anything dangerous or heroic. This is easy stuff that works if it’s sustained. Hopelessness feeds on inaction so it’s also healthy. Who are you boycotting? How are you speaking up? What have you got?

Need a shot of hope? Rachel Maddow’s interview with the authors of “On Courage” gave me one I didn’t know I needed. Julia Angwin: what we’re all doing right now is “textbook what you want to see in a resistance.” Go listen: www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PQC...

🪄 Stir anything clockwise, saying: “Karma come quickly. Let justice be done. For the greater good of everyone.” Point the intention where it needs to go. I posted this spell last year. Didn’t expect nature to answer so clearly. Hail at Rushmore. The Mall, stormed out. Keep stirring 🧼

We debated hanging the flag upside down today. Bought it years ago so far-right extremists couldn’t take this symbol without a fight — it’s meant for all of us. Are you flying the flag today?

$1,507 raised for trans orgs in June — because of soap buyers AND everyone who commented, shared, and reposted. You gave me my reach back. July’s dollar-a-bar goes to Democracy Forward — the legal firewall keeping this administration from getting away with even more. 🧼 optimisticsoap.com

250 years. I’m flying the flag Saturday — I refuse to let them take that. But I won’t pretend I’m not conflicted. Patriotism doesn’t belong to this administration. It belongs to all of us. How are you feeling about the 4th?

I don’t mind when people self-deport from my feed but it’s funny they announce it on the way out. Whatever your politics: spend your money with businesses whose values align with your own. Small biz owners: BRAG below. What do you make? What do you stand for? Everyone else: scroll, follow, buy.

About the “Resist You Motherfuckers” stickers: the profanity is there for a reason. This moment (as we swing hard into the midterms), is urgent, and we’re past the luxury of polite language. optimisticsoap.com/product-page/resist-you-motherf-ers-sticker 🧼

Petty joy is allowed (his name off the Kennedy Center, the $14M reflecting pool paint peeling off — delicious). Mocking tyrants cuts them to size. And that’s tasty! But the Obama Center opening? That’s soul-nourishing, substantial joy. Go find some video and mainline that joy!

This month, every soap sold sends $1 to Trans Equality Now and Trans Lifeline. So far? $739. Might break $1,000! I didn’t do that alone. YOU did — everyone who bought soap, liked, commented, or shared. Honestly, this post is just a thank you to you for your support! www.optimisticsoap.com

This fundraiser completely flopped at first. I admitted we’d only raised a few hundred dollars toward a $5k goal. I asked you to donate OR just engage with the reel. It worked: $19,349.80 raised. More than double my previous best. Thank you!

Still not over being called a “soap influencer.” (See my previous reel) But the soap brings me joy and pays the bills. This account is sometimes Activism + soap + random thoughts. If that appeals to you — WELCOME. 💙 Rose Garden → www.optimisticsoap.com/product-page...

Apparently I’m the #4 soap making influencer in the country, which is not a sentence I ever expected to type. I’ve never been paid for content. No brand deals. Just a soap maker with Thoughts about activism, joy, and getting through these times together. If that’s influence, I’ll take it. 🧼

Schadenfreude: petty joy at a fascist’s outdoor birthday UFC fight getting rained out. 🌩️ (80% chance Sunday evening in DC. LOL) Counter-programming: riseupsingout.com · free · June 14 · 7:30pm ET · lineup is FIRE 🔥 He’s obsessed with ratings. Let’s make sure we overshadow that UFC event!

Coming out in many Asian cultures can feel like a betrayal of generations who sacrificed everything for you. That feeling is real — and it says nothing about your worth. You absolutely deserve all the love. Leave a comment — the allies here will show up for you. I love you. I’m proud of you. 🏳️‍🌈

Schadenfreude (n.) — pleasure derived from another’s misfortune. Not normally a kind feeling. But these are not normal times. 🧼 His approval rating at 31% — lowest since the 1940s. Petty? Absolutely. Let’s enjoy it together!

My reach tanked last month — a tenth of normal. You have more power than the algorithm does. A like, comment, share, or save sends a real signal. Extra credit: visit my bio and show some love to older posts too. Just this once, the ask is for me.

Something is shifting. Republicans breaking from the war, the slush fund, the indefensible stuff. It happened because of YOU. The calls. The rallies. The refusal to look away. The cracks in the wall are the accumulation of everything you did. Thank you. Keep going.

🧼 This June, every bar of soap I sell sends $1 to: → @transequalitynow → @translifeline 📣 Say the thing out loud 🔁 Amplify trans voices 📞 Call Congress — support the Transgender Bill of Rights (5calls.org) 🏳️‍ Buy queer — Everywhere is Queer app Show up however you can. 🏳️‍⚧️

TiOS flare-up check — how are you holding up? The DNC tweet (mean? a little. accurate? completely). The Strait of Hormuz doing whatever it’s doing. Stephen Colbert’s finale. NSFW around my house. Yours? TiOS is real. Not in the DSM. Should be. Download 5Calls. Rage usefully.

🌿 Lemongrass 🔮 Spellbound. Rosemary and lemongrass. 🌊 Oregon Coast. Lavender, rosemary, lemongrass and peppermint. 🌲 Forest Park. Lavender, cedarwood, lime and rosemary. 🖤 Slate. Lime and tea tree 🌱 Doublemint Scrub. Peppermint, spearmint. Finally back! All at optimisticsoap.com while they last!