HOMEMADE SUGAR SCRUB

This sugar scrub is something that I've used for years.  I always keep it made up in a Lock-N-Lock container in my shower.  I use it everywhere - from my face to my feet and all the spaces in between.

There is no set formula - it all depends of the size of the container you use.  It's definitely not rocket science.  But, it feels oh-so-good!

Pour a little lemon juice into the bottom of your container.  The lemon juice has alpha hydroxy acids in it and helps loosen dead skin cells.

Pour in some sugar.  This is your abrasive - it helps remove all those dead skin cells.  I read once where a dermatologist said that you should never put anything on your skin more abrasive than sugar.  My thought:  Why not just use sugar?  Yes, I am simple minded.

Stir it together to make a thick paste.  You may need to add a little more sugar or lemon juice to get it to the consistency you want.

Add a little bit of olive oil.  This will help moisturize your skin.  You can also add honey.  Some people wash their faces with straight honey due to it's cleansing and anti-bacterial qualities.  Sometimes I add it.  Sometimes I don't.

Stir to combine.  Viola!  You're done.

Put a lid on it and stick it where the sun don't shine - I mean stick it in the shower.

I use mine about every other day and it does a great job of keeping the dry, flaky skin away - even on those tough places like knees and elbows.

Happy Homemaking!

HOW TO MAKE A HEAT PACK

Back a few months ago I came across a tutorial that Holly from Homebody did on making heat packs.  She had seen it floating around the internet herself.  Since we cannot seem to find our electric heating pad, I decided to make one myself.  I couldn't believe how much better the heat from the rice pack penetrated sore muscles than our electric pad.  I let Holly know that I had made one and how much I liked it.  She told me that the rice is a wet heat and therefore penetrates better.  (Her husband is a chiropractor.)

I gave the original one I made to my MIL because she has a lot of pain in her spine.  She can't sing it's praises enough.  She said it is so soothing to her.  This is also the same sort of heat pack that my mom uses.  Sometimes simple is just plain better.  So, I thought I'd share how to make them as well.

I had bought this small tablecloth at Goodwill back several months ago thinking the material might be good for something.  And at $1 I think it was a pretty good bargain.  You can see I've used some of it already.  This is what I'll be using today.

*I am going to make the packs straight from this material.  But, I have also made some from muslin and used this to make washable covers for the muslin heat packs.  The choice is yours.

Decide on the size you want your heat pack to be and cut 2 pieces of material the same size.  This one is about 10" x 15".  A square that is 12" x 12" is a good size.  I have also made long tubes to wrap around the neck and shoulders.  Really, it's just a personal preferance, not rocket science.

Place your 2 pieces of material together (right sides facing) and sew up 3 sides with a straight stitch.  Leave 1 short end completely open.  Also, the 2 long sides should be left open 1" from the top that is open.  This will leave you with a flap to fold in and make a finished edge at the end.

Once the 3 sides are sewn, flip it inside out and press. 

Now you're going to make the channels to fill it.  I like to have 3.  The channels will help keep the rice a little more evenly distributed.  Figure out how far apart they need to be.  Each of my channels needed to be just over 3" wide, so I marked them with straight pins all the way  up.

When I got to the top with the opened end - I measured down 1" and put a straight pin in the opposite direction.  This is my starting point for sewing my channels.  Remember, I left an inch on each side open as well.

Start at the pin marking 1" from the top and sew a straight line all the way down the length of the fabric using the straight pins as your guide.  Repeat for the next channel.  Don't forget to back stitch at the top to reinforce it.

Now you are ready to fill it with rice or corn.  You could also use dried beans.  But, I like the rice.  You can also add dried herbs if you wish.  I added dried lavender.  Only fill about 3/4 full.  You want the rice to be able to move around a bit. 

Once the pack is filled, fold each 1" flap at the top in towards the middle - meeting at the seams.  You will have a 1/2 " flap now.  Press it and pin it so the rice doesn't fall out.  See the picture below.

I like to close mine off with 2 seams for reinforcement.  I set my needle as far to the right as it will go and use my presser foot as a guide for my first row of stitching.  Don't forget to back stitch at the beginning and the end.

Next, I move my needle back to middle position and sew another row with a 1/2" seam allowance.  That's it.  You're heat pack is now done.

These packs can go in the microwave for about 2 minutes (depending on how your's heats) to warm it.  Or, they can go in the freezer when you need a cold pack.  The weight of these is really nice.

Even if you have limited sewing skills (like me), these are very simple to make.  I hope I made the directions understandable.  Very simple.  Very affordable.  Very effective.

Happy Homemaking!

A GRAPESEED OIL EXPERIMENT

I've talked about my kiddos sensitivity to chemicals before at my other blog, Ramblings of a Happy Homemaker .  It's not just his lungs (asthma) that we have to watch out for - his skin is also extremely sensitive.  The doctor told us to never allow him to take bubble baths (Can you imagine how awful that would be for a toddler?) and we had to use specific soaps.  Given his propensity for cleaning things, we've had to really work on shedding the chemicals in our house, as well as put a limit on what and when he could clean.

Winter naturally leaves skin drier, as I'm sure you've experienced.  A little while back Isaac used some lotion to combat his dry hands. 

Now, this is what we're up against.  Can you actually see the line where the milky white arm meets the lobster red hand?  We are having an awful time getting this cleared up.  Not only are his hands red - they're completely leathery.  And they tend to crack and bleed.  It's really not good.

Obviously, more lotion is not going to do the trick since it exacerbated the problem to begin with.  For a while now we've been making him lube up with olive oil.  But, I'm still not getting the results I'm looking for.  We haven't used antibacterial soap in this house for a long time now.  But, I'm beginning to wonder if the chemicals in our regular old liquid hand soap are still too much for his sensitive skin.

So, I've decided to do an experiment.  I kicked out the liquid hand soap and replace it with a bar of natural (no chemicals) soap.

This bar just so happens to be Kirk's Castile Soap.  But, I'm not going to be fussy about it - just so long as it isn't chemical-laden, I don't really care.  And, yes, I realize that the soap isn't in a proper soap dish and that it is really too big for that container.  But, this is an exercise in the art of using-what-you-have and the latter will take care of itself with use. :0)

The next thing I did was to empty the old hand soap dispenser and fill it with grapeseed oil.  Isaac's instructions are to lube up after the wash up.

This ought to make it easier for his 9 year old boy brain to remember.

If you're wondering why grapeseed oil - check out this little bit of info lifted straight from Wikipedia.

Grape seed oil is a preferred cosmetic ingredient for damaged and stressed tissues, possessing regenerative and restructuring qualities which allow for strong control of skin moisturization. It can help skin retain the normal structure of epithelium cells and nerve cells via supporting the cell membranes. It is noted to be especially effective for repair of the skin around the eyes. Used as an all-over skin moisturizer, grape seed oil is known to reduce the look of stretch marks. A light, thin oil, grape seed oil leaves a glossy film over the skin when used as a carrier oil for essential oils in aromatherapy. It contains more linoleic acid than many other carrier oils. Grape seed oil is also usable as a lubricant for face shaving. In addition, grape seed oil applied to the feet each morning clears up many foot problems such as itching, scaly flaking and odor.

There is so much more information out there regarding the virtues of grapeseed oil that I couldn't even begin to scratch the surface.  Take for instance the facts that it is supposed to lower cholesterol and lubricate joints when used in cooking.  Just google it if you're interested in finding out more about it.  But, for our purposes as a topical application - I'm finding that I like it better than olive oil as a moisturizer at the moment due to the fact that it is lighter and seems to penetrate the skin more readily.  The cost is comparable to olive oil.

We've only been using this system for about a day and a half now.  But, the color of Isaac's hands has changed from 3rd degree sunburn to 2nd degree sunburn already, I think.  So, I'm really hoping that this experiment in avoiding all chemicals and adding good moisture rich nutrients to his skin will finally be the steps to getting his hands back to normal.  But, I really like the system set up at our bathroom sink already.  It's definitely helping my hands.  They have a tendancy to crack and bleed this time of year with the dry air and 50 gazillion hand-washings a day.  So, I'll think we'll definitely be keeping it.  I'll keep you updated with our results. 

Happy Homemaking!

GOODBYE, SINUS INFECTIONS!

Probably one of the most important parts of homekeeping is keeping the people that live in the home healthy. This time of year, especially, sinus infections seem to be lurking around every corner. No family seems to be immune.

I have a terrible history with sinus infections. Growing up, I didn't even have to make a trip to the pediatrician for him to call me in an antibiotic due to my history. Then, there were the times I would try to self-medicate with an over-the-counter pill so I wouldn't have to pump anymore of those antibiotics into my system than absolutely necessary. Once, I accidentally overdosed on Actifed. Usually, I would take 2 Sudafed, but Actifed only required 1 pill. I took 2 on an empty stomach. Then I went to church. That made for a re-heal-ly exciting evening. We'll just leave it at that. Anyhoo...before we moved to Florida my sinus infections would almost instantaneously turn into bronchitis. I didn't get them quite as often while we lived in the Sunshine State. But, the minute I would head north I was in for a doozy.

During my time in Florida I started to hear about sinus flushing. I couldn't find the neti pots that you were supposed to use to do this. So, I improvised and used salt water and a nasal aspirator. It wasn't the greatest approach - but, it helped. Nowadays, you can find neti pots almost anywhere.

They come in a kit with saline packets and the neti pot itself. These things are a God-send!

It reminds me of an Aladdin lamp. It is so easy to use that my husband (who would not use the nasal aspirator) and nine year old son use it regularly.

The refill packets are cheap. I think this box of 100 cost me $9.99.

Dr. Oz (and about every other doctor out there now) recommends flushing your sinuses to stay healthy. They say that all sickness starts in the sinuses and then progresses to the throat, the chest, yada, yada,yada... I received an e-mail recently regarding the Swine Flu virus. It said that the virus stays in the sinuses for something like 2 days before it germinates (or whatever viruses do). So, they said that if you flushed your sinuses daily, you wouldn't get the H1N1 virus. I don't have medical facts supporting my next thought - but it seems to me that the same thing would be true for any flu bug flying around.

I am convinced that we have been spared at least one trip to the doctor for antibiotics this year to get rid of a sinus infection, and probably more. My husband likes to sleep with a fan. But, it can't be pointed at his head or he will wake up with a sinus infection. This seems weird to me - but after 14 years of marriage, I don't even try to understand it anymore. I just know that's how it works for him. About a month or so ago - the fan got moved and he woke up with those burning sinuses. So, he flushed them before he went to work. By the time he came home, they weren't burning anymore. He continued to flush them morning and night for the next couple of days. By the 2nd or 3rd day he was completely over it. No trip to the doctor required. Let me just say, that was a first.

The box says that this is so safe that you can safely flush your sinuses up to 20 times a day. I can't possible imagine needing to do it that many times. But, hey, whatever.

It may seem like a strange thing to do if you've never flushed your sinuses before. But, truly, it's quick, easy and painless. My nine year old flushes his all by himself. And, $.10 per pack of saline seems like a cheap price to pay to keep my family healthy. I hope you consider flushing your sinuses the next time an infection comes knocking on your door.

Happy Homekeeping!