"Natural" Face Washes

I bet a good chunk of society pays a bunch of money each month or two for face wash. Once I looked at the ingredient list on some of them, I was shocked. Some of them, even those claiming themselves "natural", have plastic bits in them.  Yes plastic. That is essentially made just to wash straight down the drain for little fish to eat.  Next time you buy something with an exfoliant in it, look for something without polyethelyne in it–yup plastic. You can get actually natural exfoliation from scrubs that have salt, sugar, baking soda, seed husks, oatmeal and more–anything with a natural coarseness to it. Even, make your own!  I just use baking soda but if you want something a bit more luxurious, have a peek around the internet for recipes–there's so many, almost for any taste! But essentially, something coarse (like the list I had before), a binder like honey or olive/almond oil, and sometimes some lemon juice or tea. Cheap luxury with ingredients you already have!

Rain Barrel!

I finally got my rain barrel together!
It was actually quite simple to drill the hole–there is an attachment in the DIY rainbarrel kit I got from Canadian Tire:

In the past I had covered the lid with a fine plastic mesh to keep our mosquitoes (so very high tech):

I slit the plastic mesh to fit in the downspout and propped up the barrel with rocks so it wouldn't roll away:

Success!

The Least Expensive Dry Shampoo Ever

A way to stretch the value of your baking soda shampoo even further is by introducing a "dry shampoo" on some of the days in between. I find that I will now only wash my hair every 4 or 5 days. On that 4th or 5th day (when I start seeing a bit of grease, and really only in my bangs), I will apply some corn starch to my hair with a "blush brush" or some other fairly large soft bristled brush and then comb it out.  Apparently it soaks up the grease and moisture and when you brush your hair, that all goes with it! Magical dry shampoo! Corn Starch! Woo!

The Best Shampoo I've Ever Used

A year or so ago, I started getting frustrating dandruff, even when using "natural" shampoos like Alba or Jason from health food stores. I looked around for natural shampoos on the internet and came across what sounded like a bizarre solution: baking soda. I have used it for about a year now and I've never been happier:
1). It's inexpensive–buy a bunch in bulk from a natural bulk food store, store it in a jar and it lasts you weks.
2). It keeps your hair clean for longer–I've heard that regular shampoos actually make your hair greasier so that you have to buy more of them. I believe it. I wash my hair every 4 days. It's great!

How to use it:
Scoop approximately 1 tablespoon into a small bowl.
Add enough water to make it a thick paste.
Shampoo yourself!  It won't froth but it does it's business well.

**BONUS**
This can also be a body wash!  It's got a mild grain so it's a good mild, non-harsh exfoliant. So many good things!

Successful Juicer "Garbage" Wraps

So my second attempt at using my juicer "garbage" (beet, celery, apple, orange) to make a fruit leather turned into a wonderful mistake–I turned it into wraps instead!

For some reason, this time around, all the sweetness disappeared from the leather so it was great with savoury foods.  I think by leaving it in the stove longer (I forgot about it and ended up leaving it a day in the stove) it had longer to dehydrate and all the sweetness disappeared...  Maybe... It was also quite dry so I wouldn't eat it by itself but hummus or guacamole or a bean dip would have also been nice!

It worked much better on parchment paper, where it came off in one whole piece instead of in chunks (as it did off the tin foil). I rolled up the parchment paper to save for next time. Yum!

Sore Throat Tea

I wore up today with a super sore throat and difficulty swallowing.  I made tea with it and have been drinking it all day.  Sage is a cooling herb and somewhat anti-inflammatory and it seems to be working it's magic pretty well. 

Other things I've been doing to help speed away this cold:
–chopping up cloves of garlic and swallowing them raw with a little water (at night and in the morning. This is an effective deterrent before getting sick but since I wasn't resting and was going full throttle the last few days, my body couldn't heal itself)
–taking a tablespoon of half honey half fresh lemon juice as a sort of throat-coat (also good as a replacement cough medicine)
–And sleeping as much as possible! Taking lots of naps!!  Being kind to ones body and taking the subway instead of biking. Getting a ride instead of walking.  Cutting down on active forms of yoga. This is the most important.

All the tea and garlic and vitamin c in the world aren't going to heal you if you don't slow down.  What generally works for me if I feel an itch in my throat coming on and the hints of a cold coming, lots of vitamin c, fluids, garlic (as above), echinacea and a good nights sleep.  It usually kicks the cold before it even shows up. My body reminds me of this very dramatically when I am going too fast and forget to listen. Thank you dear body.