Stress Management

Recently I've had a number of stressful events happen in my life both good and not so good.  While looking around on the internet I found the Mental Health Association NSW  with some very helpful information one of them being the following.  I hope you find this a helpful as I did.

Stress Management

Always take time for yourself, at least 30 minutes per day

Be aware of your own stress meter: know when to step back and cool down

Concentrate on controlling your own situation, without controlling everybody else

Daily exercise will burn off the stress chemicals

Eat lots of fresh fruit, vegies, bread and water; give your body the best to perform at its best

Forgive others, don’t hold grudges and be tolerant – not everyone is as capable as you

Gain perspective on things, how important is the issue?

Hugs and kisses and laughter, have fun and don’t be afraid to share your feelings with others

Identify stressors and plan to deal with them better next time

Judge your own performance realistically; don’t set goals out of your own reach

Keep a positive attitude, your outlook will influence outcomes and the way others treat you

Limit alcohol, drugs and other stimulants, they affect your perception and behaviour

Manage money well, seek advice and save at least 10% of what you earn

No is a word you need to learn to use without feeling guilty

Outdoor activities by yourself or with friends and family can be a great way to relax

Play your favourite music rather than watching TV

Quit smoking, it is stressing your body daily, not to mention killing you too

Relationships - nurture and enjoy them, learn to listen more and talk less

Sleep well, with a firm mattress and supportive pillow, don’t overheat yourself and allow plenty of ventilation

Treat yourself once a week with a massage, dinner out, the movies, moderation is the key

Understand things from the other person’s point of view

Verify information from the source before exploding

Worry less; it really does not get things completed better or quicker

Xanadu - regularly retreat to your favourite space regularly, make holidays are part of your yearly plan and budget

Yearly goal setting, plan what you want to achieve based on your priorities in your career, relationships etc

Zest for life, each day is a gift, smile and be thankful that you are a part of the bigger picture

Handmade Craft Market Giveaway

 To celebrate the Launch of the first

Handmade Craft Market 

 this Sunday, 22 August 2010.

I'll be giving away a Gift Box

All you need to do is visit the

Purely Natural Living stall 

&  put you name in the box.

So what's in the Gift Box???

Over $40 worth of Purely Natural Living goodies

Goddess Bath Salts, Spearmint & Seaweed Goats Milk Soap,
Classic Dragons Blood Soap, Solid Moisturising Stars,
Nourishing Hand & Body Cream,
Lip Balm with Vitamin E,
Foaming Sugar Scrub, Loofah & Face washer.

 

Looking forward to seeing you at
Handmade Craft Market this Sunday, 22 August 2010. 

Limiting my impact

Hello  again, back in February I posted an article on Homemade Laundry Powder and believe it or not I have just run out.  

Now I have a family of 5; two of them are male, one adult and one toddler (need I say more) and two female tweens who constantly seem to change their clothes, so I'm sure you can imagine how much washing I do. 

Just one example

So if I made this powder up in February, that means that my Laundry Powder lasted 6 months, I am now making more.  I do have to say that on the rare occasion I have use a stain removing booster for my wash but over all I have just used the Homemade powder.  

I am happy to say that my whites are white, my colours are still bright and my towels are still soft, which I think is great.  But you know the best part is how much I have managed to lessen my impact on the environment, not to mention lessen the impact on my pocket.

Toowoon Bay

If you haven't tried to make your own Homemade Laundry Powder, why not give it a go today.

MY Miracle cure

Now I don't know about you but the birth of my son 22 months ago really knocked my body around, well in truth it was probably the pregnancy but I didn't notice until after he was born.  

One of the things that I have been dealing with is an incredibly itchy scalp, now for almost 2 years.  It has been driving me insane.  

Well, as you can guess I've been researching to find a natural alternative to anti-dandruff shampoo.  I tried a number of different remedies and none of them really worked.  Some worked for a day but after 24hrs the itch was back.  And my last experiment has been Apple Cider Vinegar.  Do you know how amazing this common kitchen item is???  

I found this information and some other amazing information from Apple Cider Vinegar Benefits

DANDRUFF
Apply pure apple cider vinegar to the scalp and work it into the roots of the hair; allow the vinegar to stand for a half hour or a full hour before washing your hair. This will help to destroy the bacteria and fungus that cause dandruff and itchy scalp. 

While I only allowed the Apple Cider Vinegar to stand for about 15minutes, the results have been amazing.  I did this about 5 days ago and I haven't had an itchy scalp since.  

This is MY miracle cure.  What's your miracle cure?  

Nature & Beauty

If you truly love Nature, you will find beauty everywhere

~ Vincent Van Gogh ~

This is a photo of a blue bottle I took on a beach near where I live.  

I love it because it is beautiful even though it's poisonous to touch.  

I thought Vicent's quote was appropriate for such a photo.

New project

It started like this

While I realise this has very little to do with natural products, it does has everything to do with being handcrafted by me.

I recently learnt how to crochet thanks to my friend Stephanie of Moobear and OverIt and my mother. I've been working on my crocheting for a few weeks now but as I'm one of those people who really hates to see waste I needed to find something that was useful and that was going to be loved.  So I decided I need a project, but what?

  

Well, I have two girls and they are pre-teens so I was surprised to find that they thought me crochet was pretty cool, OK OK after they had a little giggle.  Anyway while practicing my chains, trebles and clusters, I found that I could make flowers and they didn't look too bad but what was I going to do with them, then it came to me add them to a headband.  Now, by putting these on to a headband, I had a win and the girls had a win.  The girls got something that their friends don't have, which they think is cool and it keeps the hair out of their eyes (which is where I win). 

I forgot to mention, my 22 month old son loved the headbands so much I wasn't sure if the girls would get them at all. 

Modeling the black

Modeling the pink

I love learning new things!

Homemade Laudry Powder

It's been a while since my last post, it's been a bit hectic, with Christmas, New Year, Holiday to SA & WA and the start of school.  I can't believe that my eldest girl is in High School, time certainly flies.

But I digress, I wanted to let you know about a fantastic Homemade Laundry Powder I have made & used following Julie's recipe from Towards Sustainability.  I've been using it for about 3 months now and it is fantastic. 

I have two girls & a one little boy and although the eldest girl is usually clean and tidy the younger two are magnets when it comes to dirt and stains. 

If you are looking to save money and help the environment try these recipes.  I do have a front loader and I have had no problems at all.  As I make soap I generally use the soap that doesn't look good enough to sell, nothing goes to waste.  Try it, you'll be surprised

Concentrated Laundry Powder

2 cups grated laundry or homemade soap or soap flakes (Lux)

2 cups borax

2 cups washing soda

2 cups bicarbonate of soda (which acts as a deodoriser)

Mix all the ingredients thoroughly and store in a plastic container with a lid. Use 2 tablespoons per wash. Again, this powder will not make suds and again, this is perfectly okay.

Heavy Duty Laundry Powder

2 cups grated stain remover soap (e.g. Napisan or Sards Soap; Sards has a nice eucalyptus scent)

2 cups grated pure soap or Lux flakes

2 cups Borax

2 cups washing soda

Mix all ingredients together well and store in an airtight container. As above, use two tablespoons per wash, and it is suitable for front loaders.

Try it and let me know what you think.

I have also found Down---to---earth which have number of other recipes for various types of cleaning product.