Loving Our Home | Home Tips, Advice, and Easy Recipes

Simple Home Tips and Solutions

Beauty Tips

Light, Lovely Smelling Hair Rejuvenating Oil: Mielle Organics Rosemary Mint Scalp & Hair Strengthening Oil

By Leave a Comment

It can be difficult to find just one hair care product that you can go to reliably for consistently lovely results. This light hair oil, with strengthening properties, is one of those products. It adds shine, makes your hair smell great, and is infused with biotin to benefit even the most dry and difficult hair.

If you’re trying to grow your hair, make it feel a bit softer, or want to keep it moisturized, Mielle Organics Rosemary Mint Scalp & Hair Strengthening Oil is a good pick. You only need a bit of it, about the size of a nickel or quarter (depending on your hair length). Work it through from the scalp to the ends and put on a heat cap if you’d like. Use it consistently to see the results.

Help for Dry, Crackly Feet – Dr. Scholl’s Ultra Hydrating Foot Peel Mask

By 1 Comment

During the pandemic, I think many of us have started to neglect certain matters of… hygiene. One in particular for me is not getting regular pedicures because of concerns about spending a long time indoors at a public business. So my feet have been struggling a bit, become flaky, dry and crackly.

Hydrating Foot Peel Mask for Dry, Crackly Feet

I decided to try these hydrating foot peel masks, and I’m so glad I did. I followed the directions, leaving the masks wrapped around my feet for a bit longer than suggested. Meanwhile, I kicked my feet up and relaxed, watching something on streaming. When I took them off, I had layers of old skin literally peeling off of my feet. It was kind of disgusted but very satisfying at the same time. The result was the very smooth, supple feet I had in the past. I will purchase them again in the future, 5 stars!

Easy Home Life Hacks

By Leave a Comment

Managing your life is multi-faceted. There are so many things you have to take care of in the course of a day. On top of that, you also have to keep your home in order, so any tips for how to keep things simple will help. Here are a few easy home life hacks that will help you keep things in order, clean, organized, and well maintained.

Kitchen Stuff

Bowl Covers

You can find simple bowl covers at your local dollar store that will help preserve your food and leftovers more efficiently than trying to cover it up with a piece of plastic or Reynolds wrap. They are usually divided up in different sizes.

A Slice of Lime Helps Preserve an Open Avocado

You know how an avocado gets really brown and unappetizing when you finally decide to open one and store the rest? You can prevent the browning by placing it in a Ziplock bag with a slice of lime. Be sure to change the slice of lime out every few days.

Put Your Strawberries on Ice

Just about everyone likes strawberries, but they tend to lose their freshness so quickly. One way to revive your strawberries is to add them to a bowl with ice. Put the bowl in the refrigerator until you’re ready to enjoy them. Also, remember that you can always freeze your strawberries and use them in Nutribullet smoothies.

Spritz Your Drain with Antibacterial Spray

They say that besides table tops, the drain is one of the dirtiest places in your household. Keep it disinfected by simply spritzing it every now and again with an antibacterial spray.

Freeze Your Food Trash

I learned this from someone. When you put food in your garbage can, it spoils after a few days and could attract pests. Plus, it smells. Instead, put a bag in your freezer to store food trash before garbage day.

Managing Recyclables

You probably know by now how important it is to properly dispose of recyclables, and many areas offer convenient pick up of recyclables on certain days. During the week, use a separate indoor recycling trash can or a secure trash bag that you can use repeatedly to store items. If the items contain the remnants of food waste, try to find room in your freezer to store them there until recycling day.

Pet Stuff

Invest in a Litter Genie

When I was first introduced to the litter genie, I did not know what its purpose was, and pretty much ignored it. What I really thought I wanted was someone who could just scoop the litter for me! But this simple investment was something I needed all along as a long-time cat owner. It traps the waste in a bag so that you can isolate it and dispose of it easily. You can also use a natural cat spray or bug spray in the trapped waste to keep flies away.

Click here for more tips about managing cats, especially if you have a multiple cat household.

Cats Love to Be Brushed or Combed

If you are a busy person, you might not have too much time to spend playing with your cat. But the time you do spend with them, do something that they will really love. Get a cat brush or comb so that you can give them a gentle massage. They love it. Consider this glove for grooming cats that will make things even easier.

Bathroom Stuff

Bleach It

Even if you are the laziest person when it comes to cleaning up your bathroom, you can cut a lot of corners by simply using bleach. Yes, the bleach cleaners can help. But common regular bleach poured on just about anything will help it get white and clean in a matter of minutes. Then you can spray and scrub the surface down easily.

Mini Washer for Small Laundry Loads

Tired of making runs to the laundromat to get your underwear or t-shirts clean? It’s especially annoying to have to wait around for your load to finish and then dry. Instead, invest in a mini washing machine, which you can keep in your bathroom or bedroom. Add water, and just a bit of detergent (not too much), then let it wash, drain, and spin.

Floor Maintenance

Spin That Mop

If you haven’t already heard of it, put a spinning mop on your to-buy list. A spinning mop allows you to spin the soiled water out of your mop so that you aren’t just transferring dirt around your floor.

Clorox Swiffer

Sometimes you just don’t feel like going through the motions of filling up a mop buckets and cleaning your floor that way. In between moppings, use a Swiffer with Clorox wet mopping cloths to keep things tidy and fully sanitized. It takes about 5 minutes to finish up a room.

Beauty Care

Comb Straightening Iron

If you have a bed of hair that doesn’t want to cooperate, all you want to do is get it to a place where it feels soft and manageable. A straightening comb iron for your hair will help do the job. It works on just about every grade of hair. If you’ve been spending the pandemic not liking the way you look because of haircare issues, isn’t $50 or so worth getting things back into place? Be sure to use a heat protectant spray for hair before using a blow dryer or straightening comb.

Hair Removal Strips

Instead of spending $20 to have your eyebrows waxed or sculpted, spend about $15 and do it yourself week after week. Use facial hair removal strips, which you can purchase at your local pharmacy or online and will probably last for up to a year. Cut each strip into eyebrow shapes, with your desired curvature. Carefully apply them above and below your brows, then pull them off quickly to get the look you want.

Use these easy home life hacks to make your daily tasks easier. You don’t have to spend a lot of time or money to get things in order.

How to Make Gel Press On Nails Last Longer

By Leave a Comment

I used to spend upwards of $50 per appointment to have my nails done with damaging acrylics. More for a gel nail treatment. An expensive but necessary step if I wanted to have pretty, strong, painted nails that lasted for at least a few weeks. A couple of years ago, I started to use gel press on nail kits as an alternative. They only cost about $10 per box, they’re easy to install (just add adhesive, press, and file), and they look almost exactly like a gel treatment at the nail salon. Here’s a recent installation of gel press on nails that I did:

 

Pretty Metallic Nails

Gel Nails

I got compliments on my nails from everyone who saw them. They couldn’t believe that they weren’t done at the salon (you don’t have to tell them!). The only problem with gel press on nails is that they don’t last very long. You’re lucky to get the nails to stay on for a weekend. Here are a few tips I used to extend the wear to two weeks.

Apply Both the Glue and the Adhesive Strip

kiss gel nails

This is the exact gel nail kit that I used (you might be able to find it in stores). Kiss has a lot of very attractive styles (see more here). The directions tell you to choose between using the glue provided and the adhesive strips. I decided to use both and it made all the difference. I placed the adhesive on the inside of the nail, then placed glue on my nail. I pressed them together and waited about five seconds. The whole installation took about 15 minutes. FYI, I tried putting just the adhesive strip on one nail and it popped off after just a few hours. So use both the glue and the adhesive strip.

Cover Your Hands with Gloves When Washing Dishes

When you’re wearing gel press on nails, they come loose fast because of constant contact with water. The more your hands come into contact with water, the more the glue loses its grip. So when you do everyday tasks at home you have to try to protect the nails from water. One tip is to wear rubber gloves when you wash your dishes or clean up around the house. In fact, you might even want to wear those gloves when you’re showering to limit contact with water.

Use Hand Sanitizer Instead of Hand Washing

Of course you can’t go throughout the day without washing your hands for sanitary reasons. And if you’re like me, you wash your hands pretty frequently. Keep a bottle of hand sanitizer near the sink and on your person to keep your hands clean. Even if you do wash your hands a few times during the day, which I do, the hand sanitizer will reduce your contact with water.

Avoid Opening Cans With These Nails

Gel press on nails are not strong enough to use to open cans of soda or similar items. Use the side of your finger or a fork instead. Avoid using your nails for anything besides looking good.

These tips should allow you to enjoy your pretty gel press on nails for up to two weeks–maybe longer. One or two might come off during that time, but you can just add a bit more glue and reattach. Get ready for a lot of compliments while you’re wearing them!

Gel Press On Nails

 

Posted by Kristina

3 Natural Soaps: Oatmeal, Goat’s Milk & Shea Soap

By Leave a Comment

Having dry unhealthy skin is so unpleasant. Next to your smile, your skin is the first thing that people see when they meet you. One can spend a mini fortune buying expensive name brand skin items that don’t even work as well as natural solutions. I decided to give three natural soaps a try: oatmeal, goat’s milk and shea butter soap. Here is what I learned about each type of soap and my personal experience with each.

Oatmeal Soap

Oatmeal Soap
Benefits:  
– helps with poison ivy and bug bites
– moisturising effect on skin
– helps clean skin by exfoliation
– can help both dry and oily skin
– helps with sunburn, rashes or pain
– helps reduce signs of aging

My personal experience with oatmeal soap: I only use this soap when I have a skin breakout (it’s good for eczema symptoms) or a bug bite. It does a great job of soothing the area and reducing itching.

Goat’s Milk Soap

Goats Milk Soap
Benefits:
– high content of alpha-hydroxy acids like lactic acid which breaks down dead skin cells and leaves new cells behind
– excellent moisturizer- soothes dry skin
– contains vitamin D, C, B1, B12 & E
– treats acne because of anti bacterial properties

My personal experience with goat’s milk soap: I was giving this soap by someone I love and trust who swears by it. It’s extremely smooth, silky and milky as the name suggests. I’ve found it to be a good moisturizing soap that makes your skin smooth to the touch, and of course there are no harsh dyes or scents. I love the way it smells.

Shea Soap (raw)

Shea Butter Soap
Benefits:
– does not strip essential oils from skin
– disinfecting skin properties
– contains unsaponifiable compounds
– contains vitamins A, C & E
– fights germs & bacteria
– added bonus: shea butter also acts as a sunscreen

My personal experience: while I haven’t used raw shea soap just yet, I use shea butter in its natural form almost every day. This stuff is a great skin protectant and makes your skin supple (like butter). It can also help ease the irritation of rashes and eczema symptoms.

So Are Natural Soaps Right for You?

I really feel a difference in my skin when I use natural soaps. I hardly require any moisturizer on my skin after using them because they already have moisturizing properties built-in. If you’re a person who struggles with very dry skin and other skin ailments, oatmeal soap, goat’s milk soap or shea butter soap just might work better than your usual product. They may help ease your symptoms (just make sure that you’re not allergic to the ingredients) and give you the soft, supple, clear, glowing skin you’ve always wanted.

Compiled and Posted by Lorraine and Louise

Images courtesy of Amazon.com

 

Avon Skin So Soft – One of the Best Mosquito Repellents

By Leave a Comment

I’m convinced now. Avon Skin So Soft is one of the best mosquito repellents.

After hearing about the recent mosquito concerns, I knew that it was even more important to protect myself and family from potential mosquito bites. Products advertised in stores don’t always work. In fact, if you go to some regions, like the South USA, bugs look at common mosquito repellent sprays like seasoning on their “meal.” So I decided to go back to an old-school, throw back solution for keeping mosquitoes off of you: Avon Skin So Soft bath oil. This has been the most effective solution for me this summer — especially since I do a lot of gardening.

Avon Skin So Soft Mosquito Repellent
This stuff works.

Benefits
– effective mosquito and gnat repellent (I guess they don’t like the smell)
– makes skin feel soft and conditions skin
– gives off a clean refreshing smell
– often safe to use on or around animals
– less harmful than other products on the market; more natural

I used this product as a teen and now will continue to use it as an adult every summer. After using it I began to notice that when I came back into the house after a long day, little to no bites. Just smooth skin. I definitely feel more protected when out in the yard working. It’s important to slather the oil on liberally on every area of your body–including under your shorts. Spray or rub some on top of your pants or shorts as well because sometimes mosquitoes can bite through the fabric. Skin So Soft might not be 100% effective, but I’ve found it to be more effective than other brand name repellents.

When visiting an aunt who lives in the deep south where temperatures sometimes reach over 110 degrees, she confirmed that she uses Avon Skin So Soft for protection from mosquitoes. I’ve now passed this suggestion to my family and friends so that they can also be protected.

I totally recommend using Avon Skin So Soft to manage concerns about the Zika virus and also just to enjoy the summer bug and bite-free. It comes either in a large 24 ounce bottle or in a smaller spray bottle (I prefer the oil you can rub on). I give this product 4.5 stars out of five.

Posted by Louise