WATER ONLY HAIR - or not (shikakai)

Hi guys!

Well it seems like years since I last wrote a post here. And guess what brings me back? Hair! Obviously! Always banging on about the hair! It could get boring, yet somehow there are always questions and answers arising through this hair journey.

I really thought that was it, water-only for the rest of my life. Maybe it would be possible for me as it has been, apparently for many other women (and men - but that's easier...) and yet I just can't do it. I went water-only for a good few months and eventually my hair needed a good wash. So I wondered what I could use. I didn't want to get into a bicarb routine again (baking soda - for Americans) so I remembered the delightfully light and natural Shikakai powder I used a while back. It's great for washing hair, it's completely natural and easy to use (it's a dried fruit from India - crushed into powder - buy it, mix it with water and massage into hair and scalp - rinse - done). What's especially great is that when your hair is already really natural then this will give it the most beautiful look. It makes my hair clean, soft and smells fresh. It looks as though I've done what every person does: shampoo and conditioner.
Only completely natural. But if your hair isn't fully natural yet then this might not work so well. I used it when I was still using the baking soda once and it didn't do much. The baking soda is still a strong alternative and it's too strong for the Shikakai to work with. But if you're water-only or maybe you use clays or something else that is lighter and more natural than baking soda then you can use/transition into shikakai very easily. Shikakai apparently means "hair fruit" and is widely used to wash hair in India. It has a very light, yet effective, natural saponification.

THIS IS THE FRESH SHIKAKAI POD

THESE ARE THE DRIED PODS - AND THE CRUSHED POWDER

THIS IS THE BOXED VERSION I BUY IN ASDA UK

So what I do now is go water only for about 3 or 4 weeks. I go as long as I can, and if I see my hair needs a little something more then I'll use shikakai powder.

How do I use it?

1 -Buy your box/bag of shikakai powder online or in stores (I get it in Asda, cheap and easy to find in the hair and beauty section where they have the Indian, African and other natural products. It's just over £1 for a box that'll last at least 10 washes - so a year for most of us LOL!)

-Open up your box, cut open the bag, get a jug and put 2 tablespoons of powder then add 1 cup of water.

2 -Get in the shower as you usually do.

-Wet your hair and massage your scalp under the running water as if you were washing your hair. Then turn the water off !

3 -Start pouring a little bit of shikakai liquid over the areas where the most grease accumulates (for me it's the crown of the head and the front roots above my forehead). Put the jug down, massage the areas well. Pick up the jug and carry one pouring over a little area at a time, put the jug down and massage. Do this again until you have no more liquid. If there is still some powder at the bottom of your jug, add some water to it and carry on.

-Massage your whole head and really wash it all over, it will start to feel clean under the gritty powder. Now scrub down the ends of your hair. Leave in for 1 minute or 2.

4 -Then rinse your head very well until all the powder is gone.

-Now you must rinse or wash your shower. This has made your bath or shower very brown, but no panic, it washes away completely with water. It does not stain at all! Just grab your shower head and rinse down the walls and curtain of your shower, you'll see it goes away easily.

AND NOW YOU HAVE A SUPER CLEAN SHOWER AND AMAZINGLY BEAUTIFUL NATURAL HAIR.

So here you have my alternative to being completely water-only, still with the satisfaction of your hair not being addicted to any chemicals (even baking soda). You can still be water-only and use Shikakai in extreme situations without having to go through any detox period after it. It's lovely, really, you should try it!

Another awesome thing - no denying - is that I get to pamper myself a bit, I was a bit bored with water-only. I wish it wasn't so but I guess I'm still a little materialistic...

Take good care of yourself and your lovely Earth xxx

J

WATER ONLY hair care (3 lessons)

Hi guys!

Big Question: How do you care for your hair when on a water-only hair "diet"?

Well... I've been doing this for 2 months now so I have a little insight but not yet a full life experience of it! But let's talk about my experience so far. First of all I published a post yesterday with the FULL description of my weening off the traditional "no-poo" (baking soda washes) into water-only, which took 30 days. You can read it right here. The transition was not as radical as my weening off store-bought shampoo and conditioner, but it did have its ups and down anyway (you can read my original transition into no-poo; my first 6 weeks without shampoo: right here).

Half way through those 2 months of Water-only, I decided I wanted to lighten my hair (using a mix of baking soda and hydrogen peroxide: natural hair lightening tutorial coming up) and this threw me off the water-only path and I had to start all over again, almost a whole transition again.

Lesson number 1: If you use a product, even a natural product, even only once, it will throw you off and you'll have to start all over again. Once your hair goes natural, it expects to stay natural and starts hating anything else. So if you wanna do anything less natural than water, that's completely fine but be prepared to go through another detox period after it.

Daily Hair Care:

I comb my hair every morning and every evening for a few minutes. This serves to detangle the hair as well as remove dust and dirt that might be there, and also spreading the natural sebum (hair oils) onto the rest of the hair so that it doesn't just stay at the roots.

Then after combing, I sometimes wet my roots lightly with water to freshen them up then towel dry, and comb again. I do this very rarely, only if my hair is not dirty yet but I've been out the night before and my hair smells of cigarettes or if I've been active and my head got sweaty. In that case I'll wet the top of my head just lightly and quickly put my head under the shower head, so that my hair is only slightly wet but not soaked. After my shower I will towel dry my hair and this will remove all smells and make my hair fresh again. Comb it when it's dry.

Lesson number 2: If hair is still clean but needs a freshen up then a little bit of water and towel drying + combing is largely enough.

Weekly hair wash: 

Once a week, or even every one and a half weeks, I will wash my hair. To do this I stand under the warm water in the shower and massage my hair thoroughly with my finger tips - not nails - then wash my ends. Then I towel dry my hair and comb it once it is completely dry. I massage my head and roots often to keep the sebum flowing through and to keep my roots healthy in order to grow long, strong hair.

Lesson number 3: When hair is natural, it is more resistant and self cleansing, which means much less purpose cleaning is in order. A full water-wash is only really necessary once a week or every 1 and 1/2 weeks. This is great! Saves time, water, money, energy and makes hair care so much easier. You might think your hair would be more greasy or oily but truthfully, once you have detoxed your hair and it is fully natural again, you will see that it just doesn't produce as much oil as before because it learns to regulate itself and is not interrupted / confused by the chemicals.


CONCLUSION: I love water-only washing. My hair grows so fast, is beautiful, smells fresh, feels lovely and is completely natural! I'm so happy I took this next step. It might seem like not much but going through those transitions isn't always easy, so achieving the desired goal and result really feels good. I'm so happy I have managed to sacrifice my wasteful pampering for the sake of my beautiful Earth. Thank you!! and I love YOU!

Hope you learned something, please share your experience with us!
Lots Of Love xxxxx

J

HAIR: Weening off the baking-soda into Water Only

Hi guys! and welcome to yet another hair post!

My no-poo hair!!!

I'm still so amazed at how much I care about my hair these days, since going no-poo. I used to not care at all. I washed it every 2 days and used a LOAD of conditioner, so that it was so soft and silky that it didn't need any brushing or caring. Nowadays, I don't use any products which means it's much more natural and healthy but at the same time it means I need to comb it everyday (or as often as I can remember) and tweek my routine every now and then to move with the seasons and what my body naturally lacks or has excesses of at any given time (which will show in my overall health and my hair included - rather than being hidden under a tone of conditioner). I love that I can really be in touch with my body and know what's going on inside and out, as well as letting nature lead me and show me what I need to do next to keep in best shape.

Nature's calling :)

Nature is telling me it's time to leave the baking soda (bicarbonate of soda) behind and just wash my hair with water only (I also wash my body with water only). I have a new routine, which I started in January, at the turn of the new year. I think that this will really simplify my over all hair routine (once my hair adjusts) and let me be a little more care-free again in regards to my hair (I'm still care-free actually but maybe I miss being totally careless about my hair... it was easier).

 



Weening off!

 You can follow my 30 day process below, where I have listed a day-by-day recap of what to do based on my own experience, what your hair should look like on certain days etc. (I comb my hair, but if you brush then simply replace combing with brushing anywhere I've mentioned it.)

Every time I washed my hair, I highlighted it in red, so you can easily see what day to wash your hair, if you can't be bothered to read all the details (even though they are very helpful in order to see if your hair is reacting the same as mine did, because if it doesn't then you'll have to adapt the process to your own hair).

day 1: in the morning: the bicarb (baking soda) and lemon wash that I describe in my 1 year update. (The last time I use bicarb hopefully!)

day 2: comb - great hair

day 3: comb - great hair

day 4: comb - great hair

day 5: comb - good but starting to look oily.

day 6: comb (in the evening, the hair is oily and soft, give yourself a dry head massage and really massage that scalp to help the oils detach)

day 7: in the morning: water only wash. Once your hair is dry, it might not look fully clean and feel a little greasy. Your hair is used to getting squeaky clean with the baking soda and even though it's less drastic than coming off shampoo, coming off the bicarbonate (baking soda) is a detox and your hair will take a little while to adjust. If your hair is going through that at this point then add some arrowroot powder to your hair, as a dry shampoo and comb through. Check here to know how to do it properly.

day 8: comb - great hair

day 9: comb - great hair

day 10: comb - great hair

day 11: comb - great hair

day 12: comb - great hair

day 13: comb - great hair

day 14: Hair still looks good but might start to smell. If that's the case then do a Water Only wash. After this wash, as it happened with the first water wash, the hair might feel and look greasy. This time, instead of using the arrow-root dry shampoo, just wait until it fully dries and comb it a lot. It will stay greasy for a a few days but trust me it will eventually be fine! Keep smiling and wear a hat or a bandana.

day 15: hair still feels greasy on top but the rest of the hair feels much less greasy.

day 16: hair is greasy on top, and has formed what feels like a grease patch on the crown of the head. Comb or brush a lot to get it away from the crown. Take a few drops of oil (argan, sunflower or other soft, warm oil) and spread it into the grease patch. It will hep the grease to detach from the hair and scalp. (Oil is the only way to get rid of oil and grease - that's why soap is made of fats and oils) Do not comb or brush your hair or get the oil anywhere else than on the grease patch for the rest of the day.

day 17: hair is a lot less greasy and starting to soften - no more grease patch - now comb!

day 18: no greasy feel. Hair is staring to feel oily instead - this is a good, positive thing. Keep combing or brushing.

day 19: Now that the greasyness has gone, it has left a soft, oily feel. This oil, we can wash off with water. Do a Water Only wash today, then towel dry your hair. Towel dry as much as you can - at the same time, the towel will also 'scrub' away some of the oil - then let air dry naturally, and give it a towel dry again every 10 minutes until the hair is fully dry. Today finally you should start to see some real, positive effects of water only washes. Your hair might still have an oily or maybe even greasy look (the touch of it shouldn't be oily though), but no way near as much as before, and your hair now looks and feels strong and soft.
Now do not brush your hair at all today. I suggest plaiting it or putting it up in a bun and forget about the whole day. Leave it tucked away and don't touch it. In the evening, open up your braid or bun and check your hair. It might have a slight grease to it. "Towel dry" your hair. Even though your hair IS dry, still take a towel and act like you are drying it. This will spread the needed oils over all of your hair as well as soaking up any excess. Now your hair should feel and look better.
I know it's not yet quite perfect, just wait a few more days :)

day 20: Hair is very soft this morning but still looks a little greasy. Finger comb in the morning to get rid of knots but don't brush or comb with hair-utensils or it will spread the grease in undesired places. In the evening, now that the grease or oils have softened even more throughout the day, you can brush or comb your hair to your heart's desire. Hair is really looking up.

day 21: Wake up with "lovely" hair (the most lovely it's been in a while). Brush or comb in the morning and see if your hair is beautiful now. It seems to me, that although my hair feels and looks good, it's already getting oily. The oilyness is what makes it soft, at least it's not grease and waxy.

day 22: Today my hair is still nice - the oil is coming through though. Brush/comb to spread the oil. Massage scalp with fingertips - give yourself a really good, intense head massage and make your roots sizzle, this will get your hair growing and healthy. I want my hair to be more oily before washing. I remember when I was washing with baking soda and lemon, I sometimes tried to do water only washes for a coupe weeks, and the water would wash the oil off better if the hair was purely oily and not greasy or waxy or still clean. So I'm going to wait for my hair to be really soft and oily before washing it.

day 23: Today hair is SO soft... and oily of course. I combed and also 'towel dried' just because I want to wait an extra day before washing, so in order to get rid of excess oil I did the 'towel drying' technique. My roots are too oily for show, so I'm braiding the hair and wearing a bandana to cover the roots. The rest of the hair looks nice.

day 24: Water wash this morning. Make sure, again, to really massage your scalp before washing, while still dry and also while washing under running warm water. Once your roots are well washed, wash the rest of your hair. Towel dry and let out to dry off. Once your hair is completely dry, brush or comb it with a very clean brush/comb. Hair smells so clean and fresh! Feels good. There's no oilyness and no greasiness but a teeny tiny waxy feel. But still, best ever yet since going Water Only. I'm predicting the next wash will be the best. I hope

day 25: lots and lots of brushing/combing. I've been massaging my scalp a lot too, which has turned the teeny waxiness into oil, so I'll wash my hair tomorrow morning.

day 26: morning water wash, towel dry and when completely dry, comb very well with a clean brush/comb. I braided mine, as I often do. My hair looked good all day. In the evening I took out the braids, and combed my hair through again. It feels clean and normal, which awesome actually. I now know that this water only washing is definitely working for me.

day 27: Today my hair looks and feels good. Lots of brushing/combing again. There is a slight waxy undertone at the roots but the rest of the rest is completely fine.

day 28: I wet the top of my hair, because I wanted a little freshener, but it wasn't a necessary move. Comb and comb again today. Hair is really good.

day 29: lots of combing again. today my hair is awesome, I love it. Am I really fully weened off all products? Even baking soda/ bicarb? and even lemon? Can I really go on washing my hair with water only?? well... I'll keep you in the loop!

day 30: hair is so lovely today. so happy! well nothing but water has touched my hair for 30 days now. I hope that no longer will I ever use anything but water on my hair ever again... but I don't know that is going to happen, I can only try my best and pray that nature is on my side this time ;-)

There you have it! 30 days to ween off the no-poo hair 'diet' into Water Only! I pray you also make the move for your sake and for the sake of the Earth! And I pray that the transition is easy for you and that you can take advice or help from my description/experience.

Bless you,
Love x
J

Muslin nappies tutorial !

Hiya!

Here is the nappy tutorial! Finally. I'm happy I got all the pictures done. Now you'll see my baby is slightly unconventional and a little misshaped hihihi...

Let's get started on this photo tutorial!

70 cm square muslin, flat

fold over each corner into the middle

now fold over one side towards the middle

now fold over the other side, towards the middle and over the 1st one (this forms a 3 plie rectangle)

now, open the top bit slightly; this is the back of the nappy

OK now we have the basic nappy shape and it can go 2 ways from here. Option 1, baby can wear the nappy as it is or option 2, you can make and add an insert for longer absorption (I recommend option 2, and it's no hassle I promise).

OPTION 1

For a newborn, fold the back over.

still for a newborn, fold the front bit over too

place baby

flip the front nappy flap over baby's front

Now tie it up. I used safety pins but I recommend nappi nippas

adjust edges for full coverage!

OPTION 2

Grab a 2nd piece of muslin 70 cm square

fold the corners into the middle

now fold the new corners into the middle again

Fold the square into a 3 plie rectangle and place it over the basic nappy

for a newborn, fold the back over the 2nd muslin

still for a newborn, fold the front over the 2nd muslin, and now we have our full nappy

place baby

flip the front flap over baby's front

tie edges with safety pins or nappi nippas

adjust all sides to offer full coverage and avoid spills

make sure you can't see any of the 2nd muslin

and there you go!

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and learned something here today. This style is the Jo Fold and can be made from any square fabric.

Why not give some suggestions and tips of your own in the comments? I'd love to hear from you.

Love x
J

Wet/Dry bag

Hya guys!

What's a wet/dry bag?

Today's tutorial explains how to make a wet/dry bag. What's that? It's a bag that has a normal dry side (to place clean hankies, clean menstrual pads, clean nappies etc.) and a wet side, made from PUL (this means it's waterproof and you can put your wet/dirty hankies, menstrual pads, nappies etc.)

Why do I need one?

This is very useful for when you're out and about and can't put these things straight into your machine, or hand wash them or even just throw them into the laundry bag... So let's take a look.

Tutorial

1) Get some PUL and some 'normal' dry fabric

2) Decide what size you need this bag to be. Remember it should fit in your main big bag (hand bag, nappy bag etc.) Mine is for menstrual pads and hankies, and needs to fit in my handbag so the dimensions are roughly 25cm/20cm and it's a great size.

3) Cut 4 pieces out of the cotton or 'normal' dry fabric of the correct dimension, then cut 2 pieces of the same size from the PUL. So 4x normal fabric pieces and 2x PUL fabric pieces.

4) Take 2 of the dry fabric bits and make a pouch out of them by sewing 3 edges together. Then make a hem on both sides at the top of this pouch.

5) Make another pouch now, with the 2 remaining dry fabric bits and the 2 PUL bits. Layer the 4 bits of fabric together, inside out (the pile should be this: 1 layer of PUL with waterproof side down, on top of this, lie a sheet of the dry fabric with the outside facing up, then layer the last piece of dry fabric but this time with the outside face down, then finish by layering the last piece of PUL with waterproof side up.) Then sew the 3 edges, and make a hem on both sides at the top of this pouch.

6) At the top of the wet pouch, sew some snaps over the hem.

7) Turn out the 2 pouches, place one on top of the other, with their open sides together, and sew the middle hems together. Leave the bottom of the 2 pouches unattached so that there is always enough space on both sides to put everything you need in there.

8) You now have a wet/dry bag with 2 pouches. All you need to add now is the flap. To make the flap, cut a piece of the dry fabric, slightly over sized like in the next photo.

9) Now take this new piece of fabric and make hems around each edge

10) Pin and sew it to the back of the bag, I chose the back to be the wet part so that all the dirty stuff stays even safer in the bag.

11) Now sew some more snaps for the flap, like so:

And there you go folks! You have yourself a wet/dry bag to carry those dirty, wet usefull things around :)


If you didn't understand some of these steps, I'm not surprised... Leave a comment so I can answer your questions.

Hope you liked this tutorial! <3

Love

J

Everything you need for Baby - green alternatives (list of things)

Hi again!

Fabric and breasts are all you need!

So lately I've been thinking of writing a blog post about what you actually need to have at home in order to be ready for your baby's arrival. The Baby industry really abuses parents and carers into thinking they need to buy so much crap and spend so much money that it really is offensive and actually stops people from having kids! I often hear people claiming that they don't have enough money to have a baby, that is not true! It's not like bringing an adult into the world or even a child. A baby is different and you might already have everything you need right where you are, if not, then you can get it for cheap or free somewhere else. You'll see that all you need is pretty much breast milk and a load of fabric!

Good quality Muslin, 100% cotton

List
I am going to do a comparative list. I will take a popular baby list and describe the alternative next to it, to show you how simple it can be to have a baby. I am not a professional baby-ist (lol) and this list might not work if the baby does not have a mother or a female carer and it might not be for everyone, of course, since each family is different and each child is different but here is a list and a guide for families who want to go green and natural. I am not listing mama's essentials, this is just a baby's essentials list.

1) Car seat. It's actually a good idea to get a car seat because even if you and you're partner are not drivers, it is likely still, that you'll be driven around somewhere or take a taxi... Even if you never usually take rides from friends, it is likely that once you have a baby, you'll be quite glad to have someone offer a ride rather than take the bus everywhere. Think about it. If you think you won't then sure, don't get a car seat, that's fine too. If you do decide to get one then make sure it's brand new and research the brand first. Otherwise, if you're a walker and bus-taker then a sling is enough for you and will be perfect. Check out the massive range of slings or use a long piece of strong fabric, lying around your house and find YouTube videos to teach you how to turn it into a sling.

2) Newborn diapers. Expensive and so harmful for the environment! You could make your own cloth nappies or just buy some cheap, good quality muslin squares. You can use these through out your child's nappy life. I made a tutorial right here for you. They can be used for newborns and up to all sizes. Awesome! You may want to use newborn store bought nappies to avoid the "hassle" at the beginning as your settling in to the rest of your changes, but really it's no hassle... up to you! (you'll need 2x 70 cm squares for a strong nappy, maybe just 1 for a newborn Changing about every 2 hours. So get 50 squares to be sure. They are on average £1 each, so it might sound like a lot but trust me this is cheaper than buying ready made cloth nappies, and it is WAY cheaper than the overall single-use diapers you would buy over the next 3 years! and what a hit you'd be saving for the earth!) You can easily make a wet bag for your nappies for at home and on the go.

3) Baby wipes. Again grab a muslin square or any fabric, cut it to the size that suits you. If it's a fraying fabric, double fold the edges and sew. I have a tutorial for these here. Just use water. Please don't start intoxicating your baby already with a load of chemicals and 'natural' creams! Nappy rash cream? Use your own breast milk! Use your breast milk to heal all your baby's ills and booboos. If that doesn't work, try coconut oil.

4) Cot/crib. Why not co-sleep? If you're bed isn't massive or you don't feel comfortable/safe to sleep as a couple with a baby then get dada to sleep on the couch or on the floor while mama and baby sleep safely together on the bed. Or better still? Leave dada on the bed and make a safe place to sleep on the floor for mama and baby.

5) Push chair. Sling. Use the sling indoors and outdoors, no transferring, heavy lifting or awkward "stuck with a push chair" situation. Easier to use, cheaper, safer, your child is happier AND you get a constant cuddle, is there anything better? You're hands-free to get on with anything you want to do and baby can still nap, and if she's awake then she can enjoy the world around her with you. Make a sling or buy a good one, and watch YouTube videos for tutorials.

6) Changing table. You can change your baby on the bed or sofa or floor, or anywhere. You do not need a designated changing space. Get a PUL sheet or even just a towel because Baby is likely to pee or poop even without a nappy on! You could also learn the signs your baby makes when she needs to go, and then just lift her over the loo. Why not? Look into it.

7) Clothes. Either get the simplest newborn clothes, 100% cotton or bamboo, white, will be the comfiest. But you might get these as gifts if you ask nicely or you could ask for hand-me-downs from friends and family or go to second hand shops. You don't need to invest in clothing that your child will only fit into for a couple of weeks. You could also just swaddle your baby, which you should do anyway. You can easily make extremely, simplistic clothing for your newborn out of fabric you already have at home or can find easily. You could make comfy baby kaftans out of sheets or pillow cases, to wear over their nappy for example.

8) Bibs and burp cloths. Again just grab any fabric or some cloth kitchen towels = very absorbent, and wrap them where you need them. Tie string to them to make bibs or simply get some bib clips to attach to your kitchen towels.

9) Baby creams, oils and lotions. As I mentioned before, you can squirt your breast milk on all your baby sores, and it should heal them. If not, try some coconut oil or shea butter. Either way stay completely natural and stay away from all chemicals and chemical based products. Read the labels and ingredients lists. You can also find plenty of ideas for homemade baby lotions online.

10) Baby bath tub. Use a bucket. Seriously! You'll use less water, your baby will be covered in the water better, the risk of drowning is almost impossible and it's easier for you too! Check this purposely built bucket But you can use any bucket as long as it's not broken anywhere or has sharp edges. And enjoy extra tummy time with your baby too! You can easily make a hooded towel, and a hooded poncho towel for your baby rather than buying one! Tutorial coming soon!

11) Swaddle blanket. Any cloth! that isn't too warm or too cool: Muslin.

12) Infant swings etc. Your sling will fulfill all these options already. Walking around the house with baby on front or back as you're washing up or cooking will be plenty bouncy for Baby.
It might be nice for you, every now and then, to put baby down to have a rest, so either lie next to baby in your co-sleeping arrangement, even during the day, for a nap or get a baby bouncer like this maybe without the mobile. Strap baby up and you can just sit/lie her in there and bring her next to you in the kitchen or living room (or toilet), on the floor while you do whatever it is you gotta do. I do like these, my sister has one and it's very useful when you want/need to put baby down.

13) Milk formula. If you can breast feed then please do! For your sake and your baby's sake! It's so much better than milk formula. If you can't then there's no problem, because it's better than nothing at all obviously and I wish you the best and lots of love to you for your efforts! Also do research to find the best one for you and baby. Breast milk is really the perfect food/drink for your child. As long as they're breast fed they don't even need water, that's almost magical, think about it... If you adopt then you can also breast feed! Women do not need to have gone through a pregnancy to produce breast milk! The human body is just incredible!!! So look into that too!

 
As you can see, all you really need to buy is a load of Muslin squares, like maybe 100 so there are always some lying around somewhere for you to grab and use any time you need them.

There were so many other things on the lists I found online but I didn't find it useful to list here because they were such useless things. Check out the tutorials on my Natural Kids page for more baby stuff.

If you can think of anything else, please leave a comment so I can add it to the list!
Thanks for reading and I hope you found this useful!

Lots of love to you and your wee babaz!
J



 

Sleeping Well

Hello fellow inmates! hehehe

WorldChanging

Yesterday I discovered WorldChanging. It's a website that lists quests for you to accomplish. They help inspire you to be a better person, give you something to work towards and give you purpose. You can then log in the quests that you have successfully accomplished and they give you points in return. The quests are to help the environment and ultimately to change the world for the better.

Sleeping history
I personally have trouble with my sleep. I'm the type who wakes up if a leaf falls in the woods 10 miles away (that's exaggerated) but I do wake up if the tiny red dot light goes off on Mr.Hubby's phone, which is tucked away under the desk (he sleeps on the floor and keeps his phone next to him, under the desk.) That's how thin my eyelids are. I also wake up if someone next door moves. Basically I have very light sleep so this is something I want to work towards improving.

Quest

I chose a quest about sleep to improve my health. The quest has 3 levels and this gave me the idea for this post. Check this specific quest here!

Level 1: Quit or reduce caffeine intake (at least after midday). The quest asks to reduce caffeine and to stop all caffeine after midday (coffee, tea, energy drinks, fizzy drinks etc.) Luckily for me I actually believe that intoxicants and stimulants are to be completely avoided. The reason for this is that if I was constantly or often stimulated then how would I know how I'm really feeling? Am I tired, excited, awake, up-beat, down? It seams that if I were on stimulants then I would be artificially awake even though my body might actually need to be asleep at that moment, and I find that quite freeky. For the same reason I never pain killers, because if I have a headache and feel the pain, I know there is something wrong so I can adapt my lifestyle during the pain, such as: take a nap, a hot shower, relax and be very slowly as to not shake my head too much. If I took a pain killer, I wouldn't feel the pain and therefore carry on my busy life, running after kids or doing whatever I might be doing... And I wouldn't know when the headache was actually healed because I didn't wait for it to heal itself. So when the painkiller wears off, the head ache might be even worse since I didn't wind down for it. Intoxicants are also completely off the table, I'm happy with knowing that what I'm feeling at any given time is naturally what I'm experiencing from life rather than artificially induced.
We switched to decaf tea and simply natural decaf drinks a while back now, BUT someone in my house does drink coffee and brought some in to my kitchen and before I knew it I was adding a few sprinkles of instant coffee to my pure cocoa drinks...  I am a little disappointed in myself but I'm not being too harsh. I do realise that I'm not exactly murdering anyone although I do believe in being very careful to find out where we buy our products from just incase someone was actually murdered for us to get it! Hubby's granny actually gave us this coffee so I'm not too bothered, since it was already bought there's not much we could do about it. And it's very tasty too!! So I do only have sprinkle because it also effects spirituality; intoxicants and stimulants should be avoided to develop stronger spiritual connections! That is the main reason for me (although I do get physically effected by caffeine and end up sleeping bad! eeek)

So I'm following this quest and going to (try to) avoid caffeine, at the very best only have it before midday.

Yumchaa's chilli chilli bang bang is so delicious!!!

Level 2: Make sure the bedroom is dark and unwired. This one I find very important too, the little lights that remain and the faint buzzing and hummings from our electrics are things that keep me from having a good night sleep. And even if you can't hear or see them, they're probably effecting your sleep too! So unplug your stuff and shut your curtains! Everything in our bedroom goes back to one plug central, so we just shut that plug off and done, easy.

Level 3: Do all the bathroom stuff at least half an hour before you want to sleep (or keep the light levels low). Good point! Bathroom lights are usually so bright and can easily take you out of your sleepy mood. But not only that, if you leave your bedtime, bathroom routine to the last minute you can easily be too tired to go through with it and go to bed dirty or force yourself to go through with it and risk waking yourself up or delaying your bedtime. Either is a no-no. So stop what your doing ON TIME and get ready for bed. I would say do it 1 hour before bed, like that you can finish whatever you have to do and know that you are already ready for bed, with no pressure to hurry and get in to bed nice and relaxed.

These 3 things are not the only things you can do for better sleep but they are simple and a good start. And I'm gonna try to stick to them!

Other helpful things include:
 -drink enough water during the day (so you don't suddenly realise your thirsty at bed time, drink a liter and pee all night!)
-drink a small cup of pure chamomile tea before bed to relax your body.
-turn the radiator off in your room (I get a bit cold in the night and use a hot water bottle.)

Other things? What do you do to have a good night sleep?? let us know!

Take it easy folks!
Peace and good zZ night Zz
J

Make the most of your Hankie!

Hiya!

I'm going to show you how to make the most of your hankie, and use it as much as possible before taking out a clean one! with photos...

1) Blow your nose at the top of the hankie

2) Fold over the top area where you blew your nose. Now blow your nose on the new top section.

3) Fold the hankie in half length ways and blow your nose on this new area.

4) Fold over again, now this space and it's corners can be used to wipe your nose rather than blow because it's a little small.

Here is how to use your little hankie to blow 3 times + a few nose wipes. Wash, dry and re-use over and over and over and over.....

Peace Out

xx

The super easy Hankie-Pouch

Hey again!




Let's make a hankie-pouch so you can carry your hankies and wipes in your bag without them getting dirty, to keep them clean for your lovely little nose or your lovely baby's bottom! :)



TURORIAL!

step 1) grab some squares! I had these 2 bits of scrap fabric which are the same size as my hankies! I advise making your squares the same size as your hankies if it's not already the case 'cos it worked perfectly for me.

1

step 2) put them together inside out and sew 3 edges.

2 a

2 b

Then turn back the right way

2 c

step 3) Now take another piece of scrap fabric, this time cut the size of it, so as to have the diagonal just a little bit longer than the top of the pouch, like in photo 3b:

3 a

3 b

step 4) Sew the triangle up, inside out. Make sure to leave 1 cm gap to turn it back out, then turn it out and sew the remaining 1 cm up

4 a

4 b

step 5) Sew the triangle onto the back of the pouch, chose which is the back and sew it on. DO NOT SEW IT ON THE WHOLE TOP of there will be no pouch left... be careful to only sew it on one side.

5 a

This is what you have now, viewed from the back

5 b

step 6) Now make a seam/hem on the front of the pouch

6 a

6 b

step 7) Grab your snaps and sew them on. I sew them on by hand but I've heard there are other ways, so which ever way you prefer, just make sure you line them up correctly and that they are well and strongly attached to the fabric.

7 a

7 b

AND THERE YOU HAVE IT ! Now go and get your super hankies or super wipes! and put them in there!

empty

full

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial or learnt something new!

Peace x
J