Friends

: m_natale wrote in naturalliving; December 22nd, 19:39

Hey everyone! Long time lurker, first time poster.
I have had athlete's foot between a few of my toes that I just can't seem to get rid of. I've had it for several months. It'll go away a little bit then come back again full force. I have tried the OTC athlete's foot cream from Walgreen's, as well as witch hazel mixed with a little bit of tea tree oil. Both of these seem to help on the surface for about a half a day or so, then right back to the insane itchiness!
Does anyone know of a sure fire way to get rid of this annoyance (preferably herbal or homeopathic)?
Thanks, in advance for any advice!

Making your own natural laundry detergent

: drivenbylove wrote in naturalliving; December 22nd, 18:37

I want to make my own laundry detergent using this recipe. I have a few questions:

1. Does this look like a good recipe?

2. I want to add essential oils so that the laundry detergent has a good smell. If I put the oils in, will it make my clothes oily? Thanks so much for your help!

Introduction post and plant ID

: pie_nya wrote in gardening; December 23rd, 7:05

Hi. ^^ This is my first post, but ive been lurking for about a year now. You guys got me through the winter here. =P I live in western australia, and we've in the middle of our summer. My garden is looking fabulous and my tomatos are starting to ripen so I thought Id post some pictures. This is my second year with a garden, although I helped my parents in theirs a lot growing up. I mostly like to grow edible things.

( Pictures! =) )

Tags: beginning gardener, plant id

Virgin coconut oil - help!

: bron_the_brin wrote in naturalliving; December 22nd, 21:37

X-posted to

beauty101

I live in Sweden and I can't find virgin coconut oil from shops, and the only place I've found that sells it online has sky high prices. I turned to Ebay (which I've never used) and it took me ages of googling to find items that will ship to Sweden.
Since I've never bought this before, I don't really know what the "right" stuff should be like. Basically, I want at least a litre (32oz) so I can start using it for homemade deo, for my skin, maybe for my hair and I want to try it as lube, since I'm very yeast infection prone.

( I have a few questions. )

PS. I have about 13 more hours before the bidding ends, so I'm in a hurry! Thank you once again!

While I'm at it, I want to share something I've found working for my hair. I've always had hair that never felt soft and got greasy quite quickly. A couple of months ago I looked around for natural ways of washing hair and since then I've done the following after washing my hair with shampoo and conditioner: I mix a third of a decilitre of lemon with a tablespoon of honey with some warm water (so the honey melts) and even more cold water in a large cup. After washing my hair, I rinse my hair with this, then wash it out quickly with water (but leaving some of it in). I've noticed that my hair becomes so much softer right afterwards and also when it's dry. The other day I forgot to rinse my hair with this stuff and my hair felt like steel wool! Dunno what's making my hair soft out of these things, but it softens my hair! :D

Dylan Update!

: cowboymouth1984 wrote in augustbabies09; December 22nd, 15:36

Baby’s name and age: Dylan, he's now 19 weeks!

How is your baby doing? (milestones, routine, dr's visits, accomplishments): We JUST got back from his 4 month check up and he's doing so well... He's 16.05lbs and 25.5in long! I can not believe how much he's grown... The Doc says he's a completely healthy little boy! I love the practice we go to, both the pedi and my obygn are down to earth and aren't afraid to tell me what's what, that not everything I read and worry about is is worth worrying about... To trust my instincts and they're always right on the nose...

How are you doing?: I feel like I am going a little bit stir crazy at moments... Sometimes it still seems surreal that he's all mine... I miss the days where my hubby and I could go to walmart together at 9:30pm whereas now if I forget something during the day one or the other has to go... But right now my hubby is on Christmas break (he's a teacher) and so we get two weeks together!

Brag a little bit!: I love the laughs and giggles and smiles I get out of my little man! He's almost just a sitter and not a supported sitter! He's started to kinda toss his toys around he loves! kisses from his Mommy! He sleeps straight through the night! I can put him down around 7pm
and he'll sleep until 6:30 or 7!!

( Pictures! )

Plant suggestion?

: teribeth wrote in gardening; December 22nd, 15:20

Current Mood:: bored

I know things are slow this time of year but I thought I'd go ahead and pose a question, even if I don't get around to planting till later. I live in north Florida, zone 8B, and I have a small area by my driveway/gate that is begging for a plant. It's a difficult spot - it's shady, sandy, and usually dry except for when it rains (the gutter spout is right next to it so I'm sure it would get overflow). Any suggestions?

Tags: light: full shade, recommendations, zone 8

Homemade Deodorant

: theliveofv wrote in naturalliving; December 22nd, 11:30

Hi again. I just found this neat recipe for making homemade stick deodorant in case anyone is interested. Hope you like it!

http://littlehouseinthesuburbs.com/2009/03/quick-stick-deodorant.html

Burpee Seeds

: wowomom wrote in gardening; December 22nd, 7:19

Current Mood:: happy

I got my very first seed catalog yesterday in the mail. I didn't have time to do much more than flip through a few pages but I can see how gardening can become an addictive hobby quickly. I'm excited to be able to sit down and ooh and ahh over all those bright, colorful, glossy pictures.

Note to self: You're still poor. You cannot buy a bunch of stuff, no matter how pretty the pictures are! lol :-)

Tags: beginning gardener, zone 7

(no subject)

: thhiiiefff wrote in naturalliving; December 22nd, 0:07

Hey all,
I remember a while ago [perhaps a year or two back] someone posted about wanting to switch from using toilet paper to home-made cloth alternatives. I too am looking to make that switch. I've been looking for that post or one like it for an hour. Does anyone have the link to it, or a make-your-own-cloth-tp tutorial, handy? Thanks in advance.

Natural sources of energy and water

: ambria_sornia wrote in naturalliving; December 21st, 22:22

My dad has entrusted me to find out about getting solar panels for the house. He wants to find a new source of energy and maybe even get some cutbacks from the government.:)

So where can we find info on this? How much to solar panels cost? And how can you install them?

Also, is there a way to conserve rainwater? (like for gardening)

Wood Blewit Mushrooms

: acy wrote in gardening; December 21st, 20:36

Current Mood:: geeky

Wood Blewits are mushrooms that are commonly hunted and eaten in Western Europe, and are even cultivated there. They occur all over North America as well, and can be found during colder months growing on leaves, pine needles or garden mulch. They're pretty distinctive--you don't see a lot of violet mushrooms! They typically occur in small clusters or in fairy rings, have a very distinct, fruity aroma and leave a pale pink spore print.

So I was in a park on Friday and I found a dozen or so. As I was pulling them up, I had an idea...
( More pics and whatnot, and THE PLAN. )

Kiehl's skin care

: evershadowed wrote in naturalliving; December 21st, 23:33

Current Location:: Shanghai, China

Current Mood:: pensive

Current Music:: show me what I'm looking for - carolina liar

I came across the Kiehl's (www.kiehls.com) product line in my Natural Health magazine and ended up glancing through their website. The following look interesting:

rare earth deep pore cleansing masque
blue herbal moisturizer
rare earth deep pore daily pore cleanser
centella skin calming facial cleanser
centella recovery skin salve

And they have a counter in Shanghai, which is all sorts of cool. Buuuut, while the key ingredients for these products sound great, Kiehl's does not seem to fully disclose ingredients, so I can't see if there are any nasties to avoid :(

So my question for you all...has anyone used products from Kiehl's (either one of the above listed or others) and what did you think of them? How natural are they? If you own one of their products...I'd love to see an ingredient list >.>

Thanks in advance :) While I still hope to use homemade recipes for cleansers and such, it'd be nice to know if there are decent brands with (mostly)natural ingredients here in Shanghai somewhere.

Tags: products, skin care: facial

Clogged homemade cleaner spray bottle

: iagoda112 wrote in naturalliving; December 20th, 22:48

I have been having a weird problem with my homemade household cleaner. I am using a mix of white vinegar and lemon juice, but in each spray bottle I have tried, it seems to be clogging up the tube and basically the spray will not work. Has anyone else had a similar experience? I really want to use my mixture, it works well, but I hate that I can't use it in a convenient way.

Tags: home: cleaning

Merry Almost Christmas!

: christina_e wrote in augustbabies09; December 20th, 19:16

a year ago today i found out i was pregnant with august! she'll be four months old in 7 days. so insane.
happy holidays to all!

anyone on blogger, too? i started a family blog over there (helloaug.blogspot.com) for out of state family that i don't want on my LJ. haha. feel free to add! always looking for other blogs to read!

Invisbile Zinc

: artlessthan3 wrote in naturalliving; December 21st, 11:42

I've found conflicting information about invisible zince. Is it safe? And how natural is it?
Thanks!

Clearing drains without chemicals

: elven_ranger wrote in naturalliving; December 20th, 18:19

Just a quick question to ask if anyone has any good tips for how to clear the pipes from the bathroom washbasin . The way the basin is, I cant get at the pipes themselves to undo the pipes to clean them, but its rather blocked up, with soap residue and such i reckon, and before I have to go and buy a bottle of drain cleaning chemicals (EW!), I wondered if you have any ideas for clearing it in a more eco-friendly way. (have tried hot water and such already).

Thank you! :)

OCM help or maybe switch to a natural face wash?

: ecoskink wrote in naturalliving; December 19th, 16:00

I have very sensitive and dry skin on my face that has been horrible lately. I've been breaking out like crazy..mostly on my chin and forehead. (is that your "t-zone"?) I can't remember the last time I used an actually face cleanser. I switched to OCM a while ago, first using about 75% EVOO and 25% Castor Oil, and moisturizing with a little EVOO or sometimes Coconut Oil. That worked well for a while, but I started breaking out again and getting white heads (by the way, what causes white heads? It always seems like grease or oil trapped under the skin..is that correct?) So I thought the EVOO was too heavy, so I switched to Grapeseed oil (same 75%/25%) I also started moiusturizing with pure Vitamin E oil almost every night. Well, again I'm getting white heads and zits all the time and they take forever to go away. Honestly I'll have a pimple for 2 weeks or more, and they usually leave a red spot when they do go away. I spot treat with Tea Tree Oil and that seems to do nothing. I also have some black heads appearing on my chin. So I temporarily stopped using anything but water on my face. I still need to moisturize after though, because even just plain water dries it out. This doesn't seem to be helping the cause at all. HELP. I'm beginining to think that OCM is not for me, which really bums me out because I do see some positive things from it. My skin seems so much less dry, and much smoother (aside from the pimples) Does anyone have any recomendations? I'm looking for tips on OCM or even a good, natural store bought cleanser + moisturizer. I'd like to stay away from chemicals/fragrances that will likely dry me out even more. I've tried Burts Bees back in the day and that didn't work out so well (plus I've been boycotting their products since the Clorox thing :p ) I eat a healthy vegetarian diet and drink plenty of water. I don't ever wear makeup, so i don't think I need any heavy cleanser. I just want clear skin. The rest of the skin on my body is always clear, whats the deal with my face?

Tags: skin care: facial, skin care: oil cleansing method

Carpet Deoderizers?

: theliveofv wrote in naturalliving; December 19th, 12:52

Hi everyone. It's me again. I have yet another problem. This past July I offered to take a friends un-neutered male cat to the vet's office for a checkup. The poor cat freaked out and peed all over my car. As anyone with an un-neutered male cat might know, their pee is EXCEPTIONALLY pungent and...putrid. I have tried EVERYTHING to get this horrible smell out short of a professional shampoo. I've tried carpet foam, baking soda and several upholstery cleaners and they all seem to work at first...until I leave the car out in the cold with the windows up for the night and then the horrible smell is back. Does anyone have any home remedies that might work? I'm starting to think I might just have to replace that section of carpet. Sigh. Thanks so much for any recommendations. You guys are always such a big help. :)

Update

: amspeck_myworld wrote in augustbabies09; December 19th, 0:10

Baby’s name and age:
Mirabelle, about 4.5 months.

How is your baby doing? (milestones, routine, dr's visits, accomplishments):
She's doing very well. She's such a smiley, happy baby - even compared with my other two - and always seems pleased to see anyone unless they are putting her down to sleep or disturb her sleep. She's starting to work on sitting up from a leaning position and keeps trying to dive forward when on her front. She's starting to get grabbing toys. She stills needs to be well swaddled to sleep contently, which is hard when she's kicking furiously - she's kicked holes in *two* blankets, something neither of my other two have done. She's also lost most of her baby hair (see pictures)

Mirabelle celebrated her first Chanukah this last week, though she slept through half the lightings ;) The older two were very excited to share it with her as was my husband and I.

How are you doing?:
Busy. I finished my last University class - woo! - and after I hand in my final assessments (though my dissertation is already in) I'll be done. It's so odd being done after all this time. I'm not liking the cold, particularly taking the kids out in it, but staying indoors is also having its toll on me.

Brag a little bit!: She is such a pleasant, happy baby most of the time even when her siblings keep her up. She's been so lovely even with the upheavel of me having to go back to Uni when she was a month old and being stuck in that and dissertation from the get-go. She doesn't seem to mind the changes as long as her milk eventually arrives and she eventually gets sleep and something to chomp on.

Pictures: ( Read more... )

FIV and FeVL?

: pixie___masque wrote in naturalliving; December 18th, 18:36

I looked in the memories but nothing was listed for this. I just got a cat this morning. My sister found her wandering looking for food. Turns out she was pregnant. My sisters co worker took her in to help birth the kittens and it was decided that I would take the mother when she was ready. The woman gave the kittens to a pet store and I stopped in to see her babies where they informed me that all kittens have feline aids and leukemia. I can only assume the mother has it too. I am going to get her tested and spayed. I'm feeding her Halo dry food and Natural balance wet food. She devoured both when I fed them to her. Does anyone here have experience in caring for a cat with both FIV and FeLV? There's no by-product or "meals" in the halo dry. I went to a clinic and asked the vet there but she didn't really have much to say other than what I already know. Right now she's a tiny little thing, pure white with blue eyes, and surprisingly not deaf. I do not know how old she is or where she came from I just know I want to give as good a life as I possibly can. Thanks for any responses and if you need further clarification on anything feel free to ask.

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