Non coffee or energy drink substitutes

I'm looking into alternatives to coffee and energy drinks for staying up during class and during my overnight work shifts. I've been finding coffee is having an alternative effect as well as the engery drinks that I crash after a few hours. Which really isn't good for either work or school!

There's lots said on taking a cold shower or drinking large amounts of cold water but I'm not sure about you, that does not work for me and I don't have time to shower between classes :P

I'll have to get back to you on this matter as they is a wide variety of leaves and herbs for teas that are good for the purpose of staying up and other health benefits. I want to try and research the information on these alternatives before I post more.

Look into it yourself if you like! So far my top two to look into would be mate (a leaf for steeping tea) and kombucha (also a tea) but I'm sure about as there is mixed responses on this one. Some people love it and other says it's a great tea but burns a bit when drinking, not sure if I'll enjoy it myself.

Update more soon on this matter!

Dishes and Hands with Vinegar

Also I've discovered baking soda and vinegar can be great for cleaning as well. For your dish cleaning needs first scrape as much food off the plates, then fill the sink with hot water and add some vinegar. Then get a clean bowl to fill with baking soda, 1/2 cup of the soda to a couple of sprinkles from the tap of hot water. After trying this I discovered for say every 6 dishes (depending how dirty, mine were caked on) add the mixture again. It will form a white liquid that turns to a paste in a few seconds. This is your soap, so dip in the sponge or cloth for washing dishes and first dip just the plate (cup, spoon, etc.) into the vinegar water and let it dip mostly off. Then use the sponge with the white paste on it to cover the plate, it will be a white, almost dirty look to the plate but don't worry. When you wipe off all that is on the plate just put in the vinegar water to rinse off for a bit then into your drying rack.

This is great for the hands as well, enjoy using this easy, cheap solution!

C is for Cleaning and V is for Vinegar

White Vinegar that is not that apple or wine vinegar is great for cleaning and it's an old wives method to cleaning. These days we tend to pick up a spray bottle of this chemical and that because we think it's easy.

But is it easy to be light headed while cleaning those things that need some elbow grease or that hours later you still can't go into the bathroom due to the fumes. And now you have to get an air freshener that just adds to the chemicals your body is absorbing!

Just use white vinegar and hot water:
-smells great while using it
-easy, cheap to buy and use
-natural alternative to pure chemical cleaners
(vinegar is still treated and may contain some chemicals)

I just fill up my tub with an inch or two of hot, hot water and add some white vinegar to it and soak a cloth in it to wipe down counters, floors, etc. It's also great at shining up taps and other metals around the house, how to do you clean silver wear after all with vinegar.

And for those caked on or really grimy places it's suggested, as in I haven't tried it yet, to make one of those pastes for cleaning with:
-2 tablespoons of salt
-1 teaspoon of vinegar
Leave on for a few minutes and then wipe off with warm or hot water!

White Vinegar is less than $4 for a 4L bottle and goes a long way to clean and freshen your home, bathroom and kitchen especially in a safe, natural and cost effective way!

Diluted Honey and Lemon Delight

Alright I've used both of their so far and they both worked really well! I'm hoping for a body infusing conditioner or shampoo eventually but neither of these were. The Diluted Honey seemed weird to me because it was so watery that it didn't really feel like I put anything in my hair. When I read up about this one it had said you'd have to rinse a lot because of the honey it didn't fell that way to me but I rinsed for a while just to be on the safe side. It made my hair really shiny, smooth and silky but a little thin. The Lemon Delight was really weird to try because of the yogurt in the mixture, some slipped down my back when I applied it and it felt really really slimy :P and I had to clean out the bottom of the tub due to the mixture making it really slippery after too. But it made my hair feel really protected and repaired as well as soft (not as shiny but not dull either). I felt self conscious because I thought I could smell the yogurt all day. Yet everyone I asked said they could not and actually up close my hair smelt great! So no worries! The honey didn't really smell like anything. I would definitely use both again! With the Lemon Delight I even used fat free vanilla yogurt and it worked but I would really stay away from any other flavours just in case of their reactions. One more thing it might be wise to let your yogurt mixture to sit out for a few minutes 'cause I found it very chilly while sliding down my back :P Enjoy these conditioners too!

Organic Conditioners

Alright I tried the virgin coconut oil by it's self as a conditioner and found since my hair is oily, straight and very thin it only made things worse for me. The coconut oil is very good in making the hair smooth and straight so probably best for dry, curly or "Full" hair!

The following is a series of Organic Conditioners and over the next few weeks I'll refer back to this blog on my progress of trying them all, the beer one I think I will try out camping next week!

Some of these have an ease of mixing up and rinsing out and others I'll put near the end need more time to complete.

Diluted Honey
For soft and silky hair
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup honey
-you may need to rinse more than once

Lemon Delight
Shine and lighten
1/4 cup plain yogurt; better plain and full fat
1 egg yolk
lemon; pinch of rind or squirt of juice

Tropical Dandruff
Shine and straightener
3 tbsp lime juice
1/4 cup coconut oil
-it is said the lime cuts the oiliness

I'm not trying that one right away I want nice looking hair! I look a bit of a saggy bum right now!

Beer Locks
Strengthens
1 bottle of beer
-smells like beer after

I think I'll try this one camping next week and rinse out in the lake, any of my besties want to try with me! Ha!

These following conditioners take a little more time and may be for a rainy day to treat yourself and your hair:

Avocado Mayo
Leave in 20 min after rubbing into scalp
1 small jar of Mayo or 1/4 cup of Mayo
1 Avocado
-mix until greenish and I'm guessing on the amt of Mayo I don't know how much a small jar is?!

Avocado Hair Spa
Moisturizing; good for face mask at same time
Leave in 15-20 min after rubbing into scalp
1 avocado
1 egg yolk

Bananas and Honey
Leave in 20 min after rubbing into scalp
1 banana
1/2 cup of honey
- puree banana in blender

I'll try these over the next while and report back, if anyone else is trying them please comment back your results as well to help us all...

GOING BACK TO BASICS

~Heather~

Coconut Oil Results

I love it! My skin feels luminous! It took a little while to dry and some parts like my neck and shoulders still have a bit of oil sitting on them. I'll try using less next time and see how it goes but so far I give coconut oil as moisturizer a PLUS PLUS!

~Heather~

Virgin Coconut Oil Benefits

My best friend is a health nut and has been raving for years about the benefits for coconut oil as a food product and moisturizer. She'd always tell me about the benefits of having a spoon of oil a day and then using the oil after showers to get smooth skin! And if anyone is interested, neither of us can say but coconut can be used as a fresh sexual lubricant. I'm sure it would smell great during, just opening the jar is delicious.

I got a jar of coconut oil from a health food store for less then $30, the one I got is called now. You can get regular, virgin or extra virgin; I have the NOW virgin coconut oil (orange label). When using it as a moisturizer it's suggested that extra virgin is better for sensitive skin, which I do have so I'll let you know what I find out using the virgin type instead. I should have researched that first before buying but it's a experiment this going back to basics! I'll just have to try to find out along the way.

After having a spoon full of the oil it went down smooth and tasted great! It is a little weird at first but it's coconut so if you don't like coconut shavings in baking goods you won't like the taste of coconut oil! I leaked some over the side of the jar and my hands now smell delicious. Lady fingers anyone!

The benefits of having a spoon or two if you like as described on the jar are numerous.

• Fights diseases and bacterias, such as herpes, HIV, flu and the cold
• contain vitamin E and K as well as iron, good if you are anemic
• as a good conditioner, you just massage it into the scalp and rinse it out
• moisturizer, just rub it onto your skin as you would any cream
• has antioxidants to prevent aging
• good for digestion and weight loss

There are many, many more things that I tire of listing them all just try coconut oil! I'm going for shower now so that I can try out moisturizering with the coconut oil, post later what I find out!

Later down the road look for natural hair care and I want to learn how to make all natural shampoos and conditioners...

GOING BACK TO BASICS

~Heather~