Wordless Wednesday; Tombstone, AZ

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY: Tombstone, AZ

Tackle It Tuesday - Migraine Relief Kit

For this week's Tackle It Tuesday post, I wanted to share with you how I made my Migraine Relief Kit and what goes in it!  I have suffered from migraines since I was a teenager and I have learned a lot about what helps relieve them when I have them.  The trouble is, once I have a migraine, I can't think or function well enough to remember all my remedies!  So I was looking at a post about a first aid kit, and I thought, why not make a Migraine Relief Kit?  Something where I can have all my migraine relief remedies all in one place? Here's my kit;

What's in it?  Below are pictures and descriptions of everything in my box.

As you can see, I have a large bottle of electrolyte water.  Often times, migraines and headaches are a sign that you are dehydrated.  I have this in my kit just in case I am out of drinking water, and to serve as a reminder to drink plenty of water once my migraine begins!

This is my favorite lotion from Bath & Body Works.  Stress Relief Hand cream.  Aromatherapy can work wonders for migraines, and rubbing some of this on my hands, neck, and shoulders can really help.  Plus, it helps remind me that some simple self-massage and reflexology can help too.  There are pressure points on your hands, feet, and neck that can help with headaches and migraines.  If you suffer from headaches or migraines I strongly suggest you learn some of these reflexology pressure points.  And this lotion is wonderfully relaxing whether you have a headache or not!

I suffer from the migraines that not only make my eyes very sensitive to light, but there is usually pounding, excruciating pain behind one of or both of my eyes.  I went looking for a sleep mask, and I found this sleep mask at Walgreens.  It has removable gel inserts that you can put in the freezer and then back into the sleep mask.  Oh that nice cool feeling on top of my eyelids, while also shielding my eyes from any light in the room.... it's really a GREAT find for migraine and headache sufferers!  I can pop the inserts into the freezer for about 5 minutes and then be ready to go!

As I mentioned before, aromatherapy can really help.  I have this bottle of eucalyptus oil in my kit to remind me to use it in my oil warmer.  For headaches I would recommend either Eucalyptus or Lavender scented oils in a diffuser.  Experiment and see what works for you, but be careful because some scents can actually trigger migraines.  Also, make sure you use pure essential oil, not perfume oil.  The "perfume" oils contain chemicals that can make your migraines worse.

My heating pad.  I made this one myself, with a fuzzy sock!  I filled the sock with a mixture of dry uncooked white rice, some eucalyptus scented Epsom salts, and some dry crushed spearmint.  I sewed the end shut with needle and thread.  When I need it I heat it up in the microwave for about two minutes and then put it behind my neck.  The heat combines with the soothing scent is so relaxing!  Migraines and headaches often come with neck and shoulder tension, so this is a must-have for a migraine relief kit!

Of course, some obvious essentials... over the counter migraine relief medication!

I found this in a little shop of natural teas and remedies.  It's a loose tea blend of chamomile, white willow bark, and a couple other herbs that are known for pain relieving.  I haven't tried it out yet, but once I try it I will let you know how it works!

I also included a couple other tea bags of my favorite soothing teas.  I have a Stash Chai Green Tea, a Stash Chai White Tea, and Celestial Seasonings Sleepytime Extra (with valerian).  A nice soothing cup of hot tea helps me relax and fall asleep.  Plus, I often get a sour stomach and nausea with my migraines, so hot tea helps with that symptom as well.

This is another aromatherapy remedy!  This is a "Bath Tea" of a blend of herbs and essential oils.  You put it in a bath tub full of hot water and it releases the scent into the bath water.  VERY relaxing and effective!

This is some allergy medicine.  Antihistamines can help relieve a migraine.  I put these in my kit because I know it works, but I almost always tend to forget about taking them once a migraine hits!

AND, last but not least, Emergency Chocolate!  Because sometimes a migraine or headache can be caused by, or aggravated by low blood sugar.  And besides that, chocolate just makes me feel better.  If you put some chocolate in your kit, make sure it is Milk Chocolate, NOT Dark Chocolate!  Dark Chocolate is a migraine trigger, and might actually make your headache worse!

If you suffer from migraines, educate yourself on as many remedies as you can, and try to figure out what your triggers are so you can avoid them.  Common triggers are stress, dehydration, hormones, perfumes, chemicals, and some foods.  The most common foods that can trigger a migraine are; Sharp Cheeses, Dark Chocolate, Citrus fruits, and Red Wine.  You may be triggered by one or more of these things, and there may be things that trigger your migraine that are not listed here.  The best defense is to prevent the migraine by avoiding your triggers, but they can't all be avoided all the time, so maybe you will want to put together your own Migraine or Headache Relief kit to have everything in one place when they do strike!

Living Room Organization

This week I am sharing what I did last week in my home!  I focused on cleaning & organizing The Living Room!  To get ideas for your own "Tackle It Tuesday" project or to see what other bloggers are sharing, check out Tackle It Tuesday at 5 Minutes For Mom!

 

 

 

 

Last week (Jan. 28 thru 31st) was a time to focus on Zone 5 (FlyLady.net).  Each week FlyLady has a different "zone" or area of the home that you focus on for decluttering or deep-cleaning.  So this I a big part of why I focused on my Living Room last week!

 

This week's organization was also inspired by the Home Organization 101 Challenge at A Bowl Full of Lemons!  Check out this awesome livingroom and see where I got my inspiration and see what other bloggers did in their Living rooms as well!

 

 

 

First of all, my Living Room was DUSTY!  One of the joys of living in the desert!  Dust gets everywhere and builds up very quickly!  I had neglected dusting in here for awhile as you can see with the following before and after pictures!

I loved using Shaklee's Basic H2 for dusting!  Just a little spray on a towel and I was able to get all my surfaces super shiny, without any chemical smell, and with the peace of mind of knowing I used a safe & healthy product!

 

 Moving on... the shelves under the tv were a bit cluttered! 

 I sorted through the books and got rid of quite a few that the kids had outgrown.  Some of the books were moved to the girls' bedroom.  What was left all fit on the bottom shelf, leaving the middle shelf open for video games and a few DVD's.  The canvas caddy box with blue spots on it now serves as a storage bin for remote controls and game controllers.

This corner was very cluttered!  A lot of papers and miscellaneous stuff, but most of it was my hubby's guitar stuff.  (Guitar strings, picks, supplies, and books)  He has been teaching himself to play guitar over the past couple of years.

I straightened up the table, and put all hubby's guitar related stuff in a basket! 

Now it looks like this!  Hubby's two guitars, Miss Z's Guitar.  The window unit A/C is tucked under the small table for storage until summer when we need it again.  I even framed and hung up a picture above the table to add some more decoration to the room!

 

It's a picture of Jerry Garcia!  Drawn by my very talented brother.  He did this in an art class in college.  I'm glad it finally has a home, displayed above our little "Music Corner" in the Living Room!

Onward - a couple more areas needed dusting and straightening....

 

Yeah. The ceiling fan was gross!  I used a duster with an extension handle on it to reach it.  Funny how those things get so dusty when they are constantly moving!

 

Anyways... that was my living room project!  It's nice to know that there are specific "homes" for things in my living room now, and easier to maintain with specific places to put things.  If it doesn't have a home in the living room, out it goes!

Tackle It Tuesday; Mount Washmore, CONQUERED!

The weekly Housework meme!

Since the house is in decent shape and I was relatively caught up with the general housework, I decided to get ambitious and dedicate today to LAUNDRY!  The pile in the Laundry Room (better known as Mt. Washmore) has been taunting me for weeks.  I swear it's been breeding.  I would wash laundry, and the pile would not get any smaller... in fact, it would tend to grow.  So, today I decided to tackle it!

7:00 am.  There is a door behind that pile.  And supposedly a FLOOR under there, but I don't really remember what it looks like.  I started a load of laundry from this pile, and then got busy and folded the two clean loads that were in the livingroom from yesterday.....

9:00 am - Load 1 folded and then put away.

9:30 am - Load 2 folded and put away.

10:30 - load 3 folded and put away

11:00 am - load 4 is in the dryer, load 5 is in the washer, I'm finally starting to see progress.  Of course, the blankets, sheets, and comforters in the corner will have to wait until another day.  But I sorted thru them and got all the clothes that had been mixed into them sorted out :)

12:30 - load 4 is folded and put away!  I'm starting to confirm my theory that the laundry pile has been breeding.... I don't even RECOGNIZE some of these clothes.

1:30 pm - load 5 is folded and put away!  Load 6 is in the dryer and.....

I can see the FLOOR! 

Holy cow!  I can walk into my livingroom from the laundry room without wading knee deep through laundry and risking broken neck or twisted ankle!

2:30 pm - 6th load is folded and put away!  I was so excited to get that last load put away that I forgot to take a picture, so you'll just have to take my word for it!

My husband got home from work and saw the floor in the laundry room (and the absence of piles of clean laundry in the livingroom) and declared an official Miracle of God.  And I don't feel too shabby about it myself!

Now, tomorrow is Anti-Procrastination Day - maybe I'll wash those blankets and sheets lurking in the corner...

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want to blog about your housework projects?  Join me at Tackle It Tuesday over at 5 Minutes For Mom!  Check out what other moms are tackling!