Not all foods are safe for beauty treatments
While DIY beauty treatments using foodgrade ingredients are on the rise, dermatologists are warning that not all pantry and produce items are safe to use on skin. According to a story by Glamour, lemon is one fruit you should avoid. The reason? “Lemon is acidic and can burn the skin,” causing phytophotodermatitis, which is a bad inflammatory skin reaction. Glamour says other ingredients to avoid include raw eggs (which can cause a bacterial infection from salmonella) and spices (especially cinnamon, which can irritate the skin).
TROPICAL PLANTS
During the warmer months, most houseplants can benefit from being outdoors, as many are tropical plants that flourish in the warm weather and bright sunny days. The key for success is to make sure plants aren’t immediately transported from a shady spot in the home to a bright, sunny spot outdoors. Start by moving the houseplants to a slightly shaded spot outdoors, then gradually move them to a sunnier spot over the course of a few days. This can help prevent scorching them in the sun. And be sure they have plenty of drainage; in the case of a downpour, the plants will drink up what they need and allow the rest to run off.
ONION BULBS
Ever look in your pantry and find an onion that’s sprouted roots and green shoots? While the onion is still perfectly edible, maybe you’d rather not use it to cook with. So how about using that thriving onion to grow new onions right in your own backyard? Just separate the sprouted onion into smaller pieces and plant it in your garden or in pots. In a few weeks, you’ll notice new sprouts and growth, and you’ll eventually have a bumper crop of new onions to harvest from your garden.
CITRONELLA SMOKE
Burning citronella candles is a popular and natural way to repel annoying insects from invading your back porch or yard. The floral-smelling smoke works by covering up both the carbon dioxide and scent of human lactic acid that our bodies emit, which attract bugs. But many people burn citronella candles improperly, placing them at table height, which means the smoke does little to protect your legs and bare feet. To correct this, burn the candles on the ground, using sturdy and heavy buckets or glass-enclosed candles, so the smoke rises from the ground up for full protection.
DISHWASHER TIPS
Running a fully loaded dishwasher is the most energy- and water-efficient way to wash dishes. But it’s key to load it properly to get the cleanest results. When loading utensils, don’t load them all in the same direction. Spoons should not “spoon” each other; some should face up while others should face down. Make sure dirty dishes face the center, so the sprayer arm can most effectively get them truly clean.
FOOD BANKS
Even during these uncertain times, your local food bank is actually discouraging the donation of food to help fill their shelves. The reason is donated food is often expired, contaminated or just unsafe to give away. Sorting through donations also takes time, which could be used instead by volunteers to help those in need. What they really need is cash donations. Food banks and pantries have relationships with wholesalers, and this means a single dollar can be turned into about nine cans of food. Cash donations enable them to get a lot more product to help people, and they can control the inventory to get what’s really needed in the community.
SAFE SUNSCREENS
It’s important to protect your skin with sunscreen, but it’s also important to avoid products that cause damage to coral reefs when you’re having fun in the sun at the beach. When shopping for sunscreen, look at the ingredient list, and avoid products that contain oxybenzone and octinoxate. These two chemicals are thought to have damaging effects on coral reefs, essentially bleaching them and killing them outright.