6 Weeks Later and the Jar of Positivity

I’ve been away from my blog for about 6 weeks.  I’ve never taken a break quite that long before, not even when I gave birth to my son just over a year ago.

Even while I was away, my little blog generated lots of hits and I’m so thankful to all my readers for continuing to check out my blog!  Thank you!

Two Big Changes

Since I’ve been away, a few things have changed in my daily routine.  First, we added a new member to our family in the form of a live-in nanny for my son.  She’s great and my son fell in love with her almost immediately.  I couldn’t be more thankful for that.

Second, I returned to work in the office on a full-time basis.  I had dreaded this particular change for months, only to find out that it wasn’t half bad.  I’m enjoying having something else to do during the day and I still get to spend a few hours with my little boy each night when I get home.  I definitely feel lucky that the transition has been so smooth for all of us.

At first, I had no idea how I would make time for my skin care experiments.  Yet, in the past few weeks, I’ve managed to whip up batches of vapo rub, belly butter, and homemade deodorant.  Phew!  I’ve even been experimenting with new waxes.  It’s all about balance and now, I’m sure I’ll continue to find time for my skin care products.

The Jar of Positivity

To help my family kick-start this year, we decided to try something new.  We have introduced the Jar of Positivity.  I got this idea from a post I saw on Facebook and I loved it. Basically, we can write down anything that makes us smile or happy  on a little piece of paper and then stuff it into the jar.  We’ll save all the notes until the end of the year and then read them around Christmas time.  To be honest, I’m not sure that “Positivity” is actually a word.  Nonetheless, for 2014, it is in our household!

“Jar of Positivity”

Homemade Vapour Rub

A few months ago, I made a homemade vapor rub.  For some reason, I didn’t blog about it right away.  Frankly, it was so easy that I think that’s the reason I forgot to share it with you all!

I had been planning on including it in the Gift Box of Goodies that I put together.  Alas, there simply wasn’t enough room in the box.  So, I ended up with two sinus-clearing tubs of vapour rub.  Darn.

Vapour Rub Packed with Peppermint, Eucalyptus, and Rosemary

Crunchy Betty via Lightly Crunchy

I found the recipe on Heidi’s blog, Lightly Crunchy.  If you’re ever looking for great information on how to live life in a sustainable way, check out her blog.  I’m sure that you’ll love it, just as I do.

Heidi had blogged about her homemade vapour rub that was made with a recipe from the Crunchy Betty site.  It looked pretty good, so I used the same exact one.

A Simple Recipe

• 2 tsp beeswax (grated)
• 1/4 cup olive oil (or experiment with an oil of your choice)
• 35 drops peppermint essential oil
• 15 drops eucalyptus essential oil
• 15 drops rosemary essential oil

Melt the beeswax and olive oil together until smooth. I did this in a pot on the stove, on the lowest heat setting possible. Stir iy once in a while to make sure it mixes well.  I then took it off the heat and added in the essential oils.   Once everything was mixed, I poured this into two small containers and let it set, uncovered, overnight.  Store in a cool, dry place for up to  a year (or more).

Does it Work?

Oh yes, it certainly does!  The smell is quite strong, which is perfect in a vapour rub.  It’s both sweet and refreshing.  The large amount of peppermint has a great cooling effect.  (For more information about the cooling effects of peppermint essential oil, check out my Peppermint Schnuts post).

Essential Oils

But, don’t take my word for it.

As it turns out, a friend of mine happens to use store-bought VapoRub every single night before bed.  It’s the only thing that works to keep his sinuses clear through the night.  I mentioned to him that I had made a homemade batch and he jumped at the opportunity to be a test subject.  He’s been using it for a couple of months now.  He reported back to me that it works just as good or better than the store-bought product.  He also said that it lasts longer.  While it took a week or so to get used to a slightly different smell, once he got over that, he was hooked!

I was so pleased to hear such a positive review.

This is one of the easiest things to make and it works.  Sounds perfect to me!

Homemade Vapour Rub