WELCOME

Hello! I'm Suzannah, a serious DIYer and mom of two little ones. Follow along with my DIY fixer upper house renovations, sewing and crafty projects, real food recipes, and de-stressing goals.
I believe you can love your home just the way it is, AND have the power to design and make big changes to make it better.
I'm also the author of DIY Wardrobe Makeovers!

Weekend inspiration: sitting on the floor, walking, and homemade deodorant

This is a very different kind of Weekend Inspiration post!

Sometimes I share ideas for cooking, crafting, sometimes visiting places around my area... this week, I'm excited about some minor lifestyle changes that have been making me feel so much better.

I think I'll have to take a "less is more" approach on some of these, since there's so much to say but I'm still learning so I'm not the right person to say it. May you find time to do some extracurricular reading this weekend and enjoy!

1. Sitting on the floor.


"Sitting is the new smoking," etc. etc. For some time now, at work I've used a standing desk with barstool for frequent changes in position, which has really helped my back, neck, and hip issues. And, I've always been good at stretching and yoga poses. But, I still get stiff and feel limited in my mobility on days when I don't get out for a long walk (so, most days) or am stuck seated in various places.

Recently, husband and I have been listening to every podcast interview we can find with Katy Bowman, biomechanical scientist and natural movement expert. (Seriously, click around her blog for tons of straightforward mechanical explanations for common modern issues such as foot pain, pelvic floor problems, "exercise" instead of movement...)

One big change Katy has made is living with less furniture. Sitting on the floor is something our bodies are meant to do, but some of us have lost the ability to do easily. Although we pay lots of money to go to yoga class and do it in 17 different positions for an hour a few times a week--why not just do it at home? The floor provides hard pressure like a foam roller or massage, and changing positions frequently keeps any particular muscle from getting stiff.

I've been sitting on the floor or standing at home all week! So here's what my living room looked like last weekend. We moved the coffee table out of the way (we do this often to foam roll in the living room), and I worked on taxes on the floor.

Katy has compared the couch to junk food. Yes, it feels good, but it has a short-term benefit and long-term cost. I've felt so much better after a day of standing at the kitchen counter and sitting on the kitchen floor (literally! I did that too, this week! Good lighting in here) rather than hunching over a laptop or book with my legs and hips in strict right angles.

Sometimes when listening to Katy's podcast I get confused by the cellular expression, mechanotransduction, super science-ey bits (and I rewind and re-listen a lot to the musculoskeletal stuff I can get if I really focus), but she's great with using metaphors to explain things and translate back to everyday life patterns. (One of the first episodes I heard her on was this one, with a lot about high heels.)

SO much to think about.

2. Walking. Long walks.


In that vein... husband and I have been taking walks in the parks near our house on Saturdays and Sundays, and man, is it nice to see the community, talk to each other without technology or other distractions, and move our bodies.

The weather is getting better, and the days getting slightly longer, so we're picking our fair weather habit back up and I can't wait till it's nice enough for a real hike somewhere and some longer time out in the fresh air.

This weekend: long walks!

3. New homemade deodorant recipes.


I've been using homemade deodorant for a couple years now, variations on my friend Carly's stick deodorant recipe. There are about 5,283 good-sounding recipes out there for homemade deodorant, so I was totally overwhelmed to make it at first. I didn't have most of the ingredients and I couldn't tell which recipe I'd like best. So I just went for it--ordered the new stuff and started mixing. (Like, I ordered these beeswax pellets--never would have thought I'd be shopping for something like these!)

Totally worth it. I love the way my homemade deodorants have smelled, and they work just as well as the conventional stuff (and better than store bought natural deodorants). However, there've been issues with my previous batches... one was too liquid at room temperature so I kept it in the fridge; two were kind of irritating and maybe too heavy on the baking soda for my skin.

But it's about time to make another batch, and I wanted to do my research more this time! Last week I went to the grand opening of a Pharmaca store in the Portland area, and nerded out over their line of essential oils. I haven't found many uses for essential oils, but I like them, and they are great for deodorants because many of them are antibacterial and antimicrobial (and they add a nice smell). So, I spent some time Googling "best antibacterial essential oils for deodorant" and getting so overwhelmed by the responses I eventually gave up and just picked a couple that smelled good.

Stick/solid deodorant recipes: Baking soda free or baking soda optional:



I  mean, that is seriously just the tip of the iceberg. There are so many options.

I know I want to use my essential oils, beeswax pellets for solidity at room temperature, and shea butter for moisture/smoothness. And whichever other ingredients I need based on the recipe. (I have found that shea butter is the greatest moisturizer ever! It's not too greasy but so thick and creamy, and lasts longer than just coconut oil. It's very smooth and nice in deodorant, too!)

So this week I bought a small saucepan at Goodwill for $1.50 and this weekend, I plan to use it melting my ingredients together! Wish me luck!

20 comments

  1. Katy Bowman! I recently discovered her, too, and her take on stuff has shaken my world view to its foundations! Good thinking, reducing the furniture. I am trying to wean myself off my pillow. Making progress!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I've never thought about sitting on the floor in that way! It's interesting because actually whenever I visited my mom's side of the family, there was always a lot of floor sitting in the home we were staying in. It probably has to do with me needing to clean my own floor of cat tumbleweed more often to make it more appealing ^_^

    ReplyDelete
  3. Have I mentioned to you before that we have a very similar looking couch? And it is addictive like junk food, except I love my couch more than junk food :) I'll have to check out Katy Bowman. I am a big fan of walks. One of my dearest groups of girlfriends and I go for nature baths (walks in the forest) each weekend, and it truly does refresh the soul, body, and mind. Hope you have a great weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm with you on the long walks!! On days it's not raining, I take Peeper out in the stroller for a long walk in the morning, then we take a hike in the afternoon. It makes us both feel much better!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Good luck on making more deodorant; it does sound fun :)


    I love sitting on the floor and often prefer the floor over the couch. i am so glad to know that it is actually good for you. Lastly walks?! Yes, please nothing helps me more rejuvenate than taking long walks and getting out into nature.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I always love a good podcast recommendation, hooray! Also, oh my goodness, I loooove talking essential oils!! If you're just getting started with them, I can help you with the info you need about quality and usage, specially regarding doTERRA essential oils! My email is penelopey4(at)yahoo(dot)com if you want to take me up on that. I've been reading your blog for years and like it just as much now as when it was mainly sewing :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Very interesting about sitting on the floor. I knew working at a standing desk was healthier, but I hadn't heard that about sitting on the floor. I do actually sit on the floor a lot to play with my kids so now I know that it's doing my body good!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Oh, cool! Can we talk you into sharing the recipe? Pretty please?

    ReplyDelete
  9. You mean once I make it up? ;) The past few times I've used this one! http://www.chic-steals.com/2013/05/diy-healthy-natural-coconut-oil-stick-deodorant.html

    ReplyDelete
  10. Cool!!!! Yes, me too, I'm using a folded towel!

    ReplyDelete
  11. You need to read Katy Bowman's book, Move Your DNA! It was so great and she makes the difficult biomechanical concepts so easy to understand.

    ReplyDelete
  12. It's definitely on my list!! I'm sure we will love it!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Please post your deodorant recipe!!! I have been wanting to make some but don't know what recipes to use. :)

    ReplyDelete
  14. I will once I nail it down! I've been using this one mostly so far! http://www.chic-steals.com/2013/05/diy-healthy-natural-coconut-oil-stick-deodorant.html

    ReplyDelete
  15. Good luck with your deodorant! I've heard that adding probiotic powder can really help them work, but I have no real experience with that!

    ReplyDelete
  16. I found that my homemade deodorant never lets me down...I can't say the same for my commercial ones.

    I sit on the floor all the time, and stand to do tasks for the reason that I work more efficiently standing than sitting. I had no idea of the health benefits!

    JJ
    www.dressupnotdown.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  17. Just shared my recipe! http://www.create-enjoy.com/2015/03/diy-sensitive-skin-essential-oil-deodorant-recipe.html

    ReplyDelete
  18. Here it is, just blogged it! http://www.create-enjoy.com/2015/03/diy-sensitive-skin-essential-oil-deodorant-recipe.html

    ReplyDelete

Search

© Create / Enjoy • Theme by Maira G.