How do I know this works? My Mom has a nursery and spends most of her day outside in the garden. The mosquitos love her. She has found that if she wears long pants and puts the dryer sheet in her pocket, the pesky bugs leave her alone. I am also a prime target for mosquitos and realized I had no bug spray in the house last week so I gave the dryer sheet method a try – and as advertised, it works like a charm.

Looking for other creative uses for dryer sheets? Check out this article aptly titled, Creative Uses for Dryer Sheets.

Image: Dr Player

At the age of 13, I spent time with my Grandmother Cantlo who lived to be 89, my Great Grandmother who lived to be 94 and Great–Great Grandmother who also lived an amazing life to the age of 95. All of these women had great home remedies they passed down to my Mom and she would use on my 3 sisters, my Dad and me.

My Grandmother was a resourceful God fearing woman that could make nothing into some wonderful. I never heard her raise her voice except to call my Granddad Lorenzo  “ LO “  to the dinner table. I rarely saw her with out an apron on and a wooden spoon in her hand (for cooking not punishment).  I get my cooking skills from her, and although I am not as good as she was, I do have a passion to learn how to cook well. I get my desire for a healthy natural lifestyle from all of them.

From the time I can remember we drank fresh pressed or squeezed juices regularly. There was always a Champion Household Juicer 2000 on the counter in their homes. It was just what we did in our household. When it became popular when I was in my 20’s I just couldn’t understand what the big deal was. The big deal was and is that juicing is such a great healthy fun food no home should be with out one.

The benefits of juicing are vast but to name a few – a 16oz glass gives you 4-6 servings of fresh veggies, and the nutrients result in glowing, radiant skin that shines through as vital nutrients are released for immediate absorption in our bodies and that’s just the beginning.

My favorite blend – called the Cantlo Squeeze

• 5-6 carrots
• 2 apples
• 2 sticks of celery (include leaves)
• 1-2 inches of ginger root (to taste more is stronger)
• ½ green bell pepper
• 2-3 baby red yellow and orange bell peppers
• 1 handful of fresh baby spinach

Makes about 32oz

There are lots of books out there to help you on the road to juicing for life!Some we recommend are:

• The Juicing Bible
• The Juiceman’s Power of Juicing: Delicious Juice Recipes for Energy, Health, Weight Loss, and Relief from Scores of Common Ailments
• Ultimate Juicing: Delicious Recipes for Over 125 of the Best Fruit & Vegetable Juice Combinations

Omega 3′s secret to glowing skin is contained in its revitalizing benefits. Omega 3’s are essential fatty acids. Now don’t be alarmed; there’s nothing wrong with these fatty acids; they’re the “good fats.” They’re the kind of fats that are vital to the health of every cell in your body, including your skin cells. Omega 3 keeps your skin moist and prevents sagging.

Omega 3 also fights against those nasty free radicals that are flying around. These free radicals also damage the skin and cause wrinkles. Omega 3 lessens this damage and helps prevent collagen breakdown. Without collagen, wrinkles will develop, and your skin will lose its healthy and youthful glow.

If you suffer from premature wrinkles, dry skin, dandruff, cracked skin, or other very dry skin conditions, chances are you have a deficiency of Omega 3. Part of the beauty of Omega 3 is that it will moisturize your skin from deep inside. You won’t have to slather on yet another cream on your face. Instead, you can get Omega 3 from your diet.

Here are a few ways you can get your required source of Omega 3:

• Cold water fish, like salmon, herring, sardines, and fresh tuna twice a week
• Supplements of at least 1000 mg of Omega 3 per day
• Flaxseed or walnut oil, or walnuts. You can either blend a high quality oil into a smoothie (you really can’t taste it) to make it more palatable.
• Other foods containing Omega 3′s are kiwifruit, lingonberry, black raspberry, butternuts, pecan nuts, and hazel nuts. Some eggs contain Omega 3 – these are from chickens fed a special diet. You can usually find these Omega 3 eggs in specialty or organic food stores.
• Grass fed beef is also another source of Omega 3, and possibly milk and cheese from grass fed cows. The mass produced beef nowadays have been fed grain, which doesn’t contain Omega 3.
• A word of warning about fish: many fish are caught in polluted waters and may carry a high concentration of heavy metals, which is not good for you. Farmed fish do not have as high a level of Omega 3 because they are fed pellets, rather than algae that the free roaming, but possibly polluted, fish eat.

After reading the above list, it might be a bit daunting trying to find food sources for your Omega 3 requirements. Do some research and see what will fit best into your lifestyle. Would putting Flax Seed Oil into a smoothie be doable? Or perhaps swallowing a supplement every day will be more your style. Whatever it is, find the intake method of Omega 3 that is right for you. It’s important to your skin and your healthy glow. Your youthful skin will thank you for it! I highly recommend the book Omega Rx Zone: The Miracle of the New High-Dose Fish Oil by Dr. Barry Sears for more information on just how good the Omega 3’s really are for your entire body and mind. Check in often for more secrets that need not be a secrets any longer!

Yep, salt. She had me mix 1/4 cup of warm water, 1/4 tsp. of salt and 1/4 tsp. of baking soda. I dissolved them together and “inhaled” the water. Okay, I felt like I was drowning and it did sting a bit, but two “applications” and 4 hours later, I feel better now than I have in days. And when you get a sore throat – gargle with the mixture. It does wonders for killing germs in your mouth and throat.

I need to start using some of her other tricks, too. She uses a mixture of baking soda and vinegar to clean her bathrooms, or baking soda and salt mixed to a paste if you need some abrasive action. She uses vinegar and water to clean her windows.

According to my Mom, baking soda dissolved in water works well as an antacid, it works as an anti-itch solution, and deodorant. if you go to the Arm & Hammer web site, you will see many of these tricks featured. Who knew? I did, but I continue to get caught up in the marketing schemes of companies trying to get me to purchase their chemicals.

I think it is time to start looking to the past for solutions to our daily challenges – and Keep It Super Simple. It will be better for our families, our health and our environment.