Spring is here! It's time to spuce up the energy around your home.

Let me start of by saying how much I dislike cleaning.  I try to daydream to make the chore somewhat enjoyable.  I try to think of the benefits: the house looks better, I'm moving, being active, I'm good at it.  Still it is not something where I say, "Woo hoo, have to clean that today."

SPRING is here:

It's time to start opening windows and doors and getting a cool breeze flowing through the house.  Time for a good dust of the cobwebs and a nice cleansing of the house.  By cleanse I mean things like moving stagnant energy from areas of the house, there are spots where the breeze doesn't really hit and the area can become stagnant.  These are the areas you want to refresh.

STEP one - setting the scene:

Open windows and doors in a cross ventilation.  This allows a breeze to blow in from one end and blow the dust out of the other end of the house.
Light some candles, the flame burns dust it comes into contact with which I've always thought helps eliminate the dust.  I could be wrong, though either way, the light flickering is a nice touch. 
Remember to keep safe!  You don't want to set the place on fire.

STEP two - dusting & smudging:

The smudging part is optional and can be as easy as lighting an incense stick and moving around the house with it.  Letting the smoke into those breeze-less stagnant areas.
When dusting get yourself a good natural duster.  I find bird feathers work well and if you feel bad about purchasing bird feathers look around locals parks for some really good, large fallen bird feathers.  Attached them to a long thin piece of wood and you're good to go.

STEP three - working in a team:

Spring cleaning is a big job and you don't wan to to it alone (or all in one hit).  My husband and I work as a team doing different parts.  He opens doors, I light candles and smudge.  I walk around the house dusting, leaving a light on in each room I've completed so he knows which rooms he can vacuum.  Then he turns the lights off in each room when he finishes vacuuming.  This way we know which rooms are complete and we're not doing the whole house by ourselves.

STEP four - reward yourself:

When you're finished it's time to sit down with a nice bevvy and relax for a bit.  Sit back and admire your work, or sit outside in the garden getting some vitamin D.  Have a chat to each other.  Doing house work together can actually be a nice quality time thing, kind of like an internal date.

 

What about you? How do you refresh the stagnant air in your house and do you and the family members work as a team?

  

How To Treat Sunburn

Can you remember the last time you got sunburned?  How long were you in pain for?  How long did your burns take to heal?  Did you blister and peel?

I'm kicking myself because I got sunburned even though I wore a long sleeve top and hat and thought I was protected.  Sadly my neck was not covered and got cooked to a cripsy.  Boo hiss!

The temperature was 25 and overcast, the sky covered with grey clouds.  There was a 5 minute walk to the parade which I watched in the shade.  Then a 10 minute walk to the fairground where I sat under the shade of a beautiful large old tree, and some standing around watching a bird show for around 5 or so minutes.

All up only around 20minutes of sunshine... yet enough to cook me :-(

Here are steps on how I treated my sunburn and healed quickly with as little pain and discomfort as possible.

Day 1 - (technically night 1) Applied Whipped Cream Moisturiser to my face and neck because I could feel my skin was dehydrated and desperately needed a good drink.  My neck was super red and sore to touch and I felt miserable and foolish. 

Day 2 - Applied Soothing Salve in the morning, the afternoon and before bed.  I had to pat the lotion on very gingerly because rubbing and touching my skin hurt badly.  Especially my trapezius muscles.

Day 3 - Applied Whipped Cream Moisturiser as a cold cream mask to my face and neck and let it sit for 15minutes to soak in and deeply hydrate my skin.  Moisturising richly in an attempt to starve off fine lines and wrinkles that can come from being sunburned. 
Before bed I applied Soothing Salve and could already rub the lotion into the front of my neck and trapezius without discomfort.

Day 4 - By this stage the pain had gone away and I could easily apply Soothing Salve to the area before bed.  The red had already faded to a light tan colour.

When my skin was fully healed, around day 7, I began applying Enliven Facial & Body Scrub to exfoliate the area and gently removed the tanned skin (the tanned neck looks funny next to my pale body and face).

In future I plan on wearing a summer scarf to cover my neck instead of thinking I'm covered up enough and it's not that hot so I should be ok.

When did you last get burned and how and what did you do to treat it?