Fall Sniffles Relief Roller

Blending these essential oils into a roller ball applicator can help with the sniffles associated with the season change!

Growing up in Minnesota, I never had seasonal sniffles. And I mean never! I was so so lucky. I moved to Georgia for graduate school, and low and behold, not even a month later I had a persistent runny nose and itchy eyes. My car got covered in a yellow-green film as fall slowly moved it's way in. My fall sniffles had struck! Now that I'm in Texas, every spring and fall for about a month, those sniffles come back and plague me for about a month each season. And that's where this fall sniffles relief roller comes in handy. Affiliate links used, full disclosure here.

First, the essential oils! Revive oils are my new go-to. Yup, I used to be with Young Living, but the expense of those oils were insane. I asked some of my oily gurus who they got their oils from and learned about Revive. They're therapeutic grade, indigestible essential oils that are NOT a multi-level-marketing structure. You can go on their website and buy them like you'd buy something on Amazon - no need to sign up for some membership! They have packages with diffusers and single essential oils, plus roller bottles and other lifestyle items. Use code Paige10 for 10% off your order and experience the same quality of Young Living or doTERRA without the obnoxious price.

I think the best thing about this roller is that all the oils in it are extremely popular and versatile. Meaning, you probably have them on hand, and if you don't, you should invest in keeping them stocked because you'll use them for everything. The number of good uses for lavender knows no limits, I swear. I use this oil every single day. Every one!

If you get seasonal congestion like I do, make this roller and keep it in your purse. That way you have it on hand when those sniffles strike! And bonus, it's good to use on children, too. I would start by applying it on the bottoms of their feet to make sure there isn't any adverse reactions. For adults, I like to apply it to the back of my neck, wrists and temples. There's nothing more refreshing than the peppermint oil when you're congested and smelling the lemon is invigorating when you're experiencing seasonal sniffles/head aches.

Here's how to make my fall sniffles relief roller:

- 1 roller ball applicator (like these - get more than one so you can keep them in multiple places like by your bed, your purse, your car, etc)

- 5 drops lavender essential oil

- 5 drops lemon essential oil

- 5 drops peppermint essential oil

- pinch of epsom salts

- distilled water OR carrier oil such as Grape Seed Oil

Pop the roller off the top of the roller ball applicator and add the pinch of salt. Add the oils to the salt and shake it, covering the opening with your finger so it doesn't spill out. This will evenly distribute the essential oils over the salt. This step is important because oils and water don't mix, and this will help keep the oils suspended in the water. Top off with distilled water. Shake well before each use.

OR

Pop the roller off ball off the top of the applicator and add the essential oils. Fill the remainder with your carrier oil of choice. Shake well before each use.

Here's the difference between using water and carrier oils: Carrier oils DILUTE the essential oils, so if you have sensitive skin or are using this blend on children, I recommend a carrier oil. Water STRENGTHENS the oils because the water allows it to penetrate the skin faster, so if you're only going to use this on non-sensitive skin areas of adults, or have particularly bad seasonal sniffles, I'd go this route.

To piggy-back off that last paragraph, if you ever have a reaction to an essential oil or an essential oil based product, don't attempt to wash it off! Add oil to the affected spot. When I first got a blue spruce oil, I rubbed it all over my neck so I'd smell it constantly (that smell reminds me of Minnesota and I'm in love with it. I was also pregnant and not thinking clearly at the time!) After about 30 seconds, I started to break out in a rash from applying so much of the oil neat to my skin. I attempted to wash it off, which only made the rash worse! I should have just started coating myself in coconut oil so that it would have become diluted on my skin. Now I know better, and you do too.

Putting together a fall sniffles relief roller is that easy! The blend smells great and promotes your seasonal wellness. Make several and keep them around your house for easy access.

Life Currently

Ramblings from a semi crazy blogger on a semi crazy life in absolutely insanely hot Texas

Hey friends! Just wanted to take today and get you all caught up on my thoughts. Mostly because they're all over the place, and it's too hot here to get my brain to function and actually get some photography together with a decent blog post idea, DIY, etc etc. So I'm relying on my good ol' standby: The Currently post, July Heat Edition.

Currently, I'm:

Having weird dreams. No, I'm not pregnant, but I am taking a new herbal sleep aid and it makes me dream like I'm pregnant! Have you ever had a dream about someone from your past, whom you haven't thought about in AGES and then you find yourself thinking about that person nonstop all the next day? That happened to me last weekend. I had a dream about a former boss, then thought about said former boss all day the next day like, "Gee, I wonder where they're living now" and "I wonder if they still have that hilarious dry sense of humor" and "I hope they didn't get fat. That person was far too attractive to end up fat." I even went on Facebook and creeped DEEP on this person's profile. And then I realized how psycho I was getting after this dream and was like whoooooa Nelly, slow your stalker roll here sweetheart, you're halfway to the loony bin.

A post shared by Boymom Blogger | Paige (@anuncomplicatedlifeblog) on Jul 21, 2017 at 4:18pm PDT

Winning at Instagram Stories. When I posted that doorbell rant, I'm not sure I could have gotten more responses! I'm glad y'all like my rants. Maybe I'll stop posting pictures since my engagement there is complete crap but I'm absolutely crushing this Stories business. Haven't seen them? You're missing out, follow me here! Even my ex-boyfriends and their new girlfriends watch them.

Peeing in my pants. Well not really, but I just got off a call with a brand who wants to do extended work with me through the holidays and into 2018, and I'm pretty sure we're a match made in heaven, and I'm so pumped about this potential opportunity! Here's what I've learned over the last few weeks (and it's especially true given the success of my Instagram Stories): The more you are genuinely YOU - not trying to be anyone else, but rather being your own person with your own personality and your own quirks and your own strengths and your own faults - the more you're YOU, the more success you'll have. Not just in business or blogging, but in life in general. And certainly in your personal happiness.

A post shared by Boymom Blogger | Paige (@anuncomplicatedlifeblog) on Jul 24, 2017 at 4:32pm PDT

Waiting for August break. We're headed to my parent's lake home like we did last year again, and I'm certainly ready to get the f up out of the Texas summer time! I've forgotten what it's like to step outside and not be miserable and instantly sweaty. Summer break, I'm ready for you! Alllllllllso, post August break means I can officially start to blog about fall and Halloween things, and if you've been around these parts for any length of time you know Halloween is my JAM.

Slightly ashamed. Nah, not really, but yeah, kinda. I absolutely did NOT hit up the Nsale, because a) it's really only good if you have the store card, which we do not have because if you know anything about credit scores, you know that store cards are NO BUENO, b) I don't like to shop that much and c) I actually hate sales because nothing is ever in my size. Buuuuuuut, I did head to Nordstrom Rack, and I did get some new shoes. Three pairs for $150. Not bad! Hypocritical? Meh, you decide, I'll be over here enjoying my new kicks.

Having allergic reactions. Allergic might be a strong word, but all of a sudden, when I drink red wine I wake up totally puffy and swollen. WHY? My eyes are puffy and my hands are so swollen my rings won't fit. It's weird. This never used to happen. Maybe it's the heat? Please tell me red wine won't do this to me for the rest of my life? Pretty please? And no, I'm not posting a photo of the red wine aftermath, it's BAD.

That's what's going on around here! What are y'all up to currently?

How To Get The STINK Out Of Your Clothes

Whether it's workout apparel or you left a load in the washer for a day too long, use this method to get odors out of your clothes

I made a huge mistake a few weeks ago. I started a load of my laundry (as in, MY clothes only, not the kids nor the husbands) on a Friday night and forgot about it until Sunday afternoon. Why I thought I'd want to do laundry on a Friday is beyond me. Like I was actually going to remember I threw in a load, put it in the dryer and fold it all on a Friday night, right? Foolish. Anyway, I remembered it on Sunday afternoon. It smelled horrible, as I predicted. I ran the wash again, put it in the dryer in a timely fashion and... The clothes STILL stunk! Has this ever happened to you? Or have you been in a workout class when you smell something, and realize it's the "old sweat" in your workout clothes that just never seems to come out? Yeah, I've been her too. Read on for the perfect way to get that stink out of your clothes, whether it's from the gym or a forgotten load that went funky in the washer.

I had been told from my crunchy friends that vinegar gets that smell out, but I wasn't sure how to do it. I crowd sourced on my Facebook page how people use vinegar to de-stink clothes, and the responses were all about the same. Yes, use vinegar, but also use baking soda. Of course! Seriously, is there anything that stuff isn't good for?! I use it in my homemade face wash (that has completely cleared my hormonal acne - I don't wear any foundation or concealer anymore!) and it gets the smell out of your fridge if you put a box in it, so of course it'd clear out stinky clothes.

Now, my clothes smelled BAD. Not only were they forgotten in the wash but they were also mostly my workout clothes, some of which I've had for ages (because when you invest in amazing yoga pants like these, you get to keep them for 10 years and they still look great). Most people said they let it soak in their washer, but I wanted a good 24 hour soak on these stink bombs so I did mine in a bucket, because leaving clothes that long in a front loading washer has left me a little leery, and rightfully so.

Here's how to get the stink out of your clothes. You'll need:
- medium to large size bucket (like this one)
- 1/2 cup white distilled vinegar
- 1/2 cup baking soda
- 10 drops of essential oil (I used a blend called Purify because that one helps de-stink things, but any non-citrus oil would work)
- warm water

Quick note about the essential oils! Revive oils are my new go-to. Yup, I used to be with Young Living, but the expense of those oils were insane. I asked some of my oily gurus who they got their oils from and learned about Revive. They're therapeutic grade, indigestible essential oils that are NOT a multi-level-marketing structure. You can go on their website and buy them like you'd buy something on Amazon - no need to sign up for some membership! They have packages with diffusers and single essential oils, plus roller bottles and other lifestyle items. Use code Paige10 for 10% off your order and experience the same quality of Young Living or doTERRA without the obnoxious price (and minus the sales people always trying to get you to buy things...)

Start filling the bucket with warm to hot water. Add the drops of essential oil to your baking soda so that it will evenly distribute in the water. Oil and water don't mix, so you have to add the essential oil to something that will carry it through the water to evenly reach all your clothes. Add the vinegar and baking soda (it will foam up). Only fill the bucket about halfway, so you have room to add your clothes.

Let clothes soak for up to 24 hours, but at least two hours. Make sure to store away from children so they don't spill it everywhere! Then, put the clothes in a normal wash cycle with detergent like you typically would. My clothes didn't smell like vinegar, nor did they smell strongly of the essential oil I added - they just smelled like clean, fresh laundry!

How to get the STINK out of stinky clothes:

• soak for 2 to 24 hours in a mixture of white vinegar, baking soda and essential oil
• for really bad clothes, "pretreat" them with a paste of water and baking soda. Add a few drops of tea tree oil. Let sit for several hours before adding it to the bucket of vinegar/baking soda/EO
• wash on a normal cycle to get clothes clean

It's pretty easy to get the stink out of your clothes, although it is a bit time consuming with the soak time. Hopefully I wont forget a load in my laundry for that long again. But if I do (and let's be honest, I will) forget and my clothes get stinky, I've got this easy way to de-stink them!