Home Hack: Lid Rack Repurposed For Cabinet Door Storage

I love hacks and unusual solutions for the home. I´ve been known to waste spend hours Googling the word "repurpose" (try it on google images, and see if you don´t sucked in as well !)

  I´ve been looking for ways to use the space inside the kitchen cabinet doors. I can´t screw or hammer anything into these doors, since the kitchen cabinets are part of the rented flat. So I had to get creative, and I´m so happy with the result that I couldn´t pass up the chance to brag. After all, it´s my blog, and that´s what blogs are for, right ? Anyway, back to my oh-so-clever repurposing hack:

That´s my dish-towel organiser ! It´s on the inside of the cabinet door, so the whole thing is hidden yet easily accessible.

The door hook is from a flea-market, but I´ve seen similar things to hang bathroom towels in Ikea. You hardly see any part of it on the other side of the door.
On that hook I´ve hung a lid rack. Again, you can get one at Ikea (I remember it´s from the Rationell series, although I got mine at a flea market). I did use some scotch-tape to keep the thing from swinging when I opened the door.

What else could you store in a lid-rack ? Any unbreakable plates, trays and cutting boards, letters, newspapers or magazines, wrapping paper, place mats, those big wooden spoons and spatulas... In the bathroom it could hold small towels, unopened cleaning products (the kind that some in long, round containers), more magazines... I´m sure you could come up with more than that.

Soft, Padded Or Push-up ? How These Influence Breast Tissue ?

   For everyday wear and to help the breasts regain their shape I always recommend soft cups rather than anything padded or moulded. (Soft means underwired and non-padded / thinly padded). The soft cups will help your breasts to get back into their best shape, in other words -- to recover from being squeezed and distorted by previously worn wrong sizes. The breasts firm up, armpit rolls (in reality: escaped breast tissue) return to the breasts. Soft cups allow for that, since they don´t dictate the shape to the breast, rather they take on the shape of the breast. Moulded cups have a fixed shape, and the breasts have to kind of pour themselves into the mold (that doesn´t help with breast firmness !). The same goes for push-up and cleavage enhancing bras.

   After a few months of wearing correctly fitted soft cups, your armpit rolls should go away (or rather return... to the breasts) and you should notice more firmness. Now you can start with padded and moulded cups, for occasional wear under clothes that require it. But for everyday wear soft cups are recommended. And chances are that you´ll love it that way. And, the breasts don´t always look bigger in a padded bra, and here´s the proof.

  This is not about replacing your current padded/pushup for a soft bra in the same size; you need to get a soft bra that is correctly fitted. It is easier to establish your correct size in a soft bra. If the bra is correctly fitted, your breasts have got the chance to recover the tissue that has migrated out (to the armpit and back) due to the pushup bra. Actually, pushup bras should be renamed pushout bras, since they manage to push some of the breast tissue out to the armpits. Like this.

   Soft cups can be made of a thicker material with a slight padding, but the cups stay soft and are different from the stiff padded or moulded bras, where the cups stay stiff even when you put the bra on the floor.

   Nipple show is often a concern with soft bras. However, getting fitted with the correct size often solves the problem, as this reader pointed out.

 

recipe: Frothy Beetroot Smoothie

    I´m having a hard time making friends with vegetable smoothies of any kind. I do have one recipe that I love, and try to make almost every day. 

The smoothie is very light and frothy, and the taste of the greens is very light. According to the rules of healthy raw food combining, apples are the one fruit that goes with almost everything.

Blend well, and drink immediately ! !

The inspiration comes from a juice recipe (I´ve lost the link). I prefer to blend instead of juicing, since I need my fibre.

My Favourite DIY Body Scrubs

   These scrubs are rather strong, and I don´t recommend them on the face unless you have strong and non-sensitive skin. Don´t use scrubs on legs that have a tendency towards breaking capillaries. If you´re looking for gentle scrubs, try those meant for the face (I´ll be posting recipes in a couple of days).

A note on ingredients:

• Olive oil: Makes the scrub moisturising and removes oil-soluble impurities. Do use extra virgin (cold pressed) oil. You can substitute olive oil with any other oil you like (almond ? wheatgerm ? grapeseed ?). Please don´t use mineral oil.
• Salt, coffee & sugar : again, going for natural ingredients is worth it.
• Shower gel: for slip. Use one without SLS.

Optional magical ingredients:

• Essential oils: they don´t just smell pretty, so make sure you read up about their effect before you add the. Remember that a couple of drops is plenty !
• Vitamin E: for extra moisturising and to help the skin heal and regenerate
• Feel free to play around and customise !

SEA SALT SCRUB

This scrub is of the stronger kind, especially recommended for dealing with ingrown hair on the legs.

You need:

• Sea salt (it has many more minerals than your typical table salt). Make sure it has no additives (like the kind to keep it non-sticky).
• Your fav shower gel (get one without SLS)

Mix and scrub in circles !

BROWN SUGAR SCRUB

It´s a gentler alternative for those who find sea salt to harsh (or pinchy !)

You need

• Brown sugar
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Lemon juice (optional)

Try to make a thick paste (otherwise it will be hard to apply). Massage in with circular movements.

COFFEE SCRUB

The caffeine probably does not get anywhere under the skin, but the coffee grounds make the skin amazingly satiny smooth. It also gives a pretty tint to the skin, and according to some rave reviews it helps with cellulite and stretch marks in early stages (when red) If you´re a coffee addict, you´ll love how the aroma hangs around for hours, unless you prefer to use soap or gel after the scrub.
The scrub from used grounds is gentler than that from unused (new) grounds.

You need

• Used coffee grounds (do try natural coffee, as coffee tends to have very high levels of pesticides). And no, instant coffee won´t work here !
• Sea Salt (not necessary, but usually works great)
• Cinnamon (unless you are allergic to it).
• Olive (or other) oil --- optional. Makes the scrub gentler and more moisturising.

Mix 2 parts salt to 1 part coffee, and add a couple of pinches of cinnamon. You can store this in a little jar, and mix with water or shower gel before using !

I´ve shared my recipes, now it´s time for you to share yours ! What do you scrub with ?

Photo by  tatielle