Back to the Bathroom

I know the old adage about housework being a never-ending job but I am pretty sure that decluttering falls into the same category.

Even though it does not seem that long since I went through the cupboard and drawers in the bathroom vanity I have just done it again. The catalyst was a small bottle of rosehip oil that the rubber top of the dropper had perished and stuck to the side of the drawer. I noticed this before Christmas but didn’t have time to deal with it properly then. I also discovered that the last of my blush compact had crumbled and spilled into the perspex container so I took everything out, cleaned, sorted and tossed before returning everything to their rightful homes.

When I went to refill my tablet dispenser I noticed how grotty it was so I took it apart and washed it.

I knew these were in the drawer but when I saw them I decided to make the effort and actually use the foot soak and cream – feels good!

But first, I soaked my feet in my home-made remedy. It is ground rolled oats and safflower oil. I make it in the food processor – grind the oats and then add the oil until it is a paste-like consistency. Store in the refrigerator and add a tablespoon to some warm water and soak feet in it for 10 – 20 minutes.

This was originally given to me as a remedy for my daughter’s eczema – use in the bath instead of soap. BEWARE – it makes the bath slippery and also needs cleaning very frequently. However, it is worth it as I needed no nasty chemical lotions and potions. I found that it healed my cracked, dry hands simply in the few minutes I had my hands in it when I was bathing my daughter.

4 thoughts on “Back to the Bathroom”

The bathroom storage seems like the last place I ever wanted to clean. No one else looked in there, so I figured it was hidden. I have to ask did the oat/safflower oil help your daughters eczema? My grand daughter has eczema badly and being just shy of 2 they don’t want to use anything harmful on her.

Thanks for asking about the results with the eczema. We found it very successful and it is definitely worth trying. I used to put a spoonful of the mix in an old stocking or muslin bag so that it was contained and made slightly less mess. No other soap or lotions were used.

The information came to me about 25 years ago from a friend who got it secondhand from a dermatologist who was visiting from your country! The other tips were to use only lukewarm water, let them drip-dry rather than towelling dry. If you need them to dry off quickly use a patting motion rather than rubbing.Finally, he suggested that after this routine, any areas that looked red should be smeared with petroleum jelly (Vaseline). Given that it is oil-based I eschewed this idea and used Pawpaw ointment (I am not sure if you can get that in the USA but I am sure you could find something similar). The non-reddened areas are moisturised with sorbolene cream.

Hope is useful.