Third Annual Flats and Handwashing Challenge

DirtyDiaperLaundry.com

"I am taking part in the Third Annual Flats and Handwashing Challenge hosted by Dirty Diaper Laundry. For 7 days I will be using only flat cloth diapers and handwashing them in an effort to prove that cloth diapering can be affordable and accessible to all. You can learn more about the rules and why this challenge was started by visiting the announcement post. This year there are over 400 participants from all over the world!"

This will be my second year participating in the Flats and Hand washing Challenge. I decided to participate once again for the simple reason that I had so much fun last year. Yes I find hand washing diapers covered in poop and pee to be fun! LOL.
Last year my reasons were much more personal. I was poor growing up. I lived 3 years from the age of 6 to the age of 9 without running water. Our well had dried up and my parents could not afford to get it filled. It was hard. But through that experience I became more conscious about water conservation.  For the whole story you can read my post from last year here.
This year will be more challenging than last. First of all my son is 2.5 years old and soaks through everything. I have slowly moved further and further away from cloth diapers and have been much more reliant on disposables. I really need to get back on track with cloth diapering and hope this challenge forces me to do so. My budget and the environment will thank me for that.

Lastly I believe that the more knowledge and experience that I have with diapering on a budget the more I can help people that may be in the same position I was in as a child.
Like last year I will be holding a give away to celebrate the end of the Flats and Hand washing Challenge. This year I will be giving away a new pair of handmade wool longies. I made them from an upcycled thrifted sweater that I felted. They are size large- x large. I am not much of a seamstress so there are some flaws but are totally functional. The waist is elasticized. If you'd like a chance to win these longies please leave a comment. The winner will be announced Monday May 27, 2013.

Rose Hip Oil Salve

Last year my mother in law gave me a big bag of rose hips that she had dried. I didn't really know what to do with them though. I tried tea which I didn't really like. I attempted jam but got so frustrated trying to clean out all of the little prickly hairs from the hips. I ended up straining out the rose hip pulp and making it into a syrup. The syrup is good over oatmeal :) The syrup can also be used as a supplement during cold season because of the high amount of vitamin C found in rose hips... I will tell you all about that in another post. But for now let's get back to the salve.
After some failures in my rose hip experiment I finally came across something that really intrigued me. I read about all of the skin healing properties found in rose hip oil.
Over the past year my skin has gone through so much. First and foremost I recently celebrated my 27th birthday and it shows lol. I feel like I have aged so much since having my son. I am definitely seeing signs of aging on my face. Secondly last summer I got my first bout of eczema. I never had it before and have no idea why all of a sudden it appeared... but it 's again back this year. Thirdly I went through a year of electrolysis which left my skin blotchy and scarred in some spots.  All in all my skin is a hot mess.
Rose hip oil does wonders for the skin. It is super moisturizing. It can help treat eczema, burns and sunburn. It also reduces the appearance of scars and wrinkles. Sounds like a win win to me.
So naturally I had to try it. I looked up how to make my own rose hip oil from what I had and settled on doing an infusion. I put the rose hips and carrier oil (I used almond oil) in my crock pot to speed up the infusion process.
I tried to use it just as an oil but didn't like how greasy I felt afterward. So it sat for a couple of months in my fridge. These rose hips were slowly becoming the bane of my existence. Until I discovered the wonderful world of SALVES!! How a little bit of beeswax could change my life is beside me.
I transformed my rose hip oil into a salve and what a difference. I now love using it and can't wait to try out different herbs.