Lately I’ve been focusing on keeping my life simple, streamlined, and easy. That’s the goal of summer anyways right?
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In summers’ past I’ve worked 40+ hour weeks and been in a constant on-the-go pace. It’s good to keep busy and accomplish a lot, but this summer has been equally as great with a lot less going on.
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I’m waitressing 3 nights a week and doing another research based job a couple days a week, with lots of at-home work that keeps me occupied but not overly structured. I’ve loved having leisure mornings, and several days off a week, as I know once school starts back up between an internship, classes, waitressing, and skating I will be plenty busy.
My r
My recipe for a simple life lately…
I bought myself a new bike on my birthday and have vowed to use it in place of my car any chance I can. After work last night I cruised down a busy hill, beating out the traffic and feeling the warm summer air on my face. Biking is so much better than driving.
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I’ve stopped shampooing and conditioning my hair. Before you coin me the dirtiest person you know I should assure you there is good reason behind this. I’ve started doing an occasional baking soda and apple cider vinegar cleanse and given up using any and all products. My hair is less frizzy and curlier than ever and I’ve loved cutting down on shower time and extra costs at the store.
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And I’ve also started washing my body with Grass. Well grass scented body wash. It smells so earthy and makes me happy.
I’ve finally jumped on the home-made ice coffee bandwagon, making big batches at a time so I can roll out of bed and get the caffeine flowing practically instantly. I use my french press and store it in a large mason jar as needed. Cream no sugar please.
Easy sitrfry’s, walks to the dog park, mid afternoon dips in the lake to cool down, and easy jogs without music or a watch. All ways I’ve been keeping my life simple lately.
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What ways have you simplified your life recently?
I am jealous that you are living simply, KK. I find it very difficult to disconnect after a long day at work.
Katie,
I want to hang out with you! We can ride bikes and wear our Chucks while drinking iced coffee.
I’ll bring the Kerrygold.
P.S. Love LUSH products! Also, I would love to know more about the apple cider vinegar and baking soda hair cleanse. Is it difficult to detangle without conditioner?
That would be too fun, yes lots of bacon and kerrygold would be involved I’m sure
It actually does a fantastic job at detangling which I was surprised about because I have very long, thick, curly hair. I keep the bottle of it in my shower and pour a little into my palm and work it through just the ends of my hair. Sometimes I do a few handfuls to get through it, but sometimes just a little is needed.
And the baking soda does such a good job at cleaning my scalp, just add a Tbsp to a cup of water and mix well before applying about half the mixture to your roots and working it in with your hands, then rinse it clean. I’ve been doing this combo only once or twice a week and my hair has been responding really really well to it!
This is so great. I swear I’m buying a bike as soon as I get my paying job back. Jealous!
I’m totally intrigued by this hair cleanse! I’ve been wanting to back off my use of beauty products for awhile now, but I’m so chicken. But you may just have convinced me otherwise!
There’s nothing to be scared of! If you don’t like it you can always just go back to your old products, but I’ve been pleasently surprised with how my hair looks now! Going on 3 weeks of no shampooing haha. And yes biking is great
I’ve been keeping the oven off: salads and smoothies are quick, easy and don’t heat up the house.
Salads have also been a savior for me. Too hot for much else anyways! I’m on the lookout for good smoothie recipes because that’s one thing I seem to fail at every time haha.
Aw, I LOVED this post! I try to keep my life simple as well but it doesn’t always work out. Sometimes I find myself seriously wishing I could just live life on a farm or in a log cabin with no anything! (though I would miss the blog world!)
whoa this is so cool!! I need to make my life more simple- i love that you shared all of this!
Little things really add up in simplifying life, you should pick a few and start small. Makes a big difference in my happiness and stress levels
wow… that hair cleanse seems interesting!! i might just have to try it
and i too have been wanting to make life simpler by atleast trying to do more of the simple things i love!
Your pictures are gorgeous!
As far as not shampooing/conditioning your hair, that is a smart idea. I also have wavy/sort of curly hair with a bit of frizz at times, and I find that skipping a couple days of washing does wonders to my locks. Using natural products on our bodies seems to be the way to go. I’ve been reading Caitlin’s recent posts on natural beauty products on her Healthy Tipping Point blog. (though her latest post on a supposedly natural beauty product was a little scary!) Does your hair retain a nice softness/shine with the apple cider/baking soda cleanse? How much of each do you use? I will have to give it a try!
I’m going on almost 4 weeks of no shampooing/ conditioning now and only 3 baking soda/ acv cleansings and I’ve loved the results so much. I no longer need mousse to tame the beast haha, and my curls are much more pronounced and controlled. I mix 1 Tbsp baking soda in a cup of water, and this lasts for 2 washes for my hair. Make sure you mix it up really well (putting it in a bottle is the easiest way to do this) before applying it to your scalp to work in for a couple minutes, then rinse clean. And for the acv cleanse I just keep the bottle in the shower and pour a bit into my palm and run in through my roots. You can adjust the amounts of both based on your own hair but this has been working really well for me. Since I’m not drying out my hair with shampoo I produce much less oil than I used to so I’ve only had to do this cleansing about once a week! I’ll probably post about it in more depth soon since I’ve been getting plenty of questions! Hope that helps
Love this! There is beauty in simplicity…
How do you deal with when you get sweaty though or when you shower?? Do you not wash your hair – or just use the baking soda?
Yes I do the baking soda/ vinegar cleanse in the shower. I still only need to do it 1-2 x/week even if I’ve been sweating. That’s for me though, some people do it a bit more often or use a stronger ratio of baking soda to water to clean their head a bit more. If you give it a try experiment with what works well for your hair!
Just wondering how you do your iced coffee in the French press? What is your grounds to water ratio? I’m having such a hard time figuring it out! Thanks!
hmm well I don’t really measure so this might be tough to answer. To make enough for 1 serving I do about 4 Tablespoons of grinds and approx. 16 oz of water (a little less probably). So when I make a big batch I do about 7-8 Tablespoons of grinds and fill the french press just about to the top with water. I would say experiment and then mark your french press or remember where you fill it up to, to get the right coffee taste you like. Hope that helps!
Katie, do you colour your hair? Do you know how the cleanse would go with colour treated hair?
I don’t color my hair, but I don’t see why this wouldn’t work for colored hair. It is so much more mild than shampoo is to hair, so I don’t think it would strip the color.
that body wash sounds amazing ill have to try it, and I agree with keeping life simple
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