10 Tips To Stay Sane and Reduce Stress During Quarantine

Happy Sunday, everyone!

Hope everyone is staying safe and finding lots of fun and/or productive ways to stay busy during these difficult and strange times that we are in.

I have found this quarantine to be challenging and stressful for many reasons. I do appreciate the freed up time on my hands and have found some things that have helped me when I'm feeling stressed out over everything, and wanted to share some of them with you. Some of these tips are obvious things that one might do during quarantine but some have proven to be very helpful and cathartic for my stress/ type A personality.

Let me start off by saying, this quarantine has me taking more hot, Epsom salt baths than I've taken in years, and I'm not mad about it! 🛁

1. Watching Old TV Shows and Movies

Netflix has to be one of the most obvious things to do. I actually don't watch a lot of Netflix (yet) but I have really been enjoying binge-watching the show Ozark. I spend too much time online and I'm hoping to reduce that and spend more time watching TV and/or Netflix as it's much more relaxing than being online all day and night. I find that watching old TV shows and movies can be relaxing as it takes us back to more simple times "the good ole' days" some might say. Although, you don't need Netflix to watch old shows and movies as some TV channels have plenty of them to watch.

2. Intricate Adult Colouring Books

I purchased a fabulous adult colouring book where there are such small, intricate details in the beautiful artwork. It's a real stress-buster as it takes all of your focus and attention into the process of colouring, being careful to stay inside all of the lines and allowing creativity to flow as you select your own colours from the coloured pencils to create your own masterpiece. This is just what the type A personality needs! Similar book linked here.

See below for a peek inside the book and my 1st unfinished attempt at colouring.

3. Cleaning, Organizing, and Decluttering (Kon Mari)

I love being organized! I believe everything should have a place. As a lover of fashion and beauty products, my collection just keeps growing over time, so I have to keep on top of organizing and decluttering my items. I usually do this every season, but there is no better time than now to make the time for it. I have heard so much about the Kon Mari methods for organizing and decluttering which was created by Marie Kondo and outlined in her book The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up. I use some of her ideas and leave others that don't mesh with me at this time.

Cleaning, organizing, and decluttering are very satisfying for me. My biggest take away so far during quarantine, is that I finally took the time to apply Marie Kondo's folding techniques to all of my tops. I never had the patience to do it properly before. I didn't believe that it would give me more space as I had tried my own take on her folding method and it did not save space and my drawers wouldn't close. This time, I took the time to watch a YouTube video on how to apply her folding method and I followed it exactly. This proved to be very cathartic for me! Since I am not a patient person, it was exactly the right task for me! It takes concentration, time, and patience so it actually becomes like a form of meditation. It was very relaxing for me and very rewarding as it ended up saving me so much space and I can now see all of my tops, so they are all getting used!

See the pictures below with the results of my Kon Mari folding method for my tops.

 T-shirt folded Kon Mari Style

 Above: Short sleeve and long sleeve tops folded the Kon Mari way

I can see everything and I have more space in the back.

Above: Sweatshirt drawer folded the Kon Mari way

4. Use It Or Lose It / Selling Items Without Contact

After decluttering, you will have items to donate, toss or sell. With these difficult times upon us, it never hurts to make some extra cash for your unwanted items.

I have a lot of luck with Facebook Marketplace (my ad is shown below), and Poshmark Canada. Both allow for contactless transactions and are easy to use. When I sell something on Facebook, the buyer sends a free etransfer to my email and we arrange a time for them to pick up the item on my porch.

With Poshmark, you send the items via mail, so I ship all of my sales when I'm at the store and have my mask on per usual when going to the stores these days.

If you are new to Poshmark, you can sign up using my invite code POSHSUMMERGIRL on the sign up page and get a $15 credit! Linked here.

5. Trying New Recipes; Baking and Cooking

I think a lot of people are enjoying baking and trying new recipes now more than ever. We often resort to frozen pizzas but homemade cannot be beat. Below is my favourite pizza recipe. I purchased a thin wholegrain crust and added my favourite toppings: Pizza sauce, mozzarella, feta, sundried tomatoes, black olives, onions and garlic. I ran out of sundried tomatoes and used regular ones this time, it was just as good!

The Dalgona coffee recipe (shown below) is all over social media so I had to give it a try. I found it quite strong, so I will try it again with half of the ingredients.

Homemade Pizza 🤤

Dalgona Coffee

6. Pampering- Hair and Skin Treatments

Now is the perfect time to give our hair and skin some extra pampering. Needless to say, I'm finally getting around to using up a lot of my products that were being neglected, along with my skin and hair!

As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, there is nothing like a nice hot Epsom salt bath to relax your mind and body. I like to add some lavender essential oils, my favourite Live Clean bubble bath, and light a candle.

You can take all of the above ideas and create a spa day at home with some relaxation music for the full experience.

7. Exercise, Yoga, Meditation

Now is the perfect time to start exercising- check with your doctor before beginning a new form of exercise. Depending on your health and energy levels, you may want to do some gentle exercises like yoga, walking, or do some HIIT workouts. You can find tons of free exercise routines on YouTube.

Below are 2 of my favourite yoga DVD's. Sara Ivanhoe's Body Makeover has five 20 minute routines using Hatha style yoga, while the Happy Hormones by Ana Brett uses Kundalini style of yoga which is very different from the conventional Hatha style of yoga but has a lot of health benefits, including balancing out your hormones.

There are plenty of fitness DVD's, free YouTube videos, as well as apps for most forms of exercise as well as meditation. I really like the Down Dog app and the Insight Timer app.

8. Makeup Organizing and Decluttering

I know a lot of people online are into decluttering their makeup collections now more than ever. I recently cleaned out my makeup collection and tossed out everything that was expired. I felt bad that I had wasted so much makeup as I wasn't able to use it all up before it expired. But I feel so good that I've now fit almost my entire makeup collection into the makeup organizer shown below. The only items that I am not able to fit into this organizer yet are my palettes and tools.

We may not be able to go to stores yet, but you can still get organizers like this online.

ALMOST my entire makeup collection (minus palettes and tools)

9. Haircuts and Colour

Many of us will have to resort to a DIY haircut. I've been doing my own hair for the last few years and I have some tips and tools to take the stress out of it! Check out my post on how I cut my own hair linked here. I use some tools that make it super easy and simple including the Crea Clip.

I also do my own highlight and base bump! I have a whole post on how I bump my base and tone my hair linked here. Goldwell 10p + 20 volume developer are my secret weapons to toning my hair and bumping my base in 10 minutes!

10. Reading, Hobbies, Crafts, and Games

Some more common tips worth mentioning are starting hobbies that you've always wanted to or ones that you haven't had the time for in a while. Finally picking up that novel or self help book that you've been meaning to read.

Playing cards, board games, and puzzles are also lots of fun and can help relieve stress during these tough times.

Lastly, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the benefits of good sleep (that's a whole other post), music, and sometimes you just need a nice big bowl of your favourite ice cream! 🍨

I hope you found some of these tips helpful.

Let me know what you're doing to have fun, keep busy and combat stress during these difficult times.

Now I'm off for yet another hot bath! 😊

#staysafe

Some links are referral, thank you for the support if you choose to use them!

Impromptu Makeup Purge / Declutter | March 2020

Since I'm stuck at home due to the Coronavirus, I've had more time to tackle things that I've been putting off.

This Impromptu makeup declutter took place because of an email alert I received stating that my photo storage was full. Since I had the time, I started going through and deleting years worth of old photos. I had pictures dating back to 2009.

As I approached the later years, I was not only shocked at how fast time has gone, but I was a little freaked out at how old I realized a lot of my makeup was! I began throwing out my expired makeup one by one as I went through the pictures, and before long I had this pretty large pile of expired makeup to declutter.

Note: I like ALL of this makeup! None of it was purged/decluttered because I didn't like it, It was solely because of how old they are.

Links to products provided in the product headings when available.

EYESHADOW PALETTES

Eyeshadow Palettes Decluttered:

• L.A Colors trio in Sunflower -awesome little dollar store palette (cannot find online)
• Glo Skin Beauty 8 pan shadows in The Velvets -one of my favourites, I didn't use it enough!
• Glo Skin Beauty quad in Hey, Sailor -Glo Skin Beauty quality is really good!
• Elf Mad for Matte -this is the original one, amazing all matte palette
• Elf Baked Eyeshadow palette in California -loved this one in the summer for a sheer wash of bronze across my lids using a wet and dense shader brush
• Elf Baked Trio in Peach Please -same as above in a mini, great for travel
• Elf Baked Trio in Bronze Bonanza -same as above. Would probably repurchase these minis vs the full size shown above. I like to use them with a dampened brush for a gorgeous wash of sheer colour on the lids. The dark shade works well as a liner. I get bronze goddess vibes from these baked shadows and wear them a lot in the summer. 

Total Decluttered: 7

LIP PRODUCTS

Lip Products:

• Baby Lips -pink shade, probably wouldn't repurchase
• Baby Lips- a great nude shade that I can throw on with any look and I don't need a mirror
• Burt's Bees Lip Balm in Pink Blossom- I like the formula and that it's 100% natural but would probably choose a different shade next time
• Too Faced Sweet Peach lip gloss in Pure Peach -love this one in the Summer!
• Maybelline Lipstick in Nude Lust - great formula and goes with anything- Jlo's Nude is still my fave though as it has a touch more pink than this one
• Glo Skin Beauty Cream Glaze Lip Crayon in Chiffon -dupe for my HG Sonia Kashuk lippie that was discontinued. This crayon is amazing for aging crinkly lips! 
• Burt's Bees Gloss Crayon in Outback Oasis -not as long-lasting as I'd like but the shade makes up for it! It really suits my complexion
• Morphe Liquid Lip in Virgin- Amazing product for a liquid lip considering I don't usually like liquid lip products. It's not too nude and not drying, wears off nicely too

Total Decluttered: 8

EYELINERS / BROW PENCILS/ EYE PRIMER

Eyeliner/ Brow Pencils / Eye Primer:

• Pure Anada liquid liner in Fig - gorgeous deep plum shade but I'm generally not one to reach for liquid liners very often
• Aloette Waterproof eyeliner is Greystone -I used as a liner under my eyes and a brow pencil. Great shade for those uses- they probably don't make anymore, this is super old!
• Annabelle Kohl Eyeliner in Taupe -another great shade for lining the under-eye area and doing my brows
• Mia Adora Unshakeable Liquid Eyeliner in black -very pigmented, easy to use- great liner if you like to work with liquid liners
• Wet N Wild / Fergie Take on The Day Eyeshadow Primer - it did the job but I prefer Essence I Heart Stage Eyeshadow Base)

Total Decluttered: 5

FACE PALETTE

Face Palette:

• Elf Illuminating palette -I replaced the darkest shade (bottom right) with a highlight shade from another ELF palette. I like that you can pop the shades in and out of their face palette quads to customize them. I would repurchase this as I adore the subtle glow that these powders provide. The perfect highlighters for aging or textured skin, or if you just want a subtle, realistic glow without the glitter! These perform like high-end powders IMO.

Total Decluttered: 1

BLUSHES

Blushes:

• Avon True Color Powder Blush in Goddess Pink- This is from at least 2010! I read about it in a magazine and had to have it! I loved it and didn't use it enough because I have too many blushes for one face (like all my makeup products I guess 🤷) Would buy again in a heartbeat!
• Rimmel Blush in Pink Sorbet- Perfect soft neutral pink shade that is difficult to overdo. I love blushes like this!
• Wet N Wild blush in Pearlescent Pink (old formula)- Stunning pink/coral shade that is not too pink nor too coral. This shade in the new formula appears different from this but I would still give it a try as I loved this one so much. Again, didn't use it enough as I have so many blushes! Blush junkie here!

Total decluttered: 3


GRAND TOTAL:

I like to see the numbers, so here is the summary of all of the victims of this declutter...

-Eyeshadow Palettes: 7
-Lip Products: 8
-Eyeliner/Brow/ Eye Primer: 5
-Face Palette: 1
-Blushes: 3

Grand total decluttered: 24 

It feels good to get these expired products out of my makeup collection. Now I can focus on what I have and feel good knowing that none of them are expired. From now on, I will do my best to label my products with the purchase month and year using some stickers. This way, I'll be able to keep on top of my expired products and purge them when they expire.

Thanks go out to Google for alerting me about my full storage! Otherwise, I'm certain that this declutter would not have happened.

Now I'm a little more motivated to tackle other areas that need to be decluttered as well!

Hope everyone is staying safe and finding things to keep you busy. Maybe my declutter will inspire you to tackle your makeup or another area that needs some decluttering. Let me know what you're doing to keep busy during this difficult time.

Some links are referral. Thank you for your support if you choose to use them. xo

Supplements + Other Tips I've implemented To Boost My Immune System During Coronavirus (COVID-19)

With the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak spreading globally, I wanted to share what I'm doing to give my immune system a much-needed boost.

Besides the basics that we should all be doing to help protect ourselves from the Coronavirus like hand washing, keeping social distances from others, limiting travel to only when necessary, and disinfecting common or frequently touched areas, we can also incorporate other measures to help keep ourselves and our loved ones protected.

There are so many vitamins, herbs, and supplements that can help boost our immune systems and we certainly can't take them all. Starting with the basics, we need to have deep, restful, and reparative sleep which can be difficult during stressful times, so we also want to look at ways to support our sleep and stress level. We should also focus on a healthy diet filled with antioxidant-rich foods, protein, healthy fats, and complex carbs.

MULTIVITAMIN

Many vitamins including B6, C, and E are all known to help boost the immune system and can be found in a healthy diet. Although I try to eat a healthy diet, it's not always possible, so I like to start with a good multivitamin to fill in any possible nutritional gaps. My current favourite multi is My Kind Multivitamin by Garden of Life. There is one for men and one for women and non-age-related ones. I actually feel a difference when I take this multi and it's chocked full of amazingly healthy and organic ingredients! I can even take them on an empty stomach as they are made with whole foods.

VITAMIN C

I've also been taking extra Vitamin C. I love this spray version and take a couple of sprays AM and PM. Vitamin C is water-soluble so we just pee out what our body doesn't use. I keep chewable ones on hand also. If you want to know how important Vitamin C is to our immune systems, you can check out this article on 20 Ways Vitamin C Strengthens the Immune System.

 As always, check with your doctor for professional advice before starting a new supplement.

QUERCETIN WITH BROMELAIN

The 3rd supplement that I've incorporated as a result of this outbreak is something that I had heard of but never taken before, Quercetin. It's actually what prompted me to write this article. I had known of this supplement as one that helps with allergies, but it also has anti-inflammatory actions as well as a whole host of other benefits that I wasn't aware of until recently. It has anti-viral properties and specifically supports the respiratory system which is where the Coronavirus attacks. This one that I'm taking has Bromelain which also has a number of health benefits. Bromelain can slow blood clotting so you may want to choose a Quercetin supplement without Bromelain if that is a concern to you.

From NCBI: 
In vitro and some animal models have shown that quercetin, a polyphenol derived from plants, has a wide range of biological actions including anti-carcinogenic, anti-inflammatory and antiviral activities... Read more HERE.

I don't know if it's helping but I feel better taking it, plus it has so many other benefits! You can read more online or check out webmd. 

VITAMIN D

I also take some extra Vitamin D for my immune system and actually take it all winter long. Vitamin D also plays an important role in immunity and has so many other health benefits that I will most likely always take extra Vitamin D (on top of what's in my multi). I had had my Vitamin D tested this winter and it's in the normal range thanks to my intake of this supplement.

Read more about the role Vitamin D plays on the immune system at Science Daily.

Some other herbs that I like for the immune system are echinacea, astragalus, and zinc or zinc lozenges. There are many others to choose from, these are just some of the ones I like to take as prevention to illness or when I feel rundown. Again, speak to your healthcare practitioner to decide what's right for you.

Other simple things I've been doing is eating more onions and garlic, making sure I drink a lot of fluids to stay hydrated, mostly water and herbal teas that are calming or green tea is a good choice thanks to its antioxidants. I already have trouble sleeping and it's significantly worse since the Coronavirus outbreak, so I try to not watch the News before bed and I practice deep breathing or listen to meditation apps or soothing sounds on my phone before bedtime. I also like to have calming herbal teas at night to help with my sleep, just not right before bed or I'll be waking up to use the restroom.

I hope you find some of these tips helpful! I'd love to hear your tips in the comments about what you are doing to stay healthy and happy during these difficult times so we can all learn something from each other.

Hoping you and your families stay safe and healthy! 

*Note: Always check with your doctor or health care provider before beginning any new supplements

Some links are referral links and we may receive a small commission if you use them. We only use links that we trust and use ourselves.