Our new place has two bathrooms. Our guest bathroom came with an upgraded shower head, but for some reason the master bath came with a dingy one. It also barely reached the top of my head, which was a problem.

I picked up a shower head from Bed Bath & Beyond and planned on a quick 5 minute replacement. Easy, right? Wrong. I had so many issues… I tried until my hands were swollen and my wrench was worn, but the old one would not budge. Then I tried this beautiful tool…

For some reason, this worked effortlessly. I don’t know how a wrench failed to budge the thing and this unrelated tool had no problem. These are the crazy things you discover the more you attempt DIY…

I installed the new shower head and soaked myself a few times as I tried to figure out how to use tape around the bolts. Around the fifth try the new shower head worked perfectly.

So I solved the eyesore and the new installation gives us much more height. Success! By the way, the organizer I use is this one here by SimpleHuman. It never rusts and is completely adjustable!

Dry skin, scalp flakes, psoriasis, damaged hair… Coconut oil has nutrients that skin loves, and it can be used to help soothe all of these issues. Who’d have thought?

To use coconut oil for application, make sure you’re purchasing pure, organic coconut oil. Most health food shops such as Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s offer this type of oil.

To use as a hair treatment, follow these steps:

1. Warning: Coconut oil is solid unless heated. When heating the oil, make sure it isn’t too hot or you will burn yourself. Use caution and do not over-heat!
2. Melt it: Grab a teaspoon of the coconut oil. To turn it into oil for hair, you’ll need to heat it up until it melts. I usually do this by dropping my teaspoon into a bowl and popping it into the microwave for 30 seconds. Do not melt the entire jar!
3. Serum: For a serum, pour a dime size amount into your hair and distribute evenly for silky, coconut-smelling hair.
4. Hair mask: For a hair mask, saturate your hair (especially the ends) and leave the oil on for as long as possible. I usually leave it on for about three hours before bed, and then wash it out. Your hair will be extremely soft after drying! If you wash in the morning, feel free to don a shower cap and leave it in over night.

Have left-over oil? Here are ways to put it to use:

1. Save it: Put it in the refrigerator and it will solidify again, ready to be re-used.
2. Moisturizer: Use the oil for your skin, similar to how you would use a moisturizer.
3. Nails: Use the oil as a nail treatment, rubbing it into cuticles to soften. Works great during a manicure.
4. Scalp: Rub into finger tips and use as a scalp massage to help sooth dry scalp and dandruff. Let sit on the scalp for as long as possible, and it will soothe itchy areas and moisturize.
5. Soothing: Concentrate the oil by massaging into problem skin areas. Any itchy areas will be relieved and redness should decrease.
6. Face: Use as a facial moisturizing treatment by massaging into the skin. This not only helps with dry patches and does wonders for dry skin, but it will even soften eyebrows and lashes.

Have you ever  used coconut oil for moisturizing treatments? Would you recommend it?

Sometimes simplifying your life gets down to the simple, everyday things. Most adults begin owning things such as a car, bike, place to live, etc. When this happens, chances are your key collection will expand. Bring in factors like cute keychain accessories and club tags, and you might have yourself a messy disaster.

This is my current keychain. To be honest, I wish I just had one key. Unfortunately, my life requires this full set: car, apartment, bike gate, bike lock, apartment gate, Petco club card, and grocery club card. I’ve tried to keep it to the bare minimum, as much as I do like decorative accessories and having club cards handy.

Here’s how you can simplify your keychain:

• Take keys off. If you haven’t used a key in one full week, you don’t need it on your daily keyring. Have it handy somewhere else in the home.
• Get rid of club card tags. Did you know all club cards can be pulled up with your phone number? You don’t even need a physical card! Keep only what you use on a weekly basis, or if the place you shop has self check-out and requires a scan.
• Only one accessory! It’s okay to accessorize your keychain, but I find one should be enough. If you have more decorative keychains than functioning keys, it’s almost defeating the purpose.
• Use a strap. Something I’ve been meaning to pick up is a keychain strap. This makes finding your keys easier, and gives you a better way to hold them if your hands are full. Feeling creative? Here’s a great instructional post on how to make your own!

Why should you simplify your keychain? It just makes your life so much easier! And you have to admit, simple keychains are much more appealing.

Does your keychain look like something a janitor would carry, or do you like to keep it simple?

Image sources: 1, 2, 3

I’ve been trying to wear more of my lipstick collection lately, but I found it hard after realizing how dry my lips were. There’s really one major rule to wearing lipstick — you just can’t pull it off on dry lips!

I’ve heard great things about the Mint Julips lip scrub from LUSH, but I just could bring myself to buy it. As much as I love LUSH, I thought this was something simple that I could make myself.

Here’s what I used:

• 1 empty container
• 1 teaspoon of sugar
• 1.5 teaspoons of olive oil (or try jojoba!)
• A few drops of honey

That’s it! You can play around with the oil and make sure you have enough after you stir it together. The oil hydrates while the sugar exfoliates, and the honey has beneficial properties as well but I just like the aftertaste it leaves. No more dry lips!

I recommend following up with your favorite lip balm before any lipstick, and it’ll look even better.

Have you ever made your own lip scrub, or do you prefer to buy?