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Health and Wellness

Spring Awakening: A Guide to Downsizing and Decluttering. Here are 16 tips to help you get started

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8 months ago

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(*16*)

Packing and unpacking before moving

Spring is officially here, so it is time to look in closets, under beds and drawers and see what you can throw in. Spring is frequently the time when people feel inspired to start fresh and fresh, and the proper way to do that is to take your tooth comb to the salon and work out whether you want to downsize, declutter, or simply throw it away. However, knowing when to get rid of things could be difficult because some items are tied to treasured memories, but there are ways to start downsizing. Amelia Pleasant Kennedy, CEO and founding father of A Pleasant Solution and clutter coach, believes spring is the proper time to clean up your property and space. She suggests setting aside one to two hours for the project and setting a timer to help you stay focused and on task. “Make sure you are well-rested, fed and hydrated as decision-making sessions can be exhausting. Turn on some music to increase your energy levels and make your decluttering session more engaging and enjoyable,” she told ESSENCE.

Kennedy continued: “Deciding what to keep is often easier than deciding what to throw away. Think about what items you use often, which are your favorites or which you reach for most often. Put these items on your favorites pile.”

He also suggests that you scan anything that’s broken, not working well, not working, or you just know could possibly be put to higher use by another person. Better not to give it some thought – throw away or recycle this stuff and start collecting donations. – The items that are left have to earn money. If you’re undecided whether an item ought to be kept or thrown away, consider what it brings to your life. Determine why it deserves a spot in your property or the particular ways you’ll use it in the subsequent three months. If it’s a challenge, it means the item will not be serving you,” she said.
Here are some additional tips from her:

  1. Linen/linen wardrobe: Spring is the proper time to take a more in-depth have a look at bedding, towels and blankets. Take things out of the closet and wipe down the shelves. Donate bedding and towels that are starting to look thin or stained to your local animal shelter. Wash the mattress pad and rotate it 180 degrees to even out wear. Larger blankets, duvets or duvet covers ought to be washed or dry dried before storing for the season.

    Try to have a maximum of two sets of sheets and two towels per person per bed. Fold or roll the towels. Fold the sheets and then tuck them right into a pillowcase for a more uniform look. (Do what’s easiest for you!) Place the bedding directly on the closet shelf or store it in a marked basket.

  1. Makeup and body care: Once opened, products are secure for 12-24 months as bacteria grows. If the product is open and you don’t know the way long you’ve had it, it is time to throw it away or replace it. You can donate unused and unopened personal care products. Take the whole lot out of the drawer, wipe it down and follow the procedure above. This is an awesome time to simplify your beauty routine and only use products that make you look and feel your best.
  1. Clothes: When you change your wardrobe from winter to spring, remember not to keep things for the upcoming season that you now not like. If you have not worn them this winter, think twice about keeping them. Have your coats and sweaters dry cleaned to ensure they are fresh and ready to wear in the autumn. A shoemaker can help you clean and remove salt stains or wear out of your shoes and leather shoes before storing them.

AND Quick Wins Guide:

  • Clear away excess items on and around your nightstand to restore a way of peace before bed.
  • Throw away any mismatched or worn out socks. Stick to one or two colours and styles to simplify laundry and organization.
  • Empty your desktop and replace items that you only use every day. Scan or sort redundant documents into categories similar to “take action” or “to file.” Recycle the whole lot that’s obsolete.
  • Do a fast scan of your freezer. Throw away expired or unfit food and replenish it as needed.
  • Remove the spices! If it’s almost empty, throw it away and benefit from the extra space. Use a turntable or clear plastic container to make removing the spices easier in the long run.

However, if you cannot see the floors or surfaces, it’s an enormous mess, so it must have a huge impact now and later. Check out Rebecca Love, founding father of Organize For Love for tips on cleansing your space.

  1. Clean your on a regular basis bag and wallet. With a clean and organized bag, you can immediately make your day higher. This can also be a manageable spring organizational task. Also clear your wallet of old receipts, expired debit cards, and random documents.
  2. Get rid of outdated handbags and those you now not wear. If you plan to sell some, give attention to spring cleansing and get it done. Emptying your bags will significantly increase the space in your wardrobe and give you the boldness to organize other categories if you feel compelled to achieve this.
  3. If you have large piles, bins or boxes filled with stuff, you have a moderately large mess, so f
  4. Tidy up your property clothes and lounge. Many of those baskets could also be full of clothes with a story. One way to consider which home shirt to keep and which to throw away is to consider it as a friend. Do you prefer it? Do you only keep it so long as you had it? Do you have mixed feelings about it but keep it since it’s familiar?
  5. The shoes piling up outside your door are those you wear often, so organize the shoes that rarely appear outside your closet. This style of spring organization will help you with day by day relief as you get rid of things you don’t wear, reducing decision fatigue.
  6. If you have several unfinished house projectsyou have a moderate mess,
  7. Because you’re continually changing things, clean up your hair supplies. Refreshing your products will help you take a deeper have a look at how you present yourself. You’ll get ready faster and be more confident about where you are now.
  8. Then clean the toilet under the sink. You will feel spring refreshed, and the immediate advantages of what you need and want to use can be visible at first glance.
  9. If your desk or home office has piles of paper disrupting your workflow, it’s probably just a little cluttered. The good thing is that even in case your space is not as functional as you’d prefer it to be, it doesn’t matter if you’re halfway there. Focus in your vision of a tidy and organized space.
  1. Sometimes it is the little things that make a large number. Throw away trash and brochures that are greater than five years old out of your desk, surfaces and drawers. You will create space in these spaces, making room for appropriate systems.
  2. Organize your documents to streamline your workflow. Go through your folders and throw away outdated documents, statements and bills older than five years. If you feel prefer it, scan more necessary documents to make room for newer, on a regular basis files in your desk.
  3. These Amazon finds give us the most effective of the most effective, and they add up quickly. So take a have a look at all of the organizational gadgets you’ve purchased within the last five years and ask yourself if you’ve used them. Donate or throw away those you use lower than just a few times a yr.
  4. Walk through the smallest room or closet, wherever things go to die. And search for more gadgets and things you don’t use or ignore. This is to make room for those items that haven’t any home.


This article was originally published on : www.essence.com
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Health and Wellness

Ant stings can be painful. Here’s how to avoid getting stung this summer (and what to do if it happens)

Published

5 hours ago

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November 22, 2024

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The starting of summer is just a couple of days away, and plenty of of us will be looking forward to long, sunny days spent on the beach, by the pool, camping or having a picnic within the park.

Insects love summer too. Most of them right then grow and feed. However, this shared appreciation of the season can sometimes lead to conflict.

Insects have long been preyed upon by many species, including birds, mammals, amphibians, and other insects. Accordingly, quite a lot of defense mechanisms have evolved – perhaps none more familiar to humans than the sting.

Many ants have a stinger on their rear end which they use to deliver venom. It will not be the sting itself that causes pain, but relatively venom. Ant venom accommodates a mix of various chemicals, a few of which have evolved specifically to manipulate the nerve endings in our skin to cause pain.

Let’s take a have a look at the several ant stings chances are you’ll experience this summer in Australia and how to respond.

Bull ants

Bull ants (also often called bulldog ants, jumper ants, or jumper ants) are large for an ant. Some species can grow to length 4 centimeters. They are easily identified by their large eyes, long mandibles (jaws), and aggressive nature.

Their sting is immediate, hot, sharp and unambiguous, similar to that of a honey bee. The intense pain will only last a couple of minutes before being replaced by redness and swelling across the sting site.

There are many differing kinds of bull ants in Australia.
Sam Robinson

Green-headed ants

Green-headed ants are also called green ants (but not to be confused with green ants). green tree ants northern Australia, which do not sting). Green-headed ants are common and love our lawns.

About Length 6 millimetersthey’re much smaller than bull ants. They can be recognized by their shiny green-purple exoskeleton.

Green-headed ants are frequently less aggressive than bull ants, but they can still deliver a big sting. The pain from a green ant sting can construct up step by step and cause intense, sticky pain.

Green-headed ant.
Green-headed ants can be identified by their color.
Sam Robinson

Fire ants

Fire ants (or imported red fire ants) are native to South America. They were detected first in Brisbane in 2001it probably moved in containers and has since spread across south-east Queensland.

Fire ants are reddish brown and black and range in size from Length 2–6 millimeters.

You will almost certainly encounter fire ants of their nests, which appear like a pile of loose dirt. A hearth ant nest has no obvious entrance, which is way to distinguish it from other similar ant nests.

Disturbing a hearth ant nest will awaken an offended mass of a whole bunch of ants and expose you to being stung.

The initial pain from a single sting seems like an intense, hot itch, although it can be controlled. However, fire ant stings rarely occur in the only digits. One ant can sting multiple times, and plenty of ants can sting one person, which can lead to a whole bunch of stings. A hearth ant sting can cause pus-filled ulcers and scarring in the next days.

If you reside in an area where fire ants are present, it’s price taking a couple of minutes to learn how to do this recognize and report their.

Electric ants

Electric ants is one other nasty random import, coming from Central and South America. Currently limited to Cairns and surroundingsthese are tiny (1.5 millimeters long) yellow ants.

Like fire ants, these ants are frequently defensive, so lots of them will sting without delay. Their sting is more painful than you’ll expect from such a tiny creature. I compare it to being showered with red, hot sparks.

If you think that you see electric ants, please report it Biosecurity in Queensland.

Australian ants should not the worst

You may be surprised to hear that Australian ants don’t even make it to the rostrum when it comes to essentially the most painful ant stings. The winners include: harvester ants (North and South America), which cause severe, sticky pain, comparable to a drill slowly rotating in a muscle – for up to 12 hours.

The gold medal goes to the sting of the South and Central American bullet ant, which has been described How:

Pure, intense, sensible pain. It’s like walking on burning charcoal with a 3-inch nail stuck in your heel.

How to avoid getting stung (and what to do if you do)

Fortunately, the answer is frequently quite simple. Look around before you sit on the bottom or unfolded a picnic blanket, avoiding places where you see ant nests or a lot of foraging ants.

The selection of footwear might also be necessary. In my experience, most stings occur on the feet of those wearing thongs.

If you get stung, generally the situation will improve by itself. The pain often subsides after a couple of minutes (sometimes slightly longer within the case of a green ant sting). The redness, swelling and itching that sometimes follows may last for several days.

In the meantime, if mandatory, ice pack it will help with the pain. If it’s particularly bad, a topical numbing cream containing lidocaine may provide temporary relief. You can get it over-the-counter at a pharmacy.

A small proportion of individuals may experience an allergic response to ant stings. In very severe cases this may include respiratory problems or ingestion. If you or a loved one experiences these symptoms after an ant sting, you need to seek urgent medical attention.

This article was originally published on : theconversation.com
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Health and Wellness

Health matters: WNBA star Napheesa Collier on her commitment to women’s reproductive health

Published

11 hours ago

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November 21, 2024

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Minnesota lynx

Napheesa Collier will not be only a WNBA superstar for the Minnesota Lynx and a two-time Olympic gold medalist, but additionally the mother of her daughter Mila and an advocate for women’s reproductive health rights.

It recently decided to partner with Opill®, the primary and only every day contraceptive pill available over-the-counter within the United States. This breakthrough represents a major step forward in women’s health care by providing a convenient and accessible contraceptive option. With Opill, women not need to visit health care facilities for prescriptions, making it easier than ever to take control of their reproductive health.

The collaboration relies on Opill®’s long-standing partnership with the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA). “One of the reasons Opill® partnered with the WNBA is the great passion of players who use their platform to support causes they believe in,” said Leila Bahbah, leading women’s health brand at Perrigo within the US. “Napheesa exudes this passion, and together we plan to educate and empower people to take control of their reproductive health.”

Collier advocates for girls and says she is willing to have conversations, even in the event that they are difficult. “I just truly believe in everything they do at Opill®. I believe it’s important to talk to people who may become pregnant and to women about the reproductive health and contraceptive options available to them,” Collier tells ESSENCE.

He continues: “I want people to know that if they want contraception, Opill® is a great option. It is the first over-the-counter drug approved by the FDA. It is inexpensive, available. You don’t need a prescription to get it. I think that’s a key thing in today’s climate.”

Collier notes that within the off-season, he tries to travel to various colleges to talk to students about their reproductive freedoms. “Talking about this topic is essential to remove the stigma as it should not be considered a shameful topic or something that should not be discussed openly. My mother was a nurse, so it was casual to talk about it in our house, and I want to pass it on to other people too, so I’m very excited about it,” she says.

In the present political climate, many ladies with daughters are concerned about their future and reproductive health. Collier, included. “Especially because I am the mother of a young girl, it is very important to me to be able to raise her in an atmosphere where she knows her reproductive rights and health, that she has access to affordable health care and contraception if she wants it and that she can ask me these questions and have open conversations.”

Collier continues: “It’s back to education. Again, I think it’s harmful that we can’t have open conversations about birth control and other issues that are usually taboo. I think it’s harmful. I think this does a lot of harm to women. It hurts. This is harmful to our society. Being able to talk about these issues and empowering women to learn about their rights and bodies creates a safer and healthier society.”

This article was originally published on : www.essence.com
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Health and Wellness

Yes, despite what you’ve heard on TikTok, you still need to use sunscreen

Published

12 hours ago

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November 21, 2024

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Summer is nearly here. But as an alternative of using sunscreen, some TikTokers just do that encouraging followers throw it away and forgo sunscreen.

They argue that it’s healthier to forgo sunscreen to get the complete advantages of the sun.

Here’s what the science really says.

How does sunscreen work?

Due to the acute UV environment in Australia, most individuals with pale to olive skin or other risk aspects for skin cancer must accomplish that protect yourself. Applying sunscreen is a key approach to protecting areas that aren’t easily covered by clothing.

Sunscreens work by absorbing or scattering UV rays before they reach the skin and damage DNA or supporting structures corresponding to collagen.

In this photo I (Katie) apply sunscreen only to the appropriate side of my face. Sunscreens absorb and scatter UV light (right side), although it can’t be seen with the naked eye (left side). The photo on the appropriate also shows where sun spots (dark spots) accumulate on my skin and where I do not care to apply sunscreen evenly – under the attention, on the cheek and completely missing the ear.
The creator provided/UQ

When UV molecules hit DNA, the surplus energy can damage our DNA. This damage might be repaired, but when the cell divides before the error is repaired, it causes a mutation that may lead to skin cancer.

The energy of the UV particle (photon) causes the DNA strands to break and reconnect incorrectly. This causes a tumor within the DNA strand, which makes accurate copying difficult and might introduce mutations.
NASA/David Herring

The most typical skin cancers are basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Melanoma is less common but most definitely spreads throughout the body; this process known as metastasis.

Two against three At least the Australians will one skin cancer during their lives they usually reconcile 80% all cancers in Australia.

About 99% of skin cancers in Australia are attributable to overexposure to UV radiation.

Excessive exposure to UV radiation also affects the looks of the skin. UVA rays are able to penetrate deep into the skin, where they break down supporting structures corresponding to elastin and collagen.

This causes signs premature agingcorresponding to deep wrinkles, brown or white spots and broken capillaries.

Sunscreen may also help prevent skin cancer

Consistently used sunscreen reduces the danger of skin cancer and slows skin aging.

In Queensland studyparticipants either used sunscreen day by day for nearly five years or continued their usual use.

After five years, the danger of squamous cell cancer was reduced within the day by day group 40% compared to the second group.

Ten years later, the danger of developing invasive melanoma was reduced within the group of individuals taking the drug day by day 73%

Do sunscreens block the health-promoting properties of sunlight?

The answer is a little more complicated and involves a personalised risk-benefit trade-off.

First, the excellent news: spending time within the sun has many health advantages don’t rely under the influence of UV radiation and aren’t affected by the use of sunscreens.

A woman applies sunscreen
Sunscreens only filter out UV rays, not all light.
Ron Lach/Pexels

Sunscreens only filter UV rays, not visible light or infrared light (which we feel as heat). Importantly, a number of the advantages of sunlight are obtained through Eyes.

Visible light improves mood and regulates and possibly reduces circadian rhythm (which influences the sleep-wake cycle). myopia (myopia) in children.

Infrared light is being researched as a treatment for several conditions skin, neurological, psychiatric AND autoimmune disorders.

So what is the good thing about exposing your skin to UV radiation?

Sun exposure produces vitamin D, which is crucial for healthy bones and muscles.

Vitamin D deficiency is surprisingly common amongst Australians, peaking in Victoria at 49% in winter and lowest in Queensland at 6% in summer.

Fortunately, individuals who deal with sun protection can avoid vitamin D deficiency taking a complement.

Skin exposure to UV radiation could have advantages independent of vitamin D production, but these haven’t been proven. It may reduce the danger of autoimmune diseases corresponding to multiple sclerosis or cause the discharge of a chemical that may lower blood pressure. However, there aren’t enough details about these advantages to say whether sunscreen can be an issue.

What does this mean for you?

Exposure of the skin to UV radiation may provide some advantages that could be blunted by sunscreens. This determines whether it’s value giving up these advantages to avoid skin cancer how susceptible you have skin cancer.

If you have pale skin or other aspects that increase your risk of skin cancer, try to use sunscreen day by day on all days when the forecast UV index reaches 3.

If you have darker skin that rarely or never burns, you might want to skip using sunscreen on daily basis – although you’ll still need protection when you’re outdoors for prolonged periods of time.

For now, the balance of evidence suggests that it is healthier for people susceptible to skin cancer to proceed using sunscreen, supplementing with vitamin D as needed.

This article was originally published on : theconversation.com
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