Top Three Things I've Gained from Pinterest

What was life like before Pinterest? Dark? Lonely? Lacking in color?

I'm only kidding. Sort of.

I will say, though, that the world of Pinterest has connected me with other bloggers and projects and ideas I never would have otherwise known. There are some, however, that stand out more than others. So, I thought I'd round up my top three because, in my opinion, these are worth sharing.

1. Going 'Poo-Free'

Yep. Weird, I know. Sounds weird if you don't know what that is already...and maybe it sounds weird if you do know what it is already.

Now, I know and am prepared for you to judge me. That's OK. But before I delve into this one, please let me defend myself on one important fact: I am not a granola-crunching, Birkenstock-wearing, save-the-environment, will-do-anything-in-the-name-of-healthy kind of person. Well, I do care about the environment and being healthy but I'm not an extremist by any means.

So, let's carry on, shall we?

A few months ago, I was surfing around on the main page of Pinterest, looking at stuff people I don't know had pinned. And I saw the words 'Poo-Free'. Um, what the heck? I thought. So I clicked on it. A skeptic, I started reading about this lady who started using baking soda and vinegar in place of her store-bought shampoo and vinegar. What a weirdy...I thought. And then I got to the reasons WHY she did it. I'll re-cap, but please read her blog for the full why and how-to.

The three reasons she (her blog is simplemom.net, btw) lists:

1. Shampoo is a detergent
2. Shampoo has all sorts of chemicals (um--read this if you want to know what kind of chemicals)
3. Shampoo is an unnecessary cost

Then I read this one.

And then I read this one. I had just been thinking, vinegar? Stinky! when I read her recipe of a teaspoon of vanilla, a pinch of nutmeg and a pinch of cinnamon to mask the vinegar smell. (P.S. This smells AWESOME.)

Well...those got me thinking. I have crazy oily hair...always have. And I lose approximately 28% of my hair down the drain every.single.time. For a girl with thin hair, this is NOT cool.

So I casually brought it up in conversation with Cowboy. Would he think I was crazy? Or weird and extreme? Or would he call off the wedding?

I'm only joking...sort of. So I sauntered through a conversation, throwing in the idea, moving on, then circling back to wonder aloud what he thought of the idea. He really did.not.care. 

So there I was, a month before the wedding. And I did it. And do you want to know what? I'm a believer...100%. Here's why:

1. It is CHEAP. I just bought a big box of baking soda for 56 cents. At a tablespoon per use, do you know how long that 56 cents is going to last me?
2. It's baking soda. If it's healthy enough to be in my food (err...cookies), it will do zero harm to my skin or hair. Picture it (uh, or don't)...your skin is wet, ready to soak in anything you give it. Hey, want to throw some laundry detergent on your head? Of course not! So why would you? 
3. Speaking of skin--this one took me by surprise. Since I started running regularly a few years ago, I've gone through the worst break-outs on my shoulders and chest (sorry, tmi). When I started half-marathon and full-marathon training, you KNOW all hell broke loose. I would shower as soon as possible to get the grime off, but apparently, the shampoo was only agitating it more. When I switched to baking soda/vinegar, the break-outs stopped completely. NOT kidding.
4. My hair is was painlessly limp, flat and thin. Now? Not at all. It has a certain healthy body to it. I can't explain it, but it's like my hair was depressed by shampoo (regardless of brand...you name it, I've tried it!) and then when I took it away, it threw a party and started doing whatever I wanted it to. 
5. Want more proof? So I wouldn't have to mess with it when we went on our honeymoon (uh, baking soda + squeeze bottles of water + vinegar + carry on = no thank you), I packed travel sized bottles of regular shampoo and conditioner. Big mistake. I literally undid everything. My hair freaked out and stayed freakishly close to my head, I was attacked by a static monster, and my skin went on strike in form of major break-outs. You know I kissed the baking soda when I got home.

If you want more info, let me know, but I think the three blogs I linked to above will do more to answer your questions than I ever could.

2. DIY Pore Strips

Also beauty-routine-related, this one has absolutely nothing to do with chemicals and everything to do with budget. You know those pore deep-cleansing strips? You know...the ones you pay $18 for 10 chances to rip the skin on your nose off?

Yeah...I happen to (much to my bank account's and nose's demise) love those.

So when I saw that you could make your own pore cleansing mask (read: not just your nose!) for a few cents, I ran to the store like a mad woman looking for unflavored gelatin. One package of unflavored gelatin + a tablespoon or 2 of milk + a few seconds in the microwave. That's all. Read the original post here.

3. Homemade Greek Yogurt

OK, so I, like many of you, really like the idea of eating natural, non-processed foods...no fillers, no preservatives, no fake sugar. I REALLY like that idea...and more often than not, I try to hold our meals to these standards. You feel better when you eat healthy...you just do. Better enough that the thought of fast food makes my stomach churn. But, there's a certain cost to eating healthy. And we all know, as exhibited by Whole Foods scheme to take the economy down one kale leaf at a time, that organic is usually better...but WAY more expensive. 

So when I saw this tutorial/recipe for homemade greek yogurt, I thought, you can DO that?! So I read through the directions. Meh...seemed like a lot of work to me, but thoughts of no preservatives and half-priced greek yogurt conned me into trying it. Turns out, it was actually the number of steps that had conned me. It is SUPER easy, you guys! Actual hands-on time is very minimal. I've done it both in a crock pot and in the oven. That means greek yogurt for the cost of a half-gallon of milk (so, usually half of what a container of store-bought greek yogurt would cost), and NO preservatives, fake sugars or  fake "fruit"! 

And then sometimes the stars align and this happens:

Yep...I made a batch of greek yogurt for 50 cents that week.
So what about you guys? What kind of tutorials/recipes/ideas/blogs has Pinterest introduced to you that has pretty much blown your mind and changed your world?