5 Reasons You Need Tea Tree Oil in Your House

It seems like, for every kind of essential oil, it has a fad moment in the beauty world. This is one oil that you should keep on hand in your home and not just for beauty purposes. Tea Tree oil is a natural antiseptic and has so many benefits other than your typical essential oil. Plus is smells amazing.

1. Treatment of mild-moderate acne

Mix a few drops with some aloe vera or just plan water and use on the infected areas of your face. Careful not to put this directly on open wounds, it will burn a bit. If you do, it isn’t bad for you though, it’s just uncomfortable. If you have body acne though, this stuff is amazing.

2.  Treatment of athlete’s foot

You will need a solution of 25% – 50%. The effectiveness of athlete’s foot is still debatable in the medical world. However, it is acknowledged that most people who used this solution, had a decrease of infection in 4 weeks or less. I know lot’s of people who swear by it (athlete’s mostly).

3. Treatment of lice

If you’re a mamma, you might need this on hand one day. If you mix Tea Tree oil, Lavender and water, it has been proven to repel lice, kill them and also kill their eggs.

4. Treatment of yeast infections

No one likes to talk about it, but it happens. You’ll need a tampon, the Tea Tree Oil and some lubricant. The lubricant keeps the oil from being soaked up by the tampon. Just use a few drops of the oil though. This is commonly used in other countries that are more centered on natural medicine.

5. Treatment of an ear infection

You’ll need 2 tablespoons olive oil, a few drops of Tea Tree oil and 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar. Mix ingredients, lay on your side with the infected ear up, fill up your ear and let it sit for 5 minutes then drain into a towel.

There you have it, keep this stuff on hand. I always do. You can buy it from Trader Joe’s for around $7

** If you have very sensitive skin, you should talk to your doctor before using Tea Tree oil. It should not be used instead of seeking proper medical attention for a severe infection.

Citations:

Tea Tree Oil – WebMD. (n.d.). Retrieved March 22, 2015, from http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-113-tea tree oil.aspx?activeingredientid=113&activeingredientname=tea tree oil

Parks, C. (2014, March 4). Tea Tree Oil For Your Body: What You Need To Know. Retrieved March 23, 2015, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/04/tea-tree-oil-benefits_n_4818635.html

Home Remedies for Ear Infections | Top 10 Home Remedies. (2013, April 8). Retrieved March 23, 2015, from http://www.top10homeremedies.com/home-remedies/home-remedies-for-ear-infection.html

THE BASICS. (2010, January 1). Retrieved March 23, 2015, from https://www.msu.edu/user/eisthen/yeast/diy.html

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10 Funny Toddler Moments

I think most parent’s could write a book titled, “Toddler Logic,” and it would be a best seller every time. I have no doubt that many of you have some moments that you are dying to tell the world about. If you do, please comment them and I will make another “Toddler Moments” post.

Here are just a few moments that we can all relate to, directly from the mouth of my own daughter and friend’s children:

1. When they repeat your parenting rebuttals

Parent: “Why not?”

Child: “Because I said so, that how that work.”

2. Their eccentric view of the world

Child, speaking to cashier: “You have a funny face”

Child, paints picture of a man and then states: “This is my man, he poops a lot.”

3. Their wise and profound, yet confusing statements

Child: “That’s enough kisses mommy!”

Parent: “When can I give you more kisses?”

Child: “When the wind blows”

4. Their lack of empathy for other’s feelings

Child: “I need my own house. I love you when you’re at your house, but not at my house.”

5. Their unwavering self esteem

Child: “Mommy, you look pretty but I more pretty…see!”

Child: “I am so beautiful, I look like a beautiful flower” (whilst admiring herself in the mirror)

6. Their excellent work ethic

When asked to demonstrate what “working” looks like; child picks up cell phone, curls up on the couch and flips through News Feed.

7. Their complete honesty

Child: “This is my song, you can’t sing like Princess Sophia”

8. Their lack of Modesty

Parent: “Child, get your wiener off the window!”

9. Their excellent negotiation skills

Child: “It’s my birthday, I need this cookie.”

Parent: “It’s not your birthday, you birthday was in August.”

Child: “Ok…I’ll eat one green bean.”

10: Their excellent care

Whilst using a plastic “pretend” stethoscope…

Child: “Mommy, your heart is dead.”

Share this if you got a laugh out of it and be sure to comment with any other funny moments!

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More Money Saving Tips for Frugal Moms

So, I’m pretty cheap. Not even frugal, just cheap. But hey, I have to be and if you do to, you should check out these tips.

1. Check out your local dollar store before you head out to Target or Wal-Mart for your must-have items.

If you’re broke like me, you regularly visit the 99 Cent Store and the Dollar Tree. These are just a few of my recent purchases. All valued at 99 cents or less.

Rules of shopping at these stores; no canned foods (often you can find them at about a dollar anyways), no makeup (because, it’s probably old even if it happens to be name brand), no vitamin’s (when it comes to vitamin’s, quality does matter) and most importantly, always check expiration dates! 

2. Keep those coupons that print at the end of your receipt!

I don’t need another full-time job so taking on extreme couponing is not going to happen. But, I always keep these coupons because I know that I will use them. I mean it! I just bought juice, soda and iced tea for free at CVS because I keep these babies around ^^

3. Eat out for lunch, not dinner

If you happen to eat out for dinner once a week, make it a lunch instead. Lunch menu’s are usually less expensive and it’s less crowded at restaurants anyways. Steer clear of pizza lunch specials though, you never get your money’s worth.

4. Freeze foods

This is a no-brainer for meats but did you know that you can freeze bread and fresh-cut veggies? I will often cut up onions and peppers and put them in little baggies to throw in the freezer. Frozen veggies are pretty expensive but this way, they’ll never go bad on you! My bread is always in the freezer.  You can let a few slices defrost when you need them and I promise they will be just as puffy as before you threw them in there. Or you can just do what I do and make toast sandwiches, kid’s never notice the difference.

5. Visit the store less

When you begin freezing everything, you’ll hopefully find that you can go to the store less often. This is big because how often do we actually walk out of a store with the exact amount of items we intended to purchase? Just make a bi-weekly stop at the store (longer if you can hold out), stock up on your must haves and then eat away at your frozen items for as long as you can. Or you can just send the hubby to the store to pick up the milk, you know he’s less likely to check out the new marinades.

6. Limit splurging

I’ve already said in another post that I limit my splurging to every 3 months. Honestly, my splurging is getting a new $10 nail polish sometimes.  Just don’t let your eyes wander in the store, be on a one-track mind. Bring a toddler with you, if you must. They’ll hardly give you time to get what you actually need. If you don’t have a toddler, borrow one from a friend.

7. Be smarter about your driving

Get off that gas pedal. Firstly; if you speed often, you will inevitably get a ticket and that defeats the whole purpose for being thrifty. Secondly, the less RPM’s you run in your car, the more gas you’ll save.

When you fill up, fill the dang thing all the way up. Don’t just throw $20 in it. Just find a well priced station and plan ahead. It’s no shock that when you put your car in the garage on E and you’re running late in the morning to go to work and you’re running out the door, your car will still be on E! Then you’re just at the mercy of that expensive gas station down the street which apparently pumps liquid gold into your car.

8. Avoid over priced photo sessions at department stores and photo studios

So this one is important because Easter is right around the corner and everyone is making their appointments for their little ones to get their photo’s done at JC Penny’s. That half-priced sitting fee sounds appealing until you are forced to purchase a ridiculous photo package or leave empty-handed. Instead, ask around on Facebook. Are there any new photographers that you know that are looking for some more faces to put in their portfolio’s? You’ll probably get a digital copy of all the photo’s anyways.

Plus, you can ditch the cheesy backdrops, your kids are too cute for that anyways.

9. Remove “over-draft” protection from your account

We have all bought a $37 gallon of milk before thanks to over-draft protection. Just remove it, you might be a bit embarrassed in the store when your card declines but you’ll be much happier to know that you didn’t just make this fatal error.

10. Get an Interest Checking Account!

I have an AMAZING online Checking Account through Ally Bank that gets me .10% on my checking account. No minimum balance and no monthly fee! I can withdraw money from any ATM and they will cover the fee.

.10% might not seem like a lot of money, but I’ll take that over nothing thank you very much!

Hope you enjoyed it!

What is Broke Mamma Blog?

Raise your hand if you’re a broke mamma. Say it loud and proud!

I’m a single mother of a 3-year-old, I work in sales and I am also a full-time student. Money and time is often not on my side. I love finding deals on great places to take my kiddie right here in beautiful Southern California. I’ll keep you posted on those great places and give you my full reviews.

I also love finding budget conscious products. I’m very careful with my money but I know when to splurge when the product is amazing. This is coming straight from a woman who literally takes 30 minutes to get ready in the morning with a toddler on one leg. I’ll post products that I know you’ll love as much as I do.

Finally, time savers. I have my days planned out to the minute. When I get ready in the morning, every minute is precious. I have developed certain tactics to getting things done, even with a rambunctious toddler and I will share them with you.

Let me know if you have any special requests!

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