What I Learned from a Bathroom Renovation

We had our bathroom renovated at the end of last year and I learnt some personal "Footprints" lessons. For three weeks, we walked three doors up the street to our friends' house to shower and do laundry. A couple of times we had to toilet there but the tradies were solicitous of our needs and tried to do the toilet room in such a way that we wouldn't be inconvenienced.

During this time I grabbed showers when I could and never knew if I'd be able to have one every day. Consequently, it was easier to wash my hair and wear commercial antiperspirant every time I showered, which turned out to be every day in the end. We had no bathroom sink so I washed my face with water only rather than oil cleansing.

Before the renovation, I had been washing my hair every second day. Sometimes, if I were having a home day, I'd even let it go three days. It wasn't pleasant on the third day but, whenever I washed it, it looked and felt clean, soft and pretty. During the bathroom renovation I washed it everyday and it felt limp and greasy the whole time. When I went back to washing it less frequently, it was very oily at first but then went back to looking better without daily washing. The first lesson I learnt was that my hair looks and feels much cleaner and less oily if I don't wash it daily.

Several months ago, intrigued by the Oil Cleansing Method, I decided to give it a try. Being a bit lazy I bought Moo Goo brand pre-prepared cleansing oil, rather than make my own. So little oil is needed that the small bottle lasts forever. Furthermore, if I try my hand at making my own, I'll have a perfect little bottle into which to put it. Before then, I'd been washing with water only for years with no adverse effects. Cleansing with oil is wonderful. It leaves my skin feeling deeply clean and actually removes excess oil without drying it out. During our renovation, when I went back to water only because there was no bathroom sink over which to cleanse, my face felt less clean and more oily. If I used any other product it felt dry. The second lesson I learnt was that I'm addicted to oil cleansing.

As for antiperspirant deodorants: I have used a crystal for years and years. If it's particularly hot or I know I'm going somewhere where I'm going to be hugging someone, I use antiperspirant but it's not the norm. I certainly don't use it on a daily basis. I did during our renovation and it was fine. When I returned to the crystal afterwards, however, there was a period of a few days during which I sweated profusely. It was as if my body was grateful that it could sweat again and was going crazy. I don't like to smell but I'm quite happy to sweat and it seems unnatural not to do so. My body certainly seems to think so. The second lesson I learnt was that I much prefer my deodorant crystal to antiperspirant deodorant.

The last lesson I learnt is of a womanly nature so, if you don't want too much information, I suggest you stop reading now.

Of course, according to Murphy's Law, about a day or two into our renovation my period arrived. I've been using cloth moonpads for a year or so. I love them because they're so comfortable. For the last few months I've also been using a cup. It was easier, not having a viable bathroom or being able to do laundry at home, to use disposable products. I know many women are grossed out by the idea of what I use. Interestingly, I found the disposable products disgusting. To me, they're uncomfortable and take up a lot of room in the bin (and eventually in landfill). I love just tossing my pads into the washing machine and washing my lunette in the shower. So easy. The last lesson I learnt was that I'm totally converted to using reusable sanitary products.

The lessons have inspired me to try to wash my hair with "no poo" and try to make deodorant. Those, however, are for another post.

Cheers.