Random tips and reviews to hopefully make your life easier

You may not find every tip herein helpful in your own life, but hopefully you will carry away with you a few pearls of wisdom that I have discovered through the years.  This page will gradually be incorporated into my blog page, where further tips will be posted.  I welcome suggestions too!  

Did you know?  Life is better without an iron!  I haven't used an iron at home, or in hotels, in over 4 years.  I started with the Joy mini-steamer and never looked back.

I haven't used an iron in over 4 years.  I travel almost weekly, and I use this mini steamer exclusively when on the road.  It is so much faster and less hassle than using an iron...no more melted blouses or black/white residue on clothes!  I also use a full-size Rowenta steamer at home and enjoy it so much better than using the iron.  This mini steamer is promoted by Joy (yes, of the movie, "Joy"...I didn't know that until I saw the movie).  It costs about $20-$30 and comes with a small pouch to hold the steamer and cord.  I buy a new one about every 6 months to a year.  It uses tap water only, with a periodic vinegar / water cleaning.  The only somewhat tricky thing is figuring out the best place in the hotel room to position the hanger, near an outlet and a flat surface to place the steamer.  Biggest rules of use are "do not tilt" and "do not put your hand or body parts near the steam opening."

Did you know? When flying on a commercial airline, if you don't check your luggage, you have to fit ALL of your liquids, powders, lotions, and creams into a small sandwich-sized zip lock bag.  Creative packing is the key. Use contact lens cases to travel with creams and liquids - You'll be surprised how far a small amount goes!

You may be surprised how much they hold! Pick up a few lens cases that have screw tops. They are designed to hold liquid without leaking and they make great containers for liquids and creams that you need for travel.  You can easily fit 3 or 4 lens cases in the sandwich-sized ziplock bag, which is the maximum size allowed for carry-on baggage, per TSA regulations.  I love this cream deodorant by Kiehl's.  It works well and has many fans.  You can squeeze it into the lens case and use a cotton swab to apply.  Be sure to use different colored cases, so that you don't mistake the deodorant for eye cream!  :-)  If you will only be gone for a night or two, the lens case may hold enough hair product.  Use one whole lens case for hair product and another for face cream.  Figure out what works best for you.  If you tend to need a lot of hair product, you may decide to instead use a bit larger travel container and save the lens cases for other types of creams and liquids.

Avoid a peek-a-boo scandal.  I travel almost weekly, and I would guess that 90% of the hotel rooms that I stay in, do not have peephole covers on the inside of the doors.  There are devices that allow someone to view the inside of your room, from the hallway, via the peephole, and you would likely never know that this is happening, unless you opened the door at the same time.  A major hotel chain had to pay $55 million to a celebrity victim of reverse peephole viewing, after her nude photos were shared all over the internet.  Be sure to always carry something to cover the peephole.  The solution I use is to carry several cheap adhesive medical bandages (pictured).  They effectively cover the peephole, and are easy to remove by you or hotel staff when you depart, leaving behind no residue.  Some tapes and other coverings are more difficult to remove.  An added plus is that you will always have some adhesive bandages with you, in the event of blisters, cuts, and scrapes.  If you are staying in the room multiple nights, be sure to check that the peephole remains covered if you leave the room and return.  Sometimes, the housekeeping staff will remove them when they are servicing the room.  

As part of pharmacy consumer educational information that I would like to share on this site, this post gives one example of just how confusing it can be to select an over-the-counter treatment, when there are so many choices available.  It used to be that Visine® was an eye drop solution that contained tetrahydrozoline, a redness remover, and no moisturizer for the eyes.  That solution is now Visine® Original.  There are MANY more Visine® products now available, but not all of them even contain tetrahydrozoline!!  Bottom line is to read the label so that you will know what you are getting.  If you have questions, be sure to ask your pharmacist.  Even we pharmacists have to pick up the actual box and read the active ingredients, when there are THIS MANY choices. 

Here's a summary of the active ingredients of each product pictured:

Visine® Original (tetrahydrozoline)

Visine® Advanced (tetrahydrozoline, dextran 70, polyethylene glycol 400, povidone)

Visine® Totality (tetrahydrozoline, glycerin, hypromellose, polyethylene glycol 400, zinc sulfate)

Visine® All Day Comfort Dry Eye (glycerin, hypromellose, polyethylene glycol 400)

Visine® Tears Dry Eye (glycerin, hypromellose, polyethylene glycol 400)

Visine® AC (tetrahydrozoline, zinc sulfate)

Visine® Maximum Strength (glycerin, hypromellose, polyethylene glycol 400)

Bausch & Lomb® Advanced Eye Relief (naphazoline, polyethylene glycol 300)

Harris Teeter® Eye Drops Original (tetrahydrozoline)

Visine® is a registered trademark of Johnson & Johnson

Bausch & Lomb® is a registered trademark of Bausch & Lomb Inc.

Harris Teeter® is a registered trademark of Harris Teeter, LLC

Did You Know?  Baby shampoo makes a great eye makeup remover.  I use the no more tears® brand, pictured here.  Instead of expensive eye makeup removers, you can use this in the shower:  pour a small amount on wet finger tips, and scrub into eyelids, eyelashes and around eyes, then rinse.  It’s so gentle that it will not burn your eyes.  If you are not in the shower, you can use some baby shampoo, diluted with a little water, on a cotton pad or ball.

An added benefit is that this is actually a treatment, recommended by ophthalmologists for blepharitis.  Do you have clumping and stickiness around your eyelids?  Oils, bacteria, and small skin flakes can build up around the eyelids and can cause inflammation and possibly make the eyes to water more than normal.   This condition is often diagnosed as blepharitis.  Scrubbing gently with baby shampoo, on a daily basis, helps remove the residual oils and bacteria around the eyes.  If you have dandruff and have longer bangs that are close to your eyelids, the flakes can make their way to your eyelashes and eyebrows.  The use of a baby shampoo wash can help prevent the flakey buildup over time, and make your eyes feel better!

no more tears® is a registered trademark of Johnson & Johnson