DIY Life

Sleep is one of the most important parts of our day, so why do we take our pillows for granted?

You may say that it doesn't matter, that you can sleep on any old pillow, be it fluffy, flat, firm, or mushy. However, your pillow can -- and usually does -- affect your sleep quality. In this busy time, don't we want to get the most renewal points possible out of our night's rest?

Believe it or not, there is a method to choosing the perfect pillow for yourself: Web MD says you can alleviate headaches, neck and back pain, and even allergies by taking the time to learn how. I'll share some guidelines after the break.

I had been doing so well this spring season, not suffering from allergies in the least. Today, it was as though someone flipped a switch and it was my day to join the millions of sneezing, itchy, runny, drippy folks who are allergic to pollen.

Admittedly, the first thing I did was to pop an Alavert, because I was suffering. Sadly, it did close to nothing to ease my histamine response, so I decided to remind myself of the natural remedies that have worked so well for me in the past.

Mother Earth News has a list of six natural allergy treatments that have been medically proven to work. The very first treatment they mention is one of my favorites, using a neti pot to cleanse and irrigate the sinuses, effectively rinsing away the irritants in your nasal passages. In a previous post, M.E. gives extensive details on exactly how to clean your sinuses.

Other remedies mentioned in Mother Earth's article are the herbs stinging nettles and butterbur, quercetin, sublingual immunotherapy, and eating allergy fighting foods such as omega-3 fatty acids.

Me? I'm definitely off to use my neti pot and perhaps make an acupuncture appointment as well.

Yeah, yeah. Spring is awesome. All those pretty flowers blooming. Pastel clothing. Bunnies. Blossoms. Baskets of eggs. Picnics. Outdoor weddings. Lush green lawns. Hmm. What about the down-side of Spring? Yes. There is one. Here are my personal pet peeves regarding the prettiest, perkiest season of all:

1. Return of the lawn mower. Remember how "winterize lawn mower" was on your to-do list back in September? Just never got around to it, did you? Well, guess what? It's too late and now Spring is back. Time to deal with the consequences. Your mower, having been neglected in the garage for six months with a tank full of fuel, will be hell to start again. Have fun with that.

2. Wrestling the garden hose. Spring means planting time, and planting means watering to get new plants established. Planting is satisfying work, but my most hated gardening task is watering. Actually, the water is kind of lovely. It's the hose I hate.

It's been a miserable year for allergy sufferers: everyone I know who has problems with ragweed, including me, felt sickly for months.

Now that it's almost December, it's just about time for everyone to come down with colds and flus. Many happen at this time of year, due to germs passed around during social gatherings and holiday shopping, nasal passage dryness caused by artificial indoor heating, and the indoor allergies that proliferate in colder areas during the winter.

Constant congestion can lead to sinus infections, which require a visit to the doctor, and antibiotics, to clear up (even if the initial illness was viral). But there's some simple maintenance you can do that will nip a potential sinus infection in the bud: rinsing out your sinuses, also known as nasal or sinus irrigation or lavage.

This may seem gross, but most people who try it find it extremely helpful. It clears out stagnant mucous and helps to moisturize your nasal passages. It's my number-one "Don't get sick!" tip. Find supplies, recipes, and instructions after the break.

The changing season hosts a whole lot of cold bugs. Usually when children have sneezing and coughing in the middle of classmates and neighbors with colds, we assume they have the same. More often than not it's true, but sometimes these symptoms can get dismissed as a cold when in fact they are allergies. So, how do we decode these symptoms and figure out if it is something we need to deal with or just let pass?

Parents.com has this 10 question quiz that will help determine weather or not your child is showing the first sign of allergies or just battling a common cold. The questions range from which season they are most affected to the color of nasal discharge. The sound of your child's voice and the frequency of itching eyes and nose are also important clues.

Ultimately you'll probably know what you're dealing with, but if you are a little unsure this quiz is a great way to find out.

DIY Maven combines the best tips from Reader's Digest and Garden and Hearth and brings us this great list of 10 ways to dust proof your house. First it's important to treat dust as a health hazard, rather than simply a cosmetic issue. If we're looking at dust accumulation as a aesthetic thing, then it's easier to put off or devalue. If we think about all the ways that dust can affect our health, it's a little harder to ignore. Many people have allergies to dust mites, some don't even know it.

So, what exactly is a dust mite? Well, it is pretty nasty. According to the Ohio State University Net Wellness site, the dust mite is a microscopic, spider-like creature which is found in homes. It is primarily in carpets, mattresses and upholstered furniture and thrives in humid and warm conditions. The dust mite feeds on shed scales from human skin! The waste products produced by these mites are highly allergenic (able to cause allergic reaction). These waste products continue to cause allergic symptoms even after the mite that produced them has died.