Top 5 Must-Haves After a Hysterectomy

If you are facing a hysterectomy surgery, being prepared before your surgery with what you will need after your surgery, will be a true gift to yourself while you rest and heal.

I wish I had known what products could help me the most after I got home from the hospital from my hysterectomy, so I decided to share the top 5 items that helped me the most after my hysterectomy and I hope they help you too!

Why I needed a Hysterectomy

There are many reasons why a woman may have a hysterectomy. For me, it was a scary reason. 

After months of difficult symptoms that no one could figure out, a CT scan finally revealed a large grapefruit sized cyst on one of my ovaries that was "suspicious for malignancy".

After lots of worry, crying and praying, my hysterectomy / exploratory surgery day finally arrived and left me with one large vertical scar, 2 less ovaries and 1 less uterus. 

Thankfully, the results of my hysterectomy were benign and the only follow-up I will need is to check my cancer antigen every year to make sure I am cancer-free.

Whatever your reason for a hysterectomy, taking good care of yourself after your surgery is vital to a successful recovery.

Top 5 Must-Have Products After Having a Hysterectomy 

[Disclosure: This list contains some Amazon links. As an Amazon Affiliate I earn a small commission on items purchased through my links]

*Keep in mind, if your hysterectomy surgery was like mine, with a large incision, you won't be able to shower for a few days afterwards and you won't be able to bend over or lift for several weeks. Your experience may be different than mine but I hope you still find these products helpful.

What 5 products helped me the most after my hysterectomy, while I healed at home (in no particular order):

1. Electric Heating Pad - Buy now on Amazon

This flat heating pad helped me immensely after coming home from the hospital after my hysterectomy. I had to spend many days and nights in bed, laying on my back which would leave it aching. Having this under me all the time so I could leave it on or turn it off, was a huge comfort to my back, and also helped keep me warm. 

2. Stretchy nightgowns & Comfy house dresses - Buy now on Amazon

Since I couldn't wear anything that pressed on my belly or hysterectomy incision, I lived in these nightgowns and dresses for weeks! This brand is my very favorite because they are so comfy, stretchy, and soft. I got 3 of them and just kept rotating. I actually wore one of them to my post-op visit because it looked enough like a dress.

3. Long Leg Warmers - Buy now on Amazon

Trust me, you'll need these! Since you can't wear anything pressing on your belly / incision, you'll be wearing nightgowns or dresses that leave your legs exposed. Socks just don't cut it! These are like a warm sweater wrapped around your legs as high as you need them, and keep you feeling snuggly and warm. Ahhh. Best buy!

4. Grabber / Reacher Stick - Buy now on Amazon

This came in handy all the time! It is a very helpless feeling to drop something and not be able to pick it up. I did this over and over again and it was very frustrating until I got one of these grabber/reacher tools. This is another Best Buy for sure!

5. *Soft Face cloths (Buy now on Etsy)

One thing that really comforted me while in the hospital and the first couple weeks after coming home, was to have a warm, soft face cloth to wipe my face with. Since I couldn't bend over the sink for a while, I would use a touch of face wash to rub all over my face and then gently wipe it off with a warm, wet, soft face cloth. Fairface Washcloths are the only cloths I will use on my face and it honestly felt like heaven.

If you've had a hysterectomy or other abdominal surgery and have some must-have products that really helped you, share them in the comments!

 

Easy DIY Way to Make Extra Money

If you are looking for a Do It Yourself way to make extra money, without having to go work for someone else, or learn a grand new marketable skill, this is an easy DIY way to start earning some extra money right away! 

You can make anywhere from $250 to $1,000 a month to start, and more. I'm sharing this with you, because I did it myself and it works!

Step-by-Step DIY Way to Make Extra Money

The easiest way I've found to make extra money, while doing it myself, is to open a Poshmark Closet and resell clothes and goods I'm no longer using. I am shocked at how easy it has been to make extra money doing this. I kick myself daily for not starting this years ago when everybody was talking about it!!

How to Get Started: 

1st: Get *THIS Reseller Guide & FREE Facebook Support Group (affiliate link) 

This guide helped me get started so I could start making extra money right away. It takes all the guess work out of it and tells you everything you need to know. 

PLUS it comes with a FREE Facebook Support Group where you can ask questions whenever they come up and always get an answer. This has helped me a lot!

Another reason I chose this guide because its creator was an overwhelmed registered nurse who was able to start a reselling business, leave her stressful career, and never looked back. 

She shares everything she learned to become successful, and makes it SO much easier to get started rather than trying to figure it out on your own. And in reality, it is so much less intimidating than it seems. I highly recommend getting the guide right away so you can DIY your way to more money as soon as you decide to!

[*I am an affiliate of the reseller guide and earn a commission when you sign up through my link]

2nd: Open a Poshmark Closet  

I opened my first Poshmark Closet, Fairface Vintage , and a little later when I got more comfortable, an Ebay Store, Fairface Vintage . 

By following the reseller guide, I was able to set up my shop and start making money, my way, right away. 

Because I know it works, I also know if I put more time into it, my extra income can grow substantially. I can't think of a better way to make extra money doing it myself! 

With this DIY Approach How Much Money Can You Make?

The great thing about DIY'ing your way to extra money is that you really can do it yourself, your way. How much money you make really depends on a few factors:

1. How much time you have to put into it.
2. How much demand there is for the items you want to re-sell.
3. How much money you spend on the items you are going to resell (if you thrift).
4. How much your items are currently selling for. 

Although it can vary month to month, I notice the more time I spend, the more quality items I list, the more I increase my sales and extra income. 

You really Can to Make Money the DIY Way! 

I hope this post doesn't sound too salesy (I know it's pushing it). I'm just really excited to share this with you because most of my readers are DIY people, who would rather Do It Themselves, versus handing it over to someone else!

You really can make extra money by doing it yourself and it's way easier than most people think. 

By:

• Getting this Reseller Guide to help you easily know how to start 
• Finding inventory to resell from home first (and tell your family and friends! They may share items to re-sell with you!) 
• Starting with one reselling platform 
• Setting aside a little time

You'll be bringing in extra money in no time. It may seem intimidating at first, but once you get that first sale you'll be unstoppable! 

Do you already make extra money by Doing It Yourself? Share your DIY money making strategy and/or Poshmark Closet in the comments so we can find you! 

Cheering you on always!

xo Shannon

The Trick to Keeping Produce Fresh Longer

I used to have such a love / hate relationship with my fruits and vegetables. They started out so fresh and lovely the day I bought them, but eventually they would shrivel up (or mold out) and end up in the trash, along with my guilty conscience. 

I wish I had known about this trick to extend the life of my fruits and veggies a long time ago, so I had more time to eat them, and stop with all the produce guilt!

My husband and I stumbled upon these little carbon filters one day and thought, what the heck, we can't lose by trying. And since tossing these in our crisper drawers, I kid you not, I haven't thrown out a single mushy fruit or vegetable! I'm just as shocked as you are!

*(this post contains an Amazon link & as an Amazon Associate I earn a small percentage of each sale.)

Keep Produce Fresh Longer with THIS Little Packet 

It turns out, the key to keeping produce fresher longer in your cripser drawers are 
>>These OXO Good Grips GreenSaver Carbon Filters !

• No more throwing away soggy spinach, mushy cucumbers or moldy fruit. 
• All you do is toss one of these little packets in your crisper drawer and it gobbles up the ethylene gas that spoils fruits and veggies. 
• They extend the fresh life of your fruits and vegetables so you have more time to eat them.
• No more guilt from spoiled produce! 

If I had known about these, I would have tried them years ago.

A few reviewers have found the same positive results that I did:

"Put one of these into your container of fruit or veggies and it helps keep them fresher longer! I was so tired of throwing stuff away and this has helped immensely!"

"I use these in my refrigerator & they do work!" 

"These things help to keep your fruits & veggies from wilting & rotting…they sustain the life of your fruits & veggies 1-2 weeks longer" 

 

*And just a side note, OXO sells a "produce saver container" that you can put the little filters in, 

but we just bought the refills and toss one in each drawer and it works just fine. As long as you give them a little space to work, they last around 3 months.

Have you tried carbon filters to keep your fruits and veggies fresh longer? If not, I highly recommend these! You will be very pleasantly surprised at how much longer your fruits and veggies last!

How to fix holes in your clothes

Have you ever ripped a hole in one of your favorite tops or get one of those pesky little holes that somehow always shows up in your favorite t-shirt? BEFORE YOU THROW IT OUT, give this DIY fix a try. 

Thousands of people have followed my posts on Fixing Holes in your Clothes, whether it's a lightweight shirt, skirt, or t-shirt. 

I have been able to fix several pieces of beloved clothing with rips or holes and believe it or not, you can do it too! It's easier than you think to fix a small hole in your shirt (or skirt) when you have the right supplies on hand.

Read both posts here:

>How to Fix Holes in Gauze or Lightweight Fabric

>How to Fix a Hole in your T-shirt Tutorial

 

If you like fixing ripped clothes, watch how I fixed my husband's ripped shorts.  This fix doesn't look as pretty, but it got the job done. Watch it here: 

Paint your Toilet Seat Stains Away

Another one of my very popular posts is about toilet seats, of all things. Who would have guessed? 

It seems that many of us have found ourselves trying to clean a toilet seat that just won't come clean, whether from actual stains or cleaning them for so long that they appear dirty and stained.

Look no further. Whether you live in your own house with a stained toilet seat and want to fix it for yourself or you live in an apartment and need your toilet seat to look like new again when the inspection comes around, you can find the answers here: 

>Go here for step-by-step - DIY Fix: Paint your toilet seat so it's like new again!

The #1 Fix: How Stained Toilet Seats can Look New Again

#1 Laundry Tip for Removing Yellow Stains from Shirts

This laundry tip on How to Get Rid of Yellow Stains on your shirts - whether it's yellow pit stains or yellow ring around the collar stains, has been BY FAR one of my best reads. 

This before and after photo of my husband's stained collar was not photoshopped. All it took was a few supplies and a little elbow grease to save us $200 in white shirts. They were like new again. My husband was amazed at how clean they got! And he didn't hate that we didn't have to go buy more shirts! 

In my original post, I also showed my attempt at removing yellow stains from men's colored shirts and have the before-and-after photo posted there.

>Read How to Remove yellow shirt stains + ring around the collar with hydrogren peroxide here

Any questions? Please let me know in the comments below!

Alternative to Purple Sheets that Saved Me Over $200

What is a cheap alternative to Purple Mattress Sheets? After some searching, I found the perfect set of sheets that is a great substitute for Purple brand sheets, and saved myself over $200! 

(*this post contains an affiliate link. As an Amazon associate I earn a small commission when you purchase through my link.)

While I do love the original Purple brand sheets, I don't love the Purple sheets' shocking price tag, at an astounding $279.00 for a King Set. 

My requirements for finding a good alternative for Purple Mattress Sheets was that they would be:

A) Able to stretch and move with the mattress

B) Soft and good quality

C) Reasonably priced

After reading through many suggestions, I found *this great alternative set of sheets for our Purple mattress , for a fraction of the cost, and after just one night I knew I'd found "the one". 

What I love about this Alternative Sheet Set for our Purple Mattress

• The soft jersey cotton has just enough softness and a subtle stretch to work for my Purple Mattress. It's like sleeping in your favorite t-shirt. 
• They are very good quality 
• And very reasonably priced, at just $63.00 for a King set! 

Needless to say, I immediately went back and purchased more. 

If you are looking for a good quality set of sheets as an alternative to the expensive Purple Mattress Brand Sheets, Save yourself a bunch of money and try this great low cost alternative to Purple Sheets

Have you tried them yet? Let me know! xo