Well, not only does such a way exist, but it is easily available to all as it’s found in every kitchen.

Yes, your kitchen hides many beauty secrets that can improve your skin and hair in a jiffy. There are myriad things available easy-at-hand that can help you improve your looks. Let’s look at a few beauty treatments found commonly in any kitchen. These work wonder—believe me, I have tried them all and have had amazing results.

9 beauty treatments hidden in your kitchen

1. This concoction will tighten your skin pores

Open pores look ugly and cause pimples. Here is a great way to cure open pores. Add a spoon of lemon juice and a spoon of curd to a grated tomato. Mix well. Apply all over the face, neck and arms. Wash the paste off with warm water after half an hour. This is very good for open pores and is an effective bleach too.

2. Watermelon juice helps reduce blemishes and scars

Blemishes and scars mar a perfect complexion. To get rid of them, use watermelon juice. Apply some grated watermelon on the face. Wash the paste off with warm water after half an hour.

3. Try a slice of papaya for that glow

Papaya gives an instant glow to the face. Mash a slice of ripe papaya and apply on the face. Wash off with warm water, after 20-30 mins.

4. Use table sugar to rejuvenate your skin

To rejuvenate the skin instantly, use sugar. Sugar sloughs off the dead cells and leaves behind soft glowing skin. Take a spoonful of sugar granules. Add a few drops of water and massage it lightly on your face and hands. Wash off with water.

5. Want soft, shiny hair? Try vinegar

Add half a cup of vinegar to a mug full of water. Rinse your hair with this mixture after shampooing to get soft shiny hair.

6. Tea is an excellent hair conditioner

Another excellent hair conditioner is tea. Boil a spoon of tea leaves in a glass of water. Strain and cool. Use this as the last rinse and see your hair shine.

7. Cucumber makes your eyes sparkle

Cut two roundels of cucumber. Place it on the eyes and lie down for half an hour. See your eyes sparkle.

8. Make those dark circles vanish

For getting rid of dark circles under the eyes, take a spoon of honey. Add some lemon juice and milk cream. Mix well and apply under the eyes. Wash gently with warm water after half an hour.

9. Refresh your tired-looking skin with a ripe banana

Banana is another great pick-me-up for tired looking skin. Mash a ripe banana. You can utilise the overripe ones that no one eats. Mix a little milk cream and apply all over the face and neck. Let it dry before washing off.

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Let’s take a look at all this rubbish.

Garbage can be of various types.

You can facilitate proper waste management by keeping the garbage segregated than mixing all together in a heap. It helps protect the environment, as well as keep the city cleaner. Not only does it affects soil, water, and air quality, waste management practices have impacts on energy consumption too. The method of segregation depends upon the collecting agencies. The types of garbage generated commonly are as follows:-

Dry and wet

This goes simply by the definition of the words dry and wet. Papers, cloth, wood shavings and other waste fall in the dry category. Some of this can be reused and is removed before destruction.

Wet primarily constitutes the kitchen waste. This includes vegetable peels, and garden wastes. The organic material can be used to process compost with the help of vermiculture. Also, there is no reusable material content in this category. While putting out such garbage, ensure that there is no leakage or spillage.

Combustible and non-combustible

In these methods, things that can be burned are separated from those that cannot. Toxic wastes should not be included in this. This type of segregation is done where incineration is used to manage waste. Non-combustible items include cans, CD cassettes, aluminium foils, small electric appliances, bottles, mirrors, and glasses. Combustible garbage includes kitchen scraps, rubber and leather products, garden refuse, paper trashes, and paper diaper.

Recyclable

This type of refuse can be reused and recycled. Hence, they should be stored separately in plastic bags for easy segregation. The categories are:

• Glass bottles and jars of food and medicine
• Cans of food, beverages, and ingredients
• Plastic bottles and food packaging
• Newspapers, magazines, cartons, cardboards and other loose papers
• Used clothes.

Toxic

These waste items may be toxic or dangerous, and may pollute the environment. Hence, they require special disposal systems. These include florescent light tubes, dry cell batteries, aerosol spray cans, gas canisters, mercury thermometers, lighters, paints, pesticides, and medicines. Ensure that the aerosol cans, lighters, and gas canisters are empty before disposing.

The garbage is usually collected manually or mechanically by agencies run by the city administration.

Recycling

This method involves segregation of garbage and its reuse. Instead of sending all the garbage out to the landfill, some things that can be used again are removed and circulated. By this method, things that would just take years to decay in the landfill can be put to alternate use. The most popular categories are cans, cardboard cartons, glass bottles, newspapers, and plastics.

Compost

There is another wonderful way to deal with garbage. Every day our homes generate a lot of waste material that we usually throw. This goes into the landfill where the airless condition prevents the natural decomposition of the matter. This waste material, particularly kitchen waste can be gainfully utilised to produce compost for your garden instead.

Compost releases the nutrients into the soil, slowly. It is a substitute for peat that improves the soil structure and water retention. Compost can be made easily in pits in your backyard with garden and kitchen refuse.

If you do not have the space available for pits, compost piles can also be built in enclosures. Alternatively, it can be made in large bins or pots too. Apartment dwellers can keep their composting bins in the balcony or under the sink.

The ingredients for making compost can easily be generated out of the house, specially the kitchen. You can use material like leaves, weeds, and animal manure. Stuff from the kitchen like carrot tops, vegetable peels, fruit cores, tea leaves, can also be used. Tea leaves and egg shells provide minerals for plants. They decompose speedily if shredded into small pieces.

Erecting twin bins can provide an unending supply of compost. The bins have wire mesh at the back for air supply and detachable boards in the front for easy approach. In the first bin, organic material is placed in layers. Starting with garden waste at the bottom, place kitchen waste, leaves and grass in layers, alternating it with soil until the heap is 3-4 ft. Sprinkle a dusting of limestone and a pint of fertiliser over the layers. The compost heap requires moisture for decaying. Water the pile for a few minutes and cover the top with 2″ of soil to seal the heap.

It will take about 3-6 months for the compost pile to be ready for use. Water the pile from time to time to dampen it. After a month or so, keep turning over the top layer with a pitchfork. This will speed up the decomposition process. When the compost turns crumbly and dark in colour and its individual constituents lose their original form, the pile is ready. Now it can be transferred into the second bin for use in the garden. So, go ahead and use your waste in your garden and see it flourish.

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Swirling dust is the most common source of allergens. So are pollen, mould spores and pet dander [the dead skin flakes and saliva]. With rapid industrialisation, air is not as pure as it used to be. Loads of industrial waste mingle with it, and creep unseen in our homes. Though breaking into hives may just be a temporary discomfort, repeated exposure to these allergens can harm the internal system.

However, simple steps around the house can reduce pervading allergens. Let’s go areawise to suggests ways.

Living rooms

• Often, the living areas are spotlessly clean but have you looked at any surface above eye level. The fan blades and lamp shades are replete with dust puffs and dirt. Use a long handle and wipe them with a damp cloth. Take care that the electricity mains are switched off before tackling them. Similarly, cornices and crown moulding gather a lot of dust mites. Clean them with a duster that will collect the dirt instead of just displacing it.
• Carpets, curtains, comforters, pillows and sheets accumulate plenty of dust inside them. Take them outside and shake thoroughly to dislodge the dust mites. The washable ones can be given a thorough cleaning with soap and water. Carpets are the greatest source of allergens. It is healthier to have a linoleum, stone or hardwood floor. If you must have carpets, choose washable, small throw rugs instead of the wall-to-wall variety.
• Choose leather or wooden furniture over upholstered ones that gather too many allergens. If you must choose upholstered furniture, get those with removable slipcovers that are easily washable.
• Other dust magnets are stuffed toys. They harbour dirt and allergens that may be harmful for kids. Bundle them in pillowcases and tumble wash in the machine.
• If the windows have a net screen, check it out. Usually the holes get clogged with dust. Clean it with soap and water if washable or vacuum clean them.
• Thoroughly clean the air conditioner before the start of summer. It is better to enlist the help of a professional to get rid of allergens trapped inside the coils. Thereafter, clean the air filters every month.
• Ensure that your home is dry and the humidity is low. So, soggy carpets, mouldy shower curtains, dripping clothes, and seepages in the walls are to be avoided as moisture gives rise to moulds and bacteria.
• Sunlight is effective in killing off germs and bacteria. So let fresh air and light into your house as much as you can.
• The rainy season increases the level of humidity. Ensure that rain water is not getting logged somewhere. The drains and gutters should be kept free of leaves and other debris.
• Above all, keep the humidity in check. The hot and humid atmosphere is perfect breeding ground for a variety of allergens. Installing a hygrometer – a device to measure humidity – could be of great help. Ideally, the humidity should be below 40 per cent. If the humidity is too high, get a dehumidifier. The drier the house is, the better you will breathe.

Kitchen

Traditionally, it was essential to keep the kitchen absolutely spic and span. That practice may not prevail as strongly now. There are some areas that are commonly neglected. Kitchen appliances like blenders, microwave, oven and toaster get coated with dust and other allergens. They must be wiped clean once a week. Utensils that are used less frequently must be rinsed with soap before using. The countertop gets a thorough cleaning, but the cabinets and other storage spaces get ignored. They should be cleaned and dusted once a month.

Empty the kitchen bin daily and try to keep the floors and countertop dry. Ensure that the kitchen gets some direct sunlight. That itself is good enough to ward off most of the bugs and allergens.

An exhaust fan keeps the kitchen free of soot and smoke. So get one installed to keep the air fresh.

Bathroom

There are a lot of invisible allergens accumulating here. Dust mites and pet hair may build up on shower curtains and bathroom rugs. Take them outside and give a thorough shake. Then, wash them with lukewarm water and dry properly. Empty the trash cans frequently.

Areas that are permanently damp develop mould spores. So keep all the leaks fixed to avoid their growth. Clean up mouldy areas like bathtub corners and under the sink frequently. Avoid carpeting in the bathroom as they may cause spores

Take care of these small things and notice the much sought after relief from allergens.

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Global water consumption rose almost tenfold in the last century, and many parts of the world are now reaching the limits of their supply. Populations continue to increase while water supplies dwindle. To highlight this growing problem, the United Nations declared 2003 to be The International Year of Freshwater. According to the UN, if current trends continue, “two out of every three people on earth will suffer moderate to severe water shortages in little more than two decades from now. The United States too has realised the worth of this scarce resource. In 2003, the US Department of Interior submitted a report — Water 2025 — for management of water before this condition becomes a crisis.

Hence, it is time we also gear-up to face the calamity looming ahead.

Threats

Fresh water is available as surface water [lakes, ponds, rivers and reservoirs] and groundwater [below the earth].

The quality of fresh water is under constant threat from various factors like —

• Waste disposal units of the industries and general populace regularly contaminate the fresh water.
• Mines divert water for their operations thus lowering the water table. The drainage from mines further degenerate the water quality.
• The farmers ply their crops with a host of fertilisers, that seep to the ground water and increase the level of nitrates in it. Intake of such water interferes with the blood’s ability to transport oxygen, causing difficulty in breathing.
• Constant urbanisation, cemeteries, sewage disposal, septic tanks and drains all add up to the degradation of water quality.

Water conservation

It is important to conserve the quality as well as quantity of freshwater. Here are two methods for the same:

1. Rain water harvesting

Rain is a source of freshwater. Every year some part of the country is deluged by torrential rains. This water is precious and should be conserved. Rain water is fresh and hence can be utilised. In rural areas, rainwater gets seeped into the earth and ground water gets recharged. However, in the urban areas due to constructions and modernisation this does not happen. The rain splattering on the roof usually flows down into the sewer, lost forever. Instead you can install a rainwater harvesting system, in which PVC pipes are used to collect the rainwater from the roof of the house and guided to an empty well after going through a filtration unit. Water provided this way may not be fit for drinking but it works quiet well for domestic use, livestock and irrigation. This water also seeps into the earth and raises the water table. New buildings are making the rain water harvesting system an essential part of their design. This system has solved the water woes of many places in Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu.

2. Flood plain reservoirs

Our country is truly a land of contrast. It gets dried up by draughts and deluged by rains. It makes sense to use the excess of one to stabilise the other. One such method is the flood plain reservoir. Reservoirs are dug at appropriate locations in the flood plains and are used to store the excess water during the rainy season. Currently, a large portion of the monsoon rain water goes unutilised. These reservoirs, though not drinkable, will provide for a large range of domestic and agricultural usage. It will also recharge the groundwater.

Similarly, abandoned pits, ponds and historical water bodies can also be used to store rain water.

What you can do

An individual can contribute a lot towards water conservation. Small changes in the living pattern will yield favourable results easily. One of the major ways people can help is by recycling grey water — water discarded from dishwashers, washing machines and other kitchen units. It is not very dirty and can be reused for outdoor cleaning and irrigation. Never throw water down the drain if it can be reused.

Ways to contribute to water conservation

Some of the ways in which you can contribute are as follows:-

• Use a washing machine that consumes less amount of water. Always operate on a lower level of water rather than the higher. The grey water generated can be used for cleaning or washing floors too
• While working in the kitchen or bathroom, do not let the water run. Close the tap immediately after use. Employ lower volume faucets to prevent loss of water
• The water discarded after washing vegetables can be reused for watering plants
• Fix all leaks and drips immediately to avoid wastage of water
• Do not flush toilets unnecessarily. Employ toilet displacement devices to reduce the amount of water flushed each time the toilet is used. They are inexpensive and save up to 13 per cent of water that otherwise would go literally down the drain
• Showers use more water, so they should be used sparingly. Do away with bathtubs too. Buckets are the best
• Use water in buckets while washing cars and watering plants. If you must use a hose, install a squeeze flow nozzle that will prevent wastage of water
• Use a pool cover to prevent water loss through evaporation. Neutralise the water before draining and utilise it for watering the lawn or washing the cars. Do not fill the pool up to the brim and thereby save water from splashing
• Avoid water overflow while filling up overhead tanks. Use alarm devices that warn you when the tank is full.

We need a change in mindset

The first and foremost thing to change is our mindset towards water conservation. If everyone decides not to waste water, we will find ways and means do accomplish that. So if you are convinced, try and spread the message. Begin with your kids. Teach them the importance of water conservation. Let them recycle water to stretch its usage. Think of the earth as the legacy we are leaving behind for our kids.

As we nurture our portfolio to leave behind a large amount of money, treat the earth in the similar manner. After all, every individual can make a difference in the effort to conserve water, a most precious resource.

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