Summer Soothers: Tip #3- Treat Your Feet

When you think of it, our feet do more everyday than most any other part of our body minus our internal organs. That is why pedicures are great and are conducive to overall health and well being! A few years ago I started what has become a yearly ritual and one all the girls-nieces included, look forward to at my family reunion. It is the "Last Night of the Reunion Spa Foot Bath." After the men-folk have returned from their endless hours of fishing, dirt biking, and the like, the kids are settled and the ladies join on the porch for our own individual foot baths. I started this because by the end of the reunion in the mountainous regions my beautiful pedicure complete with hand painted flowers and sparklies had turned into something similar to a hobbits dirty, hairy- foot minus the hair. I am sad we did not take pictures this year, but we were enjoying it too much to move.

Here is what we do:

Buy inexpensive laundry bins (I bought mine at Target for about $1.25 each and they are rectangular)
Each bin is filled with warm/hot water. We seat ourselves in a circle and I have a variety of goodies to add. I pass around Castile or Trader Joe's dish soap to add to the water to help with all the dirt. We swish that around and then I have about 12 single essential oils and blends to choose from. I tell the therapeutic effects of each and we pass them around letting each person add their own. After soaking for a bit, we pass around a container of salt scrub, everyone takes a small handful, and we scrub our feet until they are nice and clean. We soak some more, and then turn the bin over, emptying the water, and dry our feet on the bin or with a towel. This year I brought the famous cream my sister and I make, and also a cayenne lotion I made (simply add cayenne (medicinal not food grade) to unscented lotion base, shake up, let sit). So they had a choice. The cayenne is great for a little warmth and circulation. All the while we are talking and chatting and enjoying the bliss that is ours. Chocolate always has a place, and a variety is usually eaten. You could add fresh herbs or flowers if you so desired, and I thought a nice touch would be some river rocks to rub our feet on in the water. Don't forget the importance of your feet-take time to care for them, especially while camping!