Top products from r/RBNLifeSkills

I used to have fairly oily skin but I've had really good luck with managing it with a skin care routine of just:

1. a konjac sponge in the shower (run it under the water until it's soft, then scrub your face all over with that). My roommate uses his with facial soap, but I use mine just with the sponge on its own, so you can use it either way. I use the linked brand and buy it at my local natural foods store, but there are lots of options available on Amazon too. This is the part I would recommend the most--it does an amazing job at gently exfoliating the dead skin away and helping normalize the oily and dry parts. Just make sure to moisturize afterwards and you should be great.
   
   
2. witch hazel with a cotton ball as toner morning and night (try to get Thayer's brand if you can, but just try to find a brand that doesn't put alcohol in it because that will be very drying to your skin and will up the oil production).
   
   
3. Vitamin C serum morning and night (you only use a few drops at a time so this will last you forever)
   
   
4. whatever facial lotion you feel works best for you--I use this, but anything light will do the trick, and put that on morning and night
   
   
5. every so often, use a sheet mask to add in extra moisture and glow! All the ones I linked here are amazing at helping your skin.

The therapist, Amy Tibbits, who runs the clinic I visit, The Lilac Center, wrote a book to help folks learn the skills of DBT: You Untangled.

My personal therapist, Anna Saviano, co-wrote a second workbook with Amy to help heal the trauma they have lived: You Empowered.

Anna also has me practicing meditation and listening to binaural beats to supplement the EMDR she does with me in session.

I also read The Expanded Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Training Manual by Lane Pederson before I met Anna and I feel it has given me an excellent foundation to build upon.

DBT Skills Training Manual by Marsha Linehan is not a book I've read personally. However, Linehan is who originally developed DBT and the link says it comes with online access to the worksheets and handouts. That looks to me like another excellent potential resource "straight from the horses mouth" if you will.

I am willing to be a chat/support buddy and can share what I've learned and continue to learn from my sessions as it pertains to DBT.

Good luck. :)

Edit to add: A book suggested by Anna that took me nearly a year to read because it was difficult for me is Healing The Shame That Binds You by John Bradshaw.

Further edit: My husband reminded me that you may well be able to get the books by Linehan, Pederson and Bradshaw at your local library.

You want a heavy fleece blanket plus a regular comforter. If you can afford to get yourself a heated blanket you will be living in the lap of luxury.

This is kind of living situation dependant but, if you find that your windows are drafty blackout curtains are a decent insulator if you can't put up something more serious.

If you can't control the heat of your whole living space (someone else controls the thermometer and you're cold, or maybe your room is a cold spot) you can keep the heat in your bedroom by covering up your windows and the top part of the door with a blanket. I'd do this before getting a space heater.

Go buy a case of ramen and a bottle of your favorite eye watering hot sauce. Sometimes you just want to clear out the face pipes.


Make a little winter survival kit for your car. https://www.skilledsurvival.com/winter-emergency-vehicle-kit/ This list is super intense but it's not bad. I wouldn't be too worried about like... a propane heater, camp stove or a gas tank. My SO swears by traction mats, but if they won't fit in your car you can throw down some sand or kitty litter under stuck tires.


Oh, don't' forget to drink water and use chapstick

oh, i'd love to have towel warmer! height of luxury. very popular in the UK. makes your towels toasty warm for when you're ready to use them. in your case, it will remove the damp from the twoels after you use them.

i use one that has a timer/automatic shut off. yeah, in the winter i'll use it in the bathroom to make it warm in there. but I will also stick it in the shower stall to make it bone dry. i also an anti-mold spray in the shower.

i have this space heater, which i see has gone up 50% in price since I bought it. if it gets knocked over, it shuts off, if it overheats it shuts off. nice. i move it around the house when i need a little boost; it's a little powerhouse.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000N22JX6/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Ear plugs - the little foamy disposable ones - from Amazon

Also a good eye mask, I found one at Bed, Bath, and Beyond years ago. Something like this should do the trick.


Good luck!

My landlord's exterminator uses this stuff, it's amazing; you apply it every 3-6 months, dab it in corners of cabinets and rooms but it works within a week or so and you won't see roaches for a long time:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B004GESOI6/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?qid=1413543143&sr=8-2&pi=SY200_QL40

Good luck!

This one is pretty helpful. About.com also has some really good templates.

First thought that comes to mind: Weather stripping. Cheap, not bulky, and usually works relatively well. It won't completely fix it, but it will sure make it a lot warmer.

I just wanted to add a recommendation - it seems silly, but this book is actually very helpful and easy to reference (as in oh shit I just spilled something and I have 2 minutes to figure out what to do before the stain sets!)
My Boyfriend Barfed in My Handbag . . . and Other Things You Can't Ask Martha
I find it nice to have a small paperback on hand to refer to, because I often don't want to touch my computer to Google what to do when I have a huge fucked up mess (literally) on my hands.

This book has a lot of information that might be useful:
Adulting
Also: Why Didn't They Teach Me This In School?

As others said, practice.

When I was worried about my driving skill level recently, I checked out most of the books in the library on how to drive. The best one I found was - Driving Techniques by Scotti

...also, I read in an interview with Patrick Stewart forever ago, that when he got to drive a racecar, the driver told him that the car will go where he's looking- something about subtle whole-body turning as our heads turn.

I found some good links out on the internet just by googling. Also there's some techniques in some books I found. One in particular that I'd already been using (but just yesterday looked up self esteem in, duh) is this one which is in libraries here in my state and probably elsewhere.

Two books I found immensely useful:

• Awake at Work
  
• Harvard Business Review Guide to Office Politics

Mold spores are everywhere. (Edit: in your home, in my home, at the local library, just... everywhere.) To control them you need to control the temperature and the humidity. Low temp & low humidity=inactive mold spores.

Run the fan when you shower, run the kitchen fan when you boil water, hang your towels up to dry, don't let anything stay wet for long. If you're in a humid climate you might want to get a dehumidifier. I needed one for the basement in my last place. You can tell how humid your place is with a humidity monitor .

For your mattress, you might want a dust mite cover. They keep allergens already in your mattress from getting out, and keep other nasty stuff from getting in. They also make dust mite covers for pillows.

I recommend wearing face masks for cleaning. My partner and I do because we're allergic to dust mites and cleaning's enough of a PITA as it is without allergies.

The EPA has a nice set of pages about mold that might interest you: https://www.epa.gov/mold/brief-guide-mold-moisture-and-your-home#tab-4