I remember being cold constantly as a kid. Not because it was actually cold, but because I was a skinny little thing and hated to wear layers…ah the problems of youth.
Anyhow, I loved heating my bed up before I got in with a heating pad or hair dryer. I’m sure my mom would have flipped if she’d have known I was doing this since the hairdryer is an obvious fire-hazard, as is taking a heating pad to bed with you!
However, one thing I didn’t know about products like these, including heated blankets, is that they release extremely high levels of EMF (Electro Magnetic Fields). I’ll do a whole post on this topic soon, but in a nutshell, anything that gives off electricity gives off EMF’s which can be a real problem for the body by disrupting it’s natural “flow” and can suppress the immune system. This is why grandma didn’t want to live close to high-volage power lines – she was onto something!
So, rather than using any electric product for warmth I now use rice socks.
There really isn’t a need for me to show you how to make them, it’s a no-brainer, but if you’re like me, I’d rather see a picture of how to do something than read about it, so here goes:
Supplies:
- Clean crew socks - I bought new clean ones since I was making these as a gift for a friend’s new baby, but this is a fantastic use for those rogue orphan socks that are sitting in the bottom of your laundry basket…and if you’re like me, you have PLENTY of those!
- Organic Rice - 2 lbs (32 oz) per sock
I use organic as rice is particularly laden with pesticides if grown conventionally. And I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to wrap myself or my baby in a “pesticide sock.” Plus, I just don’t want to support destructive agriculture!
1. Turn the top inch of the open end of the sock inside out to create more thickness, and place the ring portion of a mason jar lid inside to hold it open while you pour in the rice.
2. Pour in said rice
3. “Bounce” the sock every so often to pack the filler down.
4. Tie off the top as close to the end as possible, but very tightly so that you don’t end up with a mound of food in your bed/couch/car/crib/crack. If you’re a better housewife than me you can sew the top…but I know that will NEVER happen in this house, so we tie.
5. To use, just zap in the microwave for about 1.5 – 2 minutes. (yep, one of the only things I use it for, since the radiation doesn’t cause a problem since you aren’t ingesting the rice.) However, I am one of those people who pushes “start” on the microwave and then runs like hell out of the kitchen.
For folks without a microwave, you can heat these in the oven, just please place them in a pan or crock with a lid so that you don’t light your socks on fire, amen?
I love using these to cozy up my newborn babies. Be sure the socks aren’t too hot, only 1.5 mns or so in the microwave will do for little ones. This supports them on either side, as we prop ours up a bit on their back so that if they spit up they won’t choke, and the warmth is comforting and cozy.
I also will take one to bed with me in the winter, provide them for my kiddos to warm their hands and feet after playing in the snow, in place of a water bottle or heating pad for muscle aches and pains, etc.!
I love adding a few drops of essential oils to them too! (Just drop right on the sock after heating.)
This “recipe” makes very firm socks, so if you want a neck wrap, I would use the same amount of rice in a tube sock instead which will allow for a bit more wrapability (please don’t email me, I’m convinced that this IS a word…)
Alright, so throw out those nasty, health-compromising heating pads and blankets, and make yo-self a few of these babies!
live well. be well.
