If you’ve been looking for a simple way to soothe muscle aches, this easy homemade heating pad project may be just what you need! My nine year old has been struggling with heel issues due to way too much activity while she’s growing, and I was told that adding a heat pack to her foot prior to exercise might help.
Now, a normal momma would run to the store and buy a heating pad, but that would be way too easy for this penny-pinching-momma. 
(My problem these days is I just don’t have time to get to the store, so I figure anything I can make at home shaves an hour of wasted time off my day ~ yay!) I couldn’t believe how simple this was to make, and have been sitting here all morning typing with my fun little froggie heat pack taking care of me. . . my sweet Caroline may never see this homemade heating pad again. . .
Here’s what you’ll need:
- 2 cups rice (I used Minute Rice because it’s what I had in the pantry, but any type of rice will do)
- an old sock (I found this fuzzie frog in our missing sock basket ~ so glad to have salvaged him!)
- a ribbon (make sure the ribbon doesn’t have wire in it as it will need to be warmed in the microwave)
- OPTIONAL: Essential Oils
like lavender, peppermint, or vanilla; since we didn’t have these we used a little cinnamon
And here’s how to get it all ready in two minutes or less (way less time than it would take you to get to the store!)
- Pour rice into an old sock.
- If you’re going to add a scent to it, pour that in as well.
- Heat for 30 seconds to 1 minute in microwave. Heat longer in 30 second increments if you’d like it warmer.
- Apply to affected area.
I didn’t initially add anything other than rice to the sock, but the smell of the rice drove my daughter nuts. This morning I was trying to figure out how to change the scent, and since I know she loves cinnamon figured that might work! I added about 2 teaspoonfuls of cinnamon which seemed to work perfectly. I’m always amazed at how well projects like this one work, and am thrilled to have made it using just a few items I already had at home. . . woot!
***Note: Okay, I loved using the cinnamon and it smells wonderful. BUT, if the socks you use aren’t tightly woven, the cinnamon might come through the fibers. Ummm . . .the only reason I know that is because I kept noticing little brown specks on me after using my homemade heating pad this morning, and after a very quick jog I smell like one of my favorite cinnamon rolls. 
Any tips on other ways to “flavor” the rice would be very appreciated, although I’m thinking my daughter will have no problem at all smelling all cinn-a-mon-y!
Looking for more at-home-frugal-fixes? Here you go:
Do you think you could use an extract like vanilla, peppermint, almond, lemon? I know I have those in my pantry.
I thought about vanilla too, and think I may try that next ~ great tip Kathy!
How about Cinnamon Sticks, maybe broken into smaller pieces?
Cinnamon sticks sound like they’d work, or what about using an additional sock–move the rice from the frog into a different, tightly woven, abandoned sock and then just use the frog as a decorative outside layer.
I love the idea of cinnamon sticks … and the extra sock is a great idea too Jill & Kailin! I’ve got to try it this weekend (she’s got a soccer tournament and I don’t want her to be sore!)
how about some homemade tips to help dogs with flea control.. we have two pets and see that an orange will help somehow but not without buying two books… anybody know how we can help these sweet pets?
Thanks for the great idea! I added a few Downy Unstopables to mine & it worked fine, but I’ve only heated it once.
Made this for my mom who has sore throat. She loves it! It still has a hint of a rice smell, but its mostly cinnamon.
Great idea! Made one today for my son who woke up with a stiff neck and needed a heating pad. Used a sock with rice, black-eye peas (because I only had about 1 cup of rice), and added a few drops of camphphenique to the mix, stirred, filled and microwaved 3 minutes. It works great!
I tried this and put a spoonful of loose leaf tea in it. Very relaxing.
Could you tear open a peach tea bag and mix with rice and heat ?
Great idea Ashley – I bet you could! Let me know if you try it.
I tried this and added cinnamon and nutmeg. Smells like some strange French toast, but it works like a charm!
Glad it worked for you!