How to Make a Heating Pad with a Sock and Rice

With temperatures dipping below freezing this winter season, we all need solutions to warm cold bodies. Need something compact to warm you up? Why not take off your socks, save your rice and make it into a functional heating pad? It's time to save some money this season by making your own compact heating pads, just by taking off your socks.

Why Should I Make a Homemade Heating Pad?
Obviously you save money by making your own heating pad. Buying a heating pad in a store costs more - buying the cheapest pad costs $11.24 at Walgreens.com. You control the size also, so if you have a spot you need soothed, you won't need to do anything funky with a store-bought heating pad. No electricity either! You just need to reheat after the pad becomes cool.

As for the usage, heating pads can be used for many body-related issues. It does wonders for menstrual cramps - just place on your abdomen and let the heat treat it. It works the same for aching, tensed muscles and cold feet also. My mother puts it in her gloves while she warms up the car. You can rest your feet on it after some heavy winter shoveling. These heating pads are transportable and compact so you can use it anywhere.

Convinced now? It's time to gather the ingredients and start making your heating pad.

The Ingredients

- A sock
- A package of white, uncooked rice
- A pair of scissors
- A microwave

Step 1: Grab a sock. Choose any sock you like, whether it's a regular white sock or those argyle socks your grandma got you for Christmas. Don't pick a small sock either - you'll want a big, thick sock that doesn't have holes. Stick to cotton if you can, because you'll be sticking this sock in the microwave soon. I prefer thick, thermal socks because they feel soft, look nice, and help spread the warmth. It also prevents holes, something that you'll run into if you choose pantyhose.

Once you've got your sock, it's time to fill it with rice.

Step 2: Fill it up! I stick with white, short-grained rice, although you can use any sort of rice. If you're not an avid rice eater, you can buy a pack of regular, uncooked white rice at any store. You can substitute uncooked, hard beans also but the beans make it a bit lumpy.

Once you've got your bag of rice, take a measuring cup and fill it up with rice. Holding the sock firmly, fill up the sock with rice, up to 3/4 of the entire sock. Once the rice is dumped and packed, lift your sock and spin it around its neck. Make sure all the rice is even inside the sock. Smooth out if necessary. Now take the base of the sock, spin it around, and tie it. Make the knot tight so that rice doesn't move around. Once the knot is in place, take a pair of scissors. Cut off the rest of the sock "tail" near the knot and discard it.

Step 3: Bake it. Put your sock in the microwave and cook it. The length may vary, but I usually put it at 3 minutes. To be on the safe side, cook it for a minute and take it out - if it's not warm enough, put it again for another minute. It'll be hot also, so be careful.

After that, use it however you wish. When it cools down, microwave it again.

Other suggestions: If you want to spice it up, mix your rice with mint leaves and stuff your sock like usual. You can put any sort of fragrant leaves or mixes if you wish. Don't be afraid to experiment! Mixing in soothing lavender helps you fall asleep, if you're tired. Fresh cinnamon sticks smells absolutely yummy. Experiment and if you don't enjoy it, empty out the contents and start over again. Your heating pad is reusable, so keep it in a safe, dry place also.

You're not just limited to sock heating pads either! Search the web for different alternatives, such as heating pads and other substitutions for rice. For more information, check out Chronicbabe.com's article about rice heating pads. Happy heating!