Category Archives: Home Remedies

Health, Home Remedies, Products, Useful Products

Essential Oils for Flu & Cold Season

Leave a comment

4 Thieves Oil

Thieves oil has an interesting history that’s rooted in the herb mixture used during the bubonic plague.  Gary Young, founder of Young Living oils, studied the properties and effects of essential oils against micro-organisms that cause disease.  It’s true that in studying them myself, I’ve learned a lot about their hertz resonance, their medicinal, preservation and disinfectant qualities and to that end, have stocked my cupboard with a wide variety of essential oils, and have been collecting recipes which I will, in time, pass on to you.

Here’s one that’s timely as we enter winter.  Mix the oils according to the recipe and use 1 drop of the mixture to 1 oz. of water.  I add a little white vinegar (about 1 teaspoon) to the 12 oz. bottle because it helps diffuse the oil into the water and not clog up the spray mechanism:

40 drops clove oil
70 drops lemon oil
40 drops cinnamon bark oil
30 drops eucalyptus oil
20 drops rosemary oil
10 drops each of tea tree, lavender and cedar oil

You can also adjust the smaller dosages to your preference but leave the first 5 ingredient ratio alone. For the last 3 ingredients, I’ve also  used geranium oil, camphor or grapefruit in place of the cedar or lavender …all chosen for their medicinal and anti microbial properties (as well as fragrance).

Use 1 drop of oil mixture to each ounce of water. Add 1 teaspoon of white vinegar and you are good to go.

Spray in bedrooms, near litter boxes, in the bathroom…wherever you need it.

Home Remedies, Lifestyle

Home Remedies for Fungus

Leave a comment

Herbs dryingSometimes I wonder if any of us who live in moist climates can avoid getting some kind of fungus. My dermatologist, Dr. Langei in Mt. Vernon, Washington, tells me that we are hosts to many.  I found this recipe for a natural antifungal salve in Rosemary Gladstar’s ‘Herbs for the Home Medicine Chest,’ a book I just love. Here it is:

Antifungal Salve

2 parts chaparral

2 parts black walnut hulls

1 part organically grown goldenseal (make sure it’s organically grown)

1 part myrr

1 part echinacea

a few drops of tea tree or cajeput oil

Method:

To each cup of oil, add 1/4 cup beeswax.  Heat until the beeswax is completely melted.  To check for firmness, place 1 tablespoon of the mixture into the freezer for just a minute.  If it’s too soft, add more beeswax.  If too hard, add more of the oil mix.  Remove from heat immediately and pour into small glass jars or tins.  Store extra in a cool, dark place.  Salves will last for months, even years, if stored properly.  If you want to add a natural preservative, add vitamin E or tincture of benzoin.

You can buy the oils as essential oils or you can infuse them yourself using solar.  Place dried herbs and oil in a glass jar and cover tightly (I like to use olive, almond or avacado oil). Place the jar in a warm sunny spot and let the mixture infuse for 2 weeks.  Strain through muslin or cheesecloth, add a fresh batch of hers and infuse for two more weeks.  This will give a very potent medicinal oil.  Strain well, squeezing out the herbs with your hands.

Many thanks to Rosemary Gladstar!

Growing Your Own, Health, Home Remedies, Old Wives Tales

Skin Tags

Leave a comment

Ya know there’s something to Old Wives Tales.  Sometimes they’re just myths, sometimes yarns, sometimes true and sometimes ridiculous; but in my experience, they’re based around something or the ‘old wives’ wouldn’t have passed them along.  This page is dedicated to all the Old Wives and their wonderful Tales.  If you have one, leave it as a Comment on this blog and if it has merit, we’ll post it!

Here’s one for you.  It came from my mother…

You can get rid of skin tags by tying them off at the root with a silk thread.  Only a silk thread; nothing else will do.  Have I done it?  Yes, once.  And it worked but it took awhile.

Health, Home Remedies, Recipes

Flu Remedy

Leave a comment

Submitted on 2009/07/21 at 10:04pm

Hi,

I live in the woods, I use plants for things like burn salve and teas. I like to wild gather berries for pies and elderberry brandy. This recipe is for when everybody’s got a nasty flu or some other kind of plague, and its got you too. Recently a friend was visiting from out of town, and she got real sick….she was staying at a rented place, not mine – but she was down with swollen throat, infected ears, sinus infection – it was nasty. I gave her my best referrals and she got some meds and started feeling better. That’s when I went out to dinner with her – and the next day I had it.

Here’s my remedy – it kills anything – and it works in 24 – 48 hours for me, but I eat real healthy all the time, so that might make a difference. It definitely beats any meds they’ll give you – it’s a quick bounce back.

Take two capsules of goldenseal 4 times a day. Take vitamin C 1000 mg on the hour. Drink as much water as is humanly possible. And take a half dropper of Lomatium Osha tincture 4-6 times a day under the tongue (it tastes horrid at first). And sleep – sleep and sleep and sleep and sleep.

If you tend to have a pretty sugary or white diet, then you can alkalize your blood with two tablespoons of organic apple cider vinegar in a quart of water and drink that, or add some lemon to your water, or make a vegetable broth (any kind) – that really helps too.

When it’s all over, you need to take two caps of probiotics every morning 30 minutes before food (for two weeks), with a cup of warmish water to rebuild your intestinal flora that were killed by the golden seal.

Stay shining!

Saphir