Kitchen Aides for Health and Economy

When you live out in the country as I did with my family for many years, you find ways to make things work for you. You simply can’t make the trek into town for every little thing. It got to where going to town was a major outing with 4 kids in our family. With pets and bills to pay, we couldn’t just drop everything for things that could be fixed at home. Here are just a few of the many home remedies we used often at our house.

Do your pets have problems with ear mites? We lived in the country with lots of tall grass and ground squirrels to chase. Our pets, cats, and dogs, had tons of problems with those pesky ear mites. Corn Oil or Olive Oil in your cat’s ear or dog’s ear kills mites (it smothers them), soothes the skin, and accelerates healing.

Dishwashing liquid actually kills fleas. Add a few drops to your dog’s bath and shampoo thoroughly. Of course, you need to rinse well to avoid any skin irritations but that’s it. Also a little dried mint or pennyroyal in a cotton casing around the pet’s neck prevents further outbreaks. The fleas apparently don’t like the smell of mint. It won’t kill them but they stay away from it.

Hate that “wet dog” smell. On rainy days when your dog comes in from outside, just wipe him down with a dryer sheet. Your doggie smells springtime fresh every time.

Did you know that drinking a glass or two of Gatorade can relieve headache pain almost immediately? It’s a great way to get around those unpleasant side effects caused by traditional pain relievers too. A cup of fresh ginger root tea will also do the job. The fresh ginger root needs to be pealed and sliced into discs and steeped for a few minutes. You can add honey or sugar to taste but the effects are remarkable. I like to use it for my hip and arthritis pain as well.

Next time you get a little burn from a stove or oven mishap, try using toothpaste as a salve. It takes the burn right out.

Curiously strong, Altoids peppermint breath candies will actually clear up a stuffed nose quicker than inhalers and cold remedies.

For a sore throat, mix a ¼ cup of vinegar with a ¼ cup of honey and take 1 tablespoon six times a day. The vinegar kills bacteria and the honey soothes the throat. My mother swore by a hot infusion of honey and lemon juice tea. She got to where she would drink it for no reason at all. She just liked it. It must be good for the throat. She is still singing soprano in the church choir at the age of 84.

Honey has long been used for skin blemishes. Cover the blemish with a dab of honey and place a Band-Aid over it. It kills the bacteria and keeps the skin sterile, speeding healing. I understand it works overnight. My father was a beekeeper and used to expound the benefits of honey often. He said that people suffering from allergies should take honey daily for relief. He said you should find a local beekeeper and buy local honey from bees that have been working the pollen you are allergic to, not honey from the grocery store (who knows where that comes from). The local honey will cure a multitude of ailments. He swore by it and I can’t complain of having any allergy problems.

I have long had a problem with toenail fungus. I have also seen the commercials that say you cannot cure the problem with topical medications, but believe me, this one works wonders. Try soaking your toes in antiseptic mouthwash. It really does kill bacteria and fungus, leaving your toenails looking healthy again. Not only that but add a drop to the top of broken blisters to disinfect and keep them from getting red and infected. It is a powerful preventative.

Do you have problems helping your children remove splinters? I know I did. As soon as I went for the needle and tweezers they would begin to cry. Try this instead. Pour a drop of white school glue over the splinter and let it dry thoroughly. Then just peel the dried glue off the skin and the splinter comes out with it. No more tears and you know how much kids love to play with glue anyway.

Tomato Paste is a cure for boils. Just cover the boil in tomato paste as if it were a compress. The acids in the tomatoes soothe the pain and bring the boil to a head. Good to know.

Ever have a bee or wasp get into the house? Or a hornet or yellow jacket? Don’t bother hunting up that insecticide with all its chemicals. Instead try your kitchen cleaning liquid, like Formula 409. One spray and the insect drops to the ground instantly.

Have you ever heard that vinegar heals bruises? Soak a cotton ball in white vinegar and apply it to your bruise for 1 hour. The vinegar reduces the blueness and speeds up the healing process. I’m not sure I would use it on a black eye, however.

My husband appreciates lemon squeezed into his iced tea. This leaves me with lemon rinds that usually go into the trash. However, a couple of lemon slices every week of so tossed down the garbage disposal keeps it smelling fresh. Just drop the lemon rind or two into the garbage disposal and turn it on with the water running. Fresh as a daisy.

I found that the noxious roach sprays drove me out of the house more often than the roaches. Finally, my grandfather told me about boric acid powder. He said they used to use it when he was a boy to keep the roaches out of the house. It has no smell and is safe to get on your hands. My mother said it was what they used to clean the sleep out of baby’s eyes and cradle cap from their heads. It is, however, poisonous so it should not be ingested. What happens is that the roaches walk in it and track it back inside the walls to their families, who lick it off their feet, where they all die inside the walls. It is safe to put around cracks on counters and in cabinets but not inside things that will be eaten. It works really well even on ants.

It seems that people were taking care of their own problems with home remedies long before manufacturers got to the idea of bottling and selling these tried and true solutions. All we need to do is remember that there are alternatives to the costly and sometimes toxic manufactured remedies for things. I hope I have helped with just a few we used on a regular basis. Enjoy.