Old-fashioned home remedies...

[Pink Elephant]

Lil, inspired me to start this one! Thanks, Lil!

What sorts of old-fashioned homemade remedies did you rely on in your home?

One that I relied on in my home was diaper rash powder for when my kids got a sore bottom. I used to use lightly browned white flour along with cornstarch, which worked wonders for diaper rash. Cheap, chemical-free, and healthy.

Anyone remember old-fashioned mustard plasters?

 

[Lil]

I don't remember any home remedies really. Mom was a believer in doctors.

But, I have a cousin that SWEARS that putting a cut onion in the corners of your house will keep you from getting a respiratory sickness, or rubbing them on your feet and then putting on socks...or sticking a slice in your socks and sleeping that way, will cure you.

I'm calling BS on those. She got a tad testy when I laughed at her though.

 

[Pink Elephant]

I don't remember any home remedies really. Mom was a believer in doctors.

But, I have a cousin that SWEARS that putting a cut onion in the corners of your house will keep you from getting a respiratory sickness, or rubbing them on your feet and then putting on socks...or sticking a slice in your socks and sleeping that way, will cure you.

I'm calling BS on those. She got a tad testy when I laughed at her though.

Oh... always so fun and interesting reading other people's experiences related to such!

I've never heard the about the onion tricks before. Boy, can't imagine the smell, but wow, even it is more hokey-pokey than factual, it's still really fun to read about.

 

[AnnieO]

Vicks vapo-rub on the soles of your feet, with socks, helps dry coughs at night. I laughed but tried it. It works!!!

Baking soda to clear up murky iced tea.

I soak lemon, lime and orange peels in vinegar, strain, then use the vinegar to clean with. Smells amazing and works really well!

A dash of salt kills bitterness in coffee.

Any kind of mentholatum (Vicks, Carmex, Blistex) helps relieve the itch of bug bites.

Vinegar in the washer gets rid of body odor in clothes.

Tea with lemon and honey to help a sore throat - and gargling salt water.

Cloves in tea to relieve toothaches.

Hot peppers help clear the sinuses when you have a cold.

 

[Pink Elephant]

Vicks vapo-rub on the soles of your feet, with socks, helps dry coughs at night. I laughed but tried it. It works!!!

Baking soda to clear up murky iced tea.

I soak lemon, lime and orange peels in vinegar, strain, then use the vinegar to clean with. Smells amazing and works really well!

A dash of salt kills bitterness in coffee.

Any kind of mentholatum (Vicks, Carmex, Blistex) helps relieve the itch of bug bites.

Vinegar in the washer gets rid of body odor in clothes.

Tea with lemon and honey to help a sore throat - and gargling salt water.

Cloves in tea to relieve toothaches.

Hot peppers help clear the sinuses when you have a cold.

Wow! So many great remedies! Particularly love the citrus rinds in vinegar recipe! Thanks for that!

As for gargling with saltwater, it's the bomb for tonsillitis and bad breath.

 

[AnnieO]

LOL I juice them, then pack them really tightly in quart mason jars, cover with vinegar and shove to the back of the pantry. When I need to clean, I pour some vinegar out and top off with fresh... :-D

 

[Pink Elephant]

LOL I juice them, then pack them really tightly in quart mason jars, cover with vinegar and shove to the back of the pantry. When I need to clean, I pour some vinegar out and top off with fresh... :-D

Totally awesome, Annie! Thank you so much for the tip! Can't wait to try it!

 

[Pink Elephant]

A dash of baby powder (cornstarch or lightly browned white flour) inside baby's rubber pants, helps prevent elastic gather rash throughout the warmer summer months.

 

[Lil]

I made a wonderful woodwork cleaner once. Olive oil + apple cider vinegar. Really, made old doors that were just awful shine! I liked ACV for the smell, but Annie's version would be wonderful!

Tea with lemon and honey to help a sore throat - and gargling salt water.

I'd be adding that lemon and honey to hot water and whiskey...a Hot Toddy to clear a head cold (and if you still have a head-cold, you'll be feeling no pain anyway!) LOL!

 

[Pink Elephant]

I made a wonderful woodwork cleaner once. Olive oil + apple cider vinegar. Really, made old doors that were just awful shine! I liked ACV for the smell, but Annie's version would be wonderful!



I'd be adding that lemon and honey to hot water and whiskey...a Hot Toddy to clear a head cold (and if you still have a head-cold, you'll be feeling no pain anyway!) LOL!

Love, love, love this! Thanks a bunch for it!!!

Keep them coming everyone!

 

[GoingNorth]

Cough and cold remedy soup.

Start with a home-made chicken broth, while making, add in (assuming you are using typical dutch oven sized pot) 6 hot pepper pods with-most of the seeds removed (wear gloves for this step), 1 cup loosely packed shredded fresh ginger, as much crushed garlic as you can stand.

Finish cooking and strain soup. Remove excess fat (leave some in, this is part of the magic.

Make this when you are healthy and put in small serving containers to freeze.

When sick, heat up about 4-6oz of soup and sip slowly. Have a LOT of tissue handy. This soup is a serious expectorant, mucus thinner, and will make your nose run like crazy. It will also make you sweat like crazy. The chicken broth and chicken fat wash away viruses. The ginger is a natural antiseptic. Garlic is an antiviral.

The soup will loosen the crud in your head and chest, so you can get rid of it (and you will!)

Ask dr before using if pregnant, and don't use if nursing. The spices come across in breast milk and will seriously upset baby's tummy.

Also, if you add a half shot of drinking alcohol to the tea and honey/lemon, you've got a cough suppressant as well.

 

[AppleCori]

Not sure if this is actually a “remedy”, or even old-fashioned, but....geckos.

Yes, the little lizard-like creatures.

Let them go in your house if you have any kind of bugs (or if you just don’t want bugs in the house).

You never see them, yet they eat any bugs around.

 

[Lil]

Then you get a snake to eat the geckos. Then a mongoose to get the snake. Then a dog to catch the mongoose.

Did you ever sing "There was an old woman who swallowed a fly"?

 

[AppleCori]

Then you get a snake to eat the geckos. Then a mongoose to get the snake. Then a dog to catch the mongoose.

Did you ever sing "There was an old woman who swallowed a fly"?

If you would rather have bugs.....

 

[Lil]

If you would rather have bugs.....

LOL! Not particularly. I just had the "Old Woman and the Fly" song stuck in my head.

Raffi - There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Fly Lyrics

 

[AppleCori]

LOL! Not particularly. I just had the "Old Woman and the Fly" song stuck in my head.

Raffi - There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Fly Lyrics

Thanks.

Now I have that song stuck in MY head!

LOL

Just one gecko will do fine....

 

[BusynMember]

Ok...I think I have the right remedy, but it isn't old. I read it online. And it works.

If you get an oral sore get tea oil and it will numb the pain.

Ginger in tea will take away heartburn as good as Tums.

My grandma liked to make chicken soup and dumplings, Jewish style, if I was sick. It was very comforting and soothing to sore throats.

In general, we went to doctor's if we were sick.

 

[GoingNorth]

You can start with a Jewish style chicken soup to make the "cold soup". That's what I do, since Jewish style chicken soup is what I grew up making.

As regarding bugs in the house, I've gotten over my centipede phobia to the point that so long as they stay away from me they can live in my house (it took a LOT of desensitization to get to this point). Reason? I live in a ground floor apartment and was getting all sorts of bugs in the place. Centipedes eat all those critters.

Then, some buildings had problems with-roaches. Roaches are house centipedes favorite treats. I haven't seen a roach. (You'll hear me screaming over wi-fi if I do.)

 

[Crayola13]

I think a hot bath is the best short term solution for various ailments such as sinus congestion, pressure, insomnia, and stress. Burt's Bees Peppermint Foot Cream can help your breathing if you put a little on the tip of your nose when you have a cold. Breathe-Right Strips help. I have also found that setting out several bottles of opened Cajun spices of different types by the bed help sinus congestion. It's not a magic fix, but those are the best treatments I have found in decades. Going to salt therapy is said to be worth the price, but I have never tried it. Hot yoga is supposed to get all the toxins out of the body, but the reason I go is because I can stretch further without pain afterwards. The heat is more relaxing than regular yoga. It really helps my sleep. Other home remedies I use are fabric softener sheets under the seats in the car. I use baking soda to get residue, like spray, gel, etc. out of my hair before getting it re-colored. Cinnamon candy will temporarily help a sore rhroat and nasal congestion. Salt water (warm) will help for about an hour. Using good posture will do wonders for headaches. A cheap, easy way to make chicken breasts flavorful and interesting is to buy a bottle of marinade. You don't have to go by the directions if you're tired or in a hurry. Just lay out the chicken in a Pyrex dish and pour the marinade on it. If you have time, you can put the marinade in a marinade needle and inject each chicken breast. Just throw a bag of frozen pre-seasoned vegetables in the microwave.

 

[Triedntrue]

peppermint oil on a cotton ball in the cupboard to keep mice out. red pepper on or around plants to keep deer or groundhogs away. baking soda followed by white vinegar followed by hot water to clean out drains.