how to

Mar 4, 2013

How To Make A Garlic Poultice

Mar

2013

Monday

One of the natural remedies that I use when someone in my family is sick is garlic! Garlic is known to have strong antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal properties… and there are no known side effects (other than smelling like garlic!)

The most used garlic remedy in our household is a garlic poultice. It’s super easy to make and very effective! We use it on everyone (babies and adults) and it has helped to reduce fevers and to get rid of coughs & congestion.

Here’s how to make one:

Get a few paper towels or a cheesecloth and lay it on the counter.

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Crush or mince a few cloves of garlic into the middle of the paper towel or cheesecloth.

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Fold the paper towel or cheesecloth to cover the garlic area.

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Get the paper towel or cheesecloth wet with hot water (but NOT boiling).

Then put the wet garlic poutice on whatever area is bothering you. For example, if you have a cough/congestion then you would put it on your chest. You can also put it on the bottoms of your feet if the smell bothers you. Just make sure you don’t leave it on too long (more than around 90 seconds) because garlic can eventually cause burns since it’s so strong.

Do you use garlic when your family is sick? What are some other ways you’ve found garlic to be helpful?

Disclaimer: The information on this site is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please confirm any information obtained from or through this web site with other sources, and review all information regarding any medical condition or treatment with your physician. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking medical treatment because of something you have read on this website. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, or cure any disease.

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11 Comments | Author: Rachel Holland
Filed Under: Frugal Living, Home Remedies, Natural Living, Natural Remedies, Survival Tip Tuesday Tagged With: flu, garlic, how to, Natural Remedies, poultice, swine flu

Nov 11, 2009

Worth-It Wednesday: Living Beneath Our Means

Nov

2009

Wednesday

8 Comments

piggybank
One of the lessons that my mom drilled into me growing up was to always live beneath my means. My parents practiced what they preached and I have seen the many ways that it blessed my family growing up.

As an adult (am I really an adult? I still don’t feel like one yet!), I was introduced to Dave Ramsey, who put a whole system to what my parents had taught me for years. Dave’s book The Total Money Makeover has been a huge help to those who are trying to live beneath their means.

Still, even with the great example my parents set, we made several mistakes in our early years of marriage that caused us to go into debt and made it difficult for us to climb out of it. Thankfully though, we are now out of debt and have been able to apply these principles to start saving (instead of just working our way out of debt)!

So what can living beneath your means look like? Here are a few ideas that come to my mind, but it will look different for everyone (remember, these are ideas, not set-in-stone rules!)

Skipping out on the big vacation in lieu of a more localized one (you’re kids will still remember it with joy & you’ll be out much less cash!)

Being able to afford a more expensive house, but getting one for a lower price than the mortgage company says you can “afford.”

Being able to afford going out to eat a few times a week, but choosing to only go out once (or not at all).

Staying away from the the mall! Whenever I go to the mall I feel the pull to buy things, but when I stay away the pull stays away too!

Remembering that you can get a percentage off everything you buy and still go more into debt. Make a budget and stick to it religiously.

Not making impulse buys! If there’s something that I think I need (or want) I put it on a list and leave it there for a while so that I can think about it and come back to it later to see if it’s something I still need to get.

Putting all the money that you are NOT spending into getting out of debt or savings! Easy enough, right?

You can get more ideas as well as a step by step plan from Dave’s book The Total Money Makeover.

Living beneath our means is WORTH-IT for us… do you think it’s worth-it as well?

I only put a few ideas up here & I’d love to hear more from you guys! What do you think? What are some ways that we can live beneath our means so that we can save and give more?

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8 Comments | Author: Rachel Holland
Filed Under: Worth It Wednesday Tagged With: how to, live under your means, living under your means

Oct 20, 2009

When To Use Your Coupon

Oct

2009

Tuesday

3 Comments

THE main complaint about couponing that I hear from those who are just beginning is that they do all of this work getting the coupons, cutting the coupons, and organizing the coupons, then end up saving less than $10 when they shop. Goodness, I would want to give up too! But I am here with good news — there is a solution: KNOW WHEN TO USE YOUR COUPON!

Don’t just use a coupon because you have it (that’s what the manufacturers want you to do!) We must be strategic with our coupons if we are going to really save BIG.

Here are a few tips that I have found helpful in my use of coupons:

Wait for the sale. Hold on to your coupon until you see that there is a good sale on a product, THEN use it to get an even better deal! If an item regularly costs $4 and you use a $1 coupon for it, then you will just save $1. But if you wait for it to go on sale for $2.50 (yes, prices will come down that much with sales) and use the $1 off coupon then you have saved $2.50 off of the original price instead of just $1. This type of savings really adds up!

Be patient with your free product coupons. Periodically you will get free product coupons in the mail (these could come through freebies, Vocalpoint, calling/emailing the manufacturers, or a variety of other ways). I know it’s tempting to go out and get your free product right away, but if you wait to see if there will be a Buy 1 Get 1 Free sale, then your 1 free product could turn into TWO free products. The same applies for Buy 1 Get 1 Free coupons. Wait for a Buy 1 Get 1 Free sale, then use your B1G1 Free coupon to get TWO items completely free!

Take your low-value coupons to stores that double/triple coupons! Don’t waste your 25¢/1 or 35¢/1 coupons at stores that don’t double (unless you have no other option). If you have a grocery store that doubles or triples coupons, use the low-value coupon there (when there is a sale), where they will turn into high-value coupons!

Use your coupon when there is also a store coupon for that item. Many stores put out store coupons that you can use WITH manufacturer coupons. Using these coupons together can give you some great savings and, many times, FREE items!

Save your coupons for an ECB deal at CVS or a Register Rewards deal at Walgreens. Coupons for makeup, toiletry needs, medicine, and feminine products, can usually be saved to score a great deal at the drug stores… and sometimes even a money-maker deal!

When your coupon is about to expire, see if there is a travel or trial sized item to use it on. If the coupon does not say that it excludes travel/trial sized items, or it does not specify a size, then you can use it on the trial size! Of course, it’s better to get the full for free, but if a great deal doesn’t come up before the coupon expires, then you can use it to get the smaller sizes for free.

Look for clearance deals while at the store. The Kroger in my area has some GREAT “manager’s special” mark-downs on meat, cheese, and other perishable items every time I go. Many stores will also have “clearance shelves” where they put their clearanced merchandise. This is one of the reasons that many couponers like to bring their coupon binders into the store with them… you can typically use coupons on clearanced items too!

Lastly… (I want you repeat this after me)… “I don’t have to use every coupon I get. I don’t have to use every coupon I get.” Really! I only use a small percentage of the coupons that I get from the newspaper because if I don’t, I will end up spending more money using coupons than if I would’ve stayed away from them. BUT, if I time it right, and only use the coupons when there is a good sale, then I can score some AMAZING deals!

(NOTE: If you are going to buy a product ANYWAY, whether it’s on sale or not, then by all means use the coupons that you have for it.)

Do you have any tips that you would like to share regarding this topic? Please feel free to share them in the comments section below!

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3 Comments | Author: Rachel Holland
Filed Under: Groceries & Couponing, Survival Tip Tuesday Tagged With: coupon, Coupons, how to, how to coupon, when to use coupon

Oct 6, 2009

How To Get More Coupons!

Oct

2009

Tuesday

4 Comments

Last week I tried printing out a great $3/1 coupon that was available online, and guess what message popped up? “You have already printed this coupon the maximum number of times allowed.”

Um… no I haven’t!! I know that many of you have this same issue from time to time, so I want to tell you what I did. Instead of giving up on that high-dollar coupon, I decided to call the manufacturer. I very nicely explained to the customer service representative the situation and then said, “I’m not sure what to do now… is there anything you can do to help me?”

Within the next week, I will be getting a $6 coupon in the mail (instead of a $3 coupon), plus more of their company coupons, PLUS I was put on their list to participate in focus groups. SWEET! I’m glad now that my coupon didn’t print!

Calling when you have a coupon problem isn’t the only way to get FREE manufacturer coupons, though! Here are a few more ways:

1. Call/Email the company with a compliment – Do you love a particular brand? Let the company know! Many times they will send you coupons (and sometimes free product coupons) as a thank you.

2. Call/Email the company with a complaint – If you are frustrated with an item that you bought, let the manufacturer know (nicely) exactly what is frustrating you about it. As an apology, most companies will send you coupons to try their product again. (Only call/email with LEGITIMATE complaints! We want companies to continue giving out coupons!)

3. Call/Email the company to ask for coupons – Remember my “It Doesn’t Hurt To Ask” post a couple of weeks ago? The same thing applies for asking for coupons. Just send an email, or make a phone call to the manufacturers of the products you use often and ask. Some of them will not send coupons, but MANY of them will!

What has been your experience with calling or emailing companies? Have they been good experiences? Have you had any negative experiences? I’d love to hear! Feel free to leave a comment below with anything you would like to add!

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4 Comments | Author: Rachel Holland
Filed Under: Groceries & Couponing, Survival Tip Tuesday Tagged With: Coupons, how to

Sep 22, 2009

Canning Pickled Okra: My First Attempt at Canning!

Sep

2009

Tuesday

6 Comments

I have been TERRIFIED of canning for the longest time. I don’t really know why I was so scared – I guess just fear of the unknown?

But learning to can is not only something that can help save money by stocking up on fruit and veggies when they are in season, but it is also a basic homesteading/survival skill that might prove handy to have in the future!

I recently got a LOT of okra at a local organic farm and I needed to do something with it. I was able to freeze a lot of it to use for gumbo and fried okra, but I still had tons left.

One of my favorite things at a salad bar is pickled okra, so I thought I would face my fears and try to make (and can) some!

And guys, it is SOOOO easy! Why was I scared?

For a GREAT illustrated tutorial on canning pickled okra, you can go HERE.

Pickled okra seems to be a good thing to start with and I hope to be canning MUCH more in the future.

Here are some of the pictures from my experiment:

Anyone have any other good canning recipes for me?

Do you have a “survival tip” to share? What are your best tips for surviving the stores? Feel free to send me your ideas in article form to “survivingthestores AT gmail DOT com” and you just might get featured! If you have a blog, be sure to include your blog link in the email so that I can link back to you. Just make sure you put “Survival Tip Tuesday” in the subject line of the email.

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6 Comments | Author: Rachel Holland
Filed Under: How To/DIY, Survival Tip Tuesday Tagged With: canning, how to, pickeled okra

Sep 8, 2009

Natural Burn Remedy with Baking Soda!!

Sep

2009

Tuesday

11 Comments

Boys are silly… maybe even crazy! Especially when you get several of them together WITHOUT their wives or girlfriends around.

Last weekend we went to a reunion in Central Texas with several college friends. During the day on Saturday the men went out for a couple of hours to explore the Guadalupe River while the girls stayed inside with the kids.

During their exploration they saw a huge rope swing hanging about 20 feet above the river. What was their automatic reaction? LET’S SWING ON IT! Of course… that’s what anyone would do when they see an old (who knows how old!) rope swing above a river. Right?

So the men – should I say boys? – are swinging and having a blast, and it’s my husband’s turn to get on the swing again. While he is standing on a tree branch about 20 feet from the ground with the rope in his hand, a gigantic praying mantis gets on his shoulder. Now, my husband isn’t scared of bugs… he’s the one that has to kill all of them in our house! But the guys that were on the ground started yelling that there was a huge bug on his shoulder and to JUMP!

So he jumped and tried to get down the rope as soon as possible… and in the process, he slid down the rope about 10 feet one-handed. OUCH!!

Needless to say within minutes he ran into the house to hold his hand under cold water at the sink. After he held his hand under cold water for a while, I sprayed it with burn spray, but aloe vera on it, put gauze on it, and then put an ice pack on it.

That helped it to feel a little better, but within a couple of hours it was hurting so bad that my husband (who NEVER suggests this) was suggesting going to an emergency care clinic or to the ER.

I called the closest Emergency Care Clinic and it was going to be a minimum of $150. While I was certainly willing to spend that so that my husband could feel better, I wanted to look up one more thing.

I knew Baking Soda was a remedy for several things, so I looked up “Treating Burns With Baking Soda” online. And TONS of forums came up with person after person saying how they used baking soda on their burns and the pain went away almost immediately.

My husband is always up for trying out any new natural remedy that I find, so we tried it. Here’s what I did:

1) Made a paste with baking soda and water. The baking soda was pretty wet, but thick enough to stay on his hand.

2) Put the baking soda all over his hand.

3) Put a plastic bag over the baking soda (to keep the baking soda wet).

4) Put a sock over the plastic bag (to keep the plastic bag from falling off).

And guess what??? Within 5-7 minutes the pain was GONE! Completely!!

He left the baking soda on for several hours and then it started hurting a little bit again. So we went to wash off the baking soda and I was going to reapply a new batch. But after my husband washed it off, he kept waiting for the pain to return… AND IT DIDN’T!!

And already the blisters had popped and had started to heal – just in those few hours!

By the next afternoon he had complete use of his hand again… and we were saved from spending $150+ for a doctor’s visit and medicine!

I haven’t tried this on other types of burns yet, but from what I’ve read online it works for all types.

I’m definitely adding Baking Soda to my travel First Aid Kit!

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