This time of year is rough – colds and flu, lots of time indoors where air quality is poor, and that cold, dry air mean that asthma is flaring up all over the place.

Both me and my middle child struggle with asthma, and in the 20+ years I’ve dealt with it I’ve figured out a few things. First, when the doc says you need to take a maintenance medication, you need to take a maintenance medication. But second, there are a few ways to relieve asthma symptoms that aren’t dependent on pharmaceuticals. Let me just tell you, I love albuterol for opening my lungs and letting me breathe. I hate it for making my heart race though.

So when my lungs start to tighten, or my little boy starts coughing, here’s my go-to plan.

1. Fresh air. Forget about smog – outdoor air is cleaner than indoor air.
2. Moisture – and lots of it. The cool air humidifier barely makes a dent. But if I close the doors to my bathroom and get in a hot shower the steam opens me up.
3. Lemon & honey – about half and half, and bottoms up. They help relieve coughing to allow the lungs to settle, and they’re both immune supports. But, the lemon aroma has also been shown to relieve symptoms.
4. Aromatherapy, using only pure essential oils. Peppermint, chamomile, ginger, and lavender. Put a drop of each into a small dish of olive oil and rub it into the feet.

The key to long-term maintenance is knowing your triggers and managing your symptoms before they become problems. Hopefully, clean indoor air, plants indoors, and a healthy lifestyle will help you find your way to managing asthma. In the meantime, maybe these tips will make your emergency situations fewer.

Note: This is meant to help someone manage asthma symptoms at the early onset, not in an emergency situation. A rescue inhaler is always the best bet when breathing is labored.

This weekend I needed a room deodorizer to tackle the pesky smell that my sister in law’s new puppy left behind. Candles are great but not always practical with a little kid (and a forgetful mommy) around. Only being able to use what I had on hand I grabbed my small stash of essential oils and an unbleached coffee filter. It only took one drop on the filter and a quick wave around the room and the smell was gone!

Thinking I was on to something, I’ve done a little bit more experimenting with this idea. Using the same filter (I only use different filters for different scents) I dropped another drop of essential oil and put it in the bottom of my trash can when I changed the liner. Through out the day we could smell it whenever we opened the lid to throw something away. I suggest adding another drop or two to the filter each time you change the bag.

Smelly bathroom? Add a drop or two of your favorite scent to the filter then stick it in your toilet paper roll.

You can even leave them just sitting out and the smell will drift through the room hiding any pesky odors you might be dealing with. Change it up through out the day to keep things fresh!

Try it out with your favorite essential oil today!

Great question Teresa. It’s hard to say without seeing it, but here are my thoughts. The first thing is process. The best products won’t do the job if the process isn’t right. Tea tree oil should kill the mold and keep it from returning, but you may need to let it sit a bit longer. Spray it on, let it work its way into the grooves and pores of the surface, and after 10 minutes (or more) scrub away. Over the next week or so keep your spray handy and spritz the shower daily to make sure all the spores are dead. The problem with mold and mildew is that it grows deep into surfaces. It penetrates, but your scrub brush or sponge doesn’t.

The next method is to use Borax, which you can find in your grocer’s laundry aisle. It’s another natural fungicide but it works a little differently than tea tree oil. You’d make a paste of Borax and water and spread it over the area. Let it sit overnight and scrub it in the morning.

As for a commercial product, several of our clients have had success with Melaleuca’s No Work Shower Spray.  Spray it daily and mold and soap scum be gone. I have to attest that my girls love to clean homes where the homeowners use this stuff. They say the showers are a breeze!

Keep in mind though, grout isn’t meant to last forever. Over time your grout – and sealant too – will need to be replaced. That’s actually the case in my shower. In fact, the previous owners sealed the grout without cleaning it first, so there’s mold growing beneath the seal, which makes it virtually uncleanable. If all else fails, you may have to look into having grout work done – or doing it yourself.

There are some tips to cut down on mold and mildew growth though. They grow in dark, warm, wet areas. So after your shower, rinse the shower walls and door with a shot of cold water. Squeegee the walls and door when you get out to remove excess moisture, then leave the shower door (or curtain) and the bathroom door open to allow the humidity to escape. Even better, turn on your bathroom fan to create a draft. Mold doesn’t like that! Anything you can do to dry your shower quickly and cool it off will keep mold and mildew at bay.

Good luck Teresa!

There’s nothing better than creating a home cooked meal from scratch, using the season’s finest and freshest to bring the most flavor to the table. But unless you’re a vegetarian you probably also have raw meat you’ll be chopping now and then, and potentially leaving dangerous germs on your chopping block.   Here’s what we suggest:

1. Use different cutting boards for different purposes. One for non-meats and cooked items only, one for fish, and one for raw red and white meat. This will keep you from cross contaminating, and even if a germ or two is spread from one meat to the next, you’re going to thoroughly cook the meat and sterilize that stray germ.
2. As the CDC recommends, soap and water is sufficient for most purposes, including hand washing and cleaning dishes and cutting boards. Hot, soapy water will do the trick for most kitchens. Just make sure you’re actually scrubbing and not just giving a cursory swipe. Alternatively, use your dishwasher and eco-friendly dishwashing detergent. The level of sustained heat in the dishwasher will kill most everything.
3. A two-step process involving a spray of hydrogen peroxide followed by a spray of vinegar, with each left to sit for 10 minutes will properly disinfect. The key though is leaving it to sit. Even the best product is useless if not used correctly.
4. Essential oil of lavender – about 20 drops to 1 cup of water in a spray bottle will disinfect quite well and leave your home smelling like spring year round! This is safe enough to spray directly on your kids’ toys and other food-prep surfaces, which makes it one of our favorites. In fact, studies show that essential oils may disinfect more effectively than phenol, which is what most disinfectants use today. Additionally, they don’t seem to contribute to the development of drug resistant strains of bugs like regular antibacterials do.
5. Microwave it! I’m serious. If you’re concerned that your cutting board may be compromised and if it’s wood, put it in the microwave a zap it for 10 minutes. Your cutting board will be clean, but use caution getting it out – depending on the type of wood and level of moisture present it could be hot. This doesn’t work on plastic cutting boards though, so don’t waste your time.

Thanks to Mollie over at One/Change for a few of those tips.  If you’re in the market for a new cutting board, opt for wood. New studies show that wood cutting boards don’t harbor bacteria the way plastic boards do. Due to the capillary of dry wood, microbes disappear below the surface where they die within a few hours. Plastic on the other hand allow microbes to sit on the surface where they can contaminate the next item. And please, avoid those “antibacterial” cutting boards like the plague – they’re treated with a pesticide and do you really want to introduce pesticides into your kitchen? Add in the fact that FDA is attacking the claims of the effectiveness of those pesticides, and it’s really not worth it.

There are a few things to try. On the job, we use Shaklee Scour Off on a microfiber cloth. It goes on like butter (but you have to pronounce it “Butt-a”) and takes away all the grimy fingerprints and even cooked on grease and petrified food. It does an awesome job on the inside of ovens and the removable ‘cages’ of gas ranges. It’s also great for kitchen sinks and tons of other things (hard water deposits on shower doors, rust on the side of the car, tile backsplashes – you get the idea). That’s what we use.  And as Atlanta’s premier all-natural maid service, we tend to think we have a good understanding of things like that.

If you want to give your stainless steel an extra shine, put some olive oil on a microfiber cloth and rub it in. Ooohhh, your dinner guests will drool over your gorgeous appliances (as will the buyers at your Open House!).

But if you’re looking for a simple miracle solution, pick up some orange essential oil from a natural foods store. I’m not talking about the orange-based (or, more precisely, orange-named) cleaners you see at supermarkets – they’ll be the topic of another post. But pure essential orange oil is a good friend to stainless steel. It removes water marks and fingerprints (though you’ll need something tougher for grimy spots) and it shines it too. Even better, it has a sweet, fresh scent with anti-depressant properties. It’s also anti-depressive, anti-fungal, antiseptic, and anti-bacterial. What’s not to like?

Keep in mind when cleaning your stainless that chlorine and stainless steel don’t get along well. We’d avoid chlorine in pretty much all situations regardless, but if you’re one of those die-hard (literally) caustic cleaner fans who stocks their home with all sorts of hazardous chemicals, make sure to keep your chlorine and anything made with chlorine away from your stainless steel. They’re not friends.

Plant some in your yard and you’ll keep insects away. Peel back the leaves to reveal a juicy pulp that you can apply directly to your skin. Added bonus? Once your insect-repelling lemongrass plant begins to grow you can use it to cook all sorts of yummy Thai foods! It also makes a nice tea. And while you’re planting, put in some marigolds. It’ll add a nice pop of color to your garden, and it gives off a scent that mosquitos and other insects don’t like.

Alternatively, pick up some lemongrass essential oil at your local natural foods store, dilute it with water or oil and apply it directly to your skin. New moms, take note – lemongrass is also known for its ability to increase milk production in nursing mothers!

If you’re looking for something easy you can pick up at the supermarket, beware. I checked every single bug repellent at our local grocery store and they all contained DEET, complete with scary warnings about the dangers associated with their use. But don’t stop there – you can find natural alternatives at health food stores and boutiques. Burt’s Bees and Badger Balm both make their own natural bug repellent using lemongrass as well as other essential oils. Bite Blocker, Green Ban, and All Terrain Herbal Armor are others you might find. What works best will depend on your skin type, preferences, and what species of mosquitoes you have in your area. But according to Green Guide, readers report that natural alternatives like these work as well as DEET-based repellants.

Lemongrass is special because it has citronella in it – no need to buy the candles when you can plant the real deal in your garden. But lemongrass is stronger than citronella. There’s something in the plant properties that insects really don’t like.

Eucalyptus oil is also effective in repelling mosquitos, for up to 120 minutes (citronella candles only warded off mosquitos in some studies for up to 20 minutes). The EPA says not to use eucalyptus oil directly on the skin of children under the age of 3 (so I guess my bug-beloved 2-year-old will have to do with lemongrass).

If you’re grilling, add a few sprigs of rosemary or some sage to the charcoal to keep bugs at bay. Again, there’s something in the scent that drives them off. Your neighbors will love the barbeque smell, but they may not thank you for the bugs that fled from your yard to theirs!

Well, let’s not be drastic. For 6 weeks I won’t sweep anything off my own floor. But there’s nothing stopping my husband or live-in in-laws from doing it. Still though, I find myself looking for creative ways to contribute to the overall well-being of my household. So here are a few scrub-free cleaning tips that even I can do after my c-section.

• Drop a vitamin C tablet in the toilet at bedtime. In the morning give the toilet a meager swish-swish and flush. You’d be amazed how well it works.
• This is another bedtime one. Plug your shower drain and fill to about 1/2 inch deep with hot water. Sprinkle a few teaspoons of Shaklee’s Nature Bright into the standing water and leave overnight. Rinse well in the morning, and see your shower floor sparkle. This works wonders on sinks too – fill with hot water, add a few teaspoons of the Nature Bright, let it sit, then rinse!
• Put your fine silver in a pot or pan and cover with water. Add a tablespoon each of salt and baking soda. Submerse a couple sheets of aluminum foil and wait an hour. Rinse your silver and voila! It’s polished!
• No iron handy? Toss dryer-safe wrinkled clothes into the dryer for 5 minutes and remove promptly. Wrinkles be gone!
• Dishes a problem? Fill your sink with warm dish-soapy water and sprinkle in some Bon Ami. Soak your dishes until the water becomes tepid, and the grease and petrified food should slide right off. (Of course, if you’ve had a c-section you’ll need to let someone else take over the dishwashing at this point…)
• Grab a pretty spray bottle and fill it nearly to the top with water. Add 4-5 drops tea tree oil, oregano oil, lavender oil, and a cinnamon stick. Spray it anywhere that needs disinfecting (door handles, light switches, refrigerator handle, bathroom surfaces, etc.).
• Have a new baby? Then you have tons of laundry! And new baby stains can be tough, especially considering that you want to stay away from harsh detergents and chemicals. Keep a bucket in your laundry room filled with water and a few teaspoons of Shaklee’s Nature Bright. Throw any soiled clothes, burp cloths, cloth diapers, etc. in there and let them soak a bit before going into the wash. No need to scrub, blot, or dab those stains – just let the soak take care of it for you. And that will take care of other stains too – not just the baby-oriented ones.
• Change your door mats. The welcome mats outside can be a haven for dirt to be tracked into the house. If you haven’t changed them in the last year (unless you use the iron ones), it’s time for a new mat. The cleaner your outdoor mat, the less dirt to be tracked in!
• Fill a ziplock bag with vinegar, and rubber band it around shower heads and faucets. Let it sit for an hour or so, then discard. While you do that, you can plug the bathroom sink drain and put an inch of vinegar in the bottom. It’ll disinfect an often-forgotten harbinger of germs. Did you know that bathroom sink drains tend to harbor more bacteria than your toilet? Not pleasant.
• Cut a lemon in half, submerse half of it in a microwave-safe bowl of water. Put it in the microwave for 3 minutes on high. Remove the bowl, and wipe down the inside of the microwave.

Antiseptic or germicide: Inhibits growth of micro-organisms. These can usually be used on living organisms, and are therefore regulated by the FDA.

Natural Antiseptic or germicide: St. Johns Wort, lime oil, bergamot, clove, eucalyptus, and many others.

Sanitizers: Used to reduce, but not necessarily eliminate micro-organisms. Some sanitizers can be used in food-contact situations (dish washing, counter top sprays, vegetable washes, etc.)

Natural Sanitizer: Borax, grapefruit oil, pine oil, lavender.

Disinfectants: Will destroy or irreversibly inactivate fungi and bacteria, but not necessarily their spores. They can be divided into 2 categories – hospital grade and general use. General use is typically plenty for even the ‘dirtier’ parts of your home, like toilets and floors.

 Natural Disinfectant: Tea Tree Oil, vinegar and hydrogen peroxide (especially when used together, one after the other), Baking soda, lemon juice, Oregano oil, thyme, and cinnamon.

Sterilizers: Used to eliminate all forms of microbial life including fungi, bacteria, viruses, and their spores.  Most situations don’t require something this strong, but if you’re getting rid of toxic mold, tuberculosis, or something equally stubborn, you may want to look into it.

 Natural Sterilizer: Sunlight, Heat and steam, garlic, oregano oil.

The next question is what cleaners actually do, if they don’t have antiseptic, sanitizing, or disinfectant properties. Most – if not labeled as disinfectant or otherwise – are general surfectants.  That means they make water wetter – they make microbes, particles, germs, etc., slide off the surface but they don’t necessarily kill anything. We don’t recommend mixing these commercial cleaners with the natural cleaners mentioned above. If you’re not a chemist you could end up producing an unintentional and potentially harmful reaction. However, you can mix some of the natural cleaners with each other. Examples would be adding essential oils to vinegar, lemon juice, borax, or baking soda. Note that we don’t recommend mixing hydrogen peroxide (it’s highly acidic and can be reactive).

But according to the experts, peppermint repels ants too. And that makes it great for my home this time of year. As winter fades into spring (and I’m lucky enough to live in the Atlanta area where temperatures are already becoming spring-y), ants and critters are venturing out again. A little peppermint oil in my cleaning supplies will keep them out of my house and away from my kids. I even got creative and put a couple drops into the rinse cycle on my washing machine. Honestly, I don’t know if that’ll be enough to repel ants and bugs when my kids are outside, but it’s worth a shot. I’ll let you know if it works.

What else does peppermint do?

Peppermint oil is an excellent digestive aid. A few drops in a glass of water makes a refreshing after-meal beverage that not only tastes great, it improves digestion! Peppermint Oil eliminates gas, bloating and abdominal cramps. It improves circulation and the production of digestive fluids. All-natural Peppermint Oil relieves headaches, nausea and soothes spastic colon.

Peppermint Oil is also a great expectorant. Use externally to treat colds, flus and fevers, it cools down the body, and relieves a variety of respiratory conditions.

Peppermint oil is believed to be safe for adults, children, and pregnant and nursing women. Be sure to dilute well for ingestion, and mix with another oil for application to skin.

Oregano oil!

It’s potent. A drop or two will go a long way. A few drops added to your all-purpose cleaner will give you the added boost of antifungal and antibacterial cleaning. Use it where you’d use bleach – the only difference is that it won’t whiten as bleach does (and hey, you’ll be able to breathe while you clean!).

You can even take it internally, but watch 0ut – it’s potent. 1-2 drops in a glass of water a couple times a day will be sufficient to fight bacteria and boost your immune system. Also, avoid contact with mucus membranes – it’ll burn.

A few added bonuses of oregano oil over antibiotics? There is no known tendency for microbes to develop a resistance to oregano oil. And, this one rather potent substance will kill most bacteria. Studies have even shown it to sterilize sewer water in relatively low dilutions (1:4000).

If you choose to try it internally, listen to your body’s response, and consult a doctor if you’re pregnant or breastfeeding. French literature recommends refraining from long-term continual use of oregano oil because it could effect liver metabolism. Also, remember to dilute it well if you’re going to apply it directly to your skin (for fungal nail infections and such).

You should be able to find oregano oil at your local health foods store.