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Honey has been used globally in home remedies for ages. Where I am in Eastern Europe, they slather it on your back when you get sick, cover it with raw cabbage leaves and let you sleep on it overnight. Sticky. Seriously sticky. In India they use it to heal burns.

I use it with my kids, mixed with lemon juice, for cough and sore throat. Eastern cultures use it to enhance fertility. It’s said to cure fatigue and insomnia, help you sleep or give you energy. It can cure any type of digestive problem, heal the skin, eradicate acne, prevent aging.

It would seem to me that if we all took a few teaspoons a day, bathed in it, and slathered it over ourselves we’d cure most of the illnesses in the world. And then Obama wouldn’t have to deal with the health care system, right?

Seriously though, Manuka honey is the superbug-killing sort and it’s gradually becoming more widely available. If you happen to see some, give it a try. I’d love to know how you use it and hear your stories of health. I like the fact that it’s an all-natural antibacterial.

The good news is, your refrigerator coils are easy to clean. Unplug the fridge and then find the coils. In most fridges they’re behind the kickplate under the appliance, but on some you’ll see them easily exposed around the back. Once you’ve found them use the flat hose attachment to your vacuum and attack the dust. If you’re really industrious you can buy a long, conical brush at your local hardware store and brush off any stubborn left-over dust.

You’ll make your refrigerator happy, and that’ll make your electric bill happy.

Even the baby wipes. Once I open them, I can smell them almost instantly throughout the whole house – it’s a nauseating smell. We bought the “sensitive skin” variety of dish soap and it nearly ate the skin off my hands after washing one sink full of dishes.

So now I go through vinegar like it’s water.  I use it for everything – windows, laundry softener, floors, gunk… you name it, vinegar is my go-to friend. It’s been a while since I had to clean with home-made recipes, but since I’m doing it daily I thought I’d share.

Vinegar: 50/50 mix with water is great for cleaning mirrors and glass. I use this for most purposes around the house – kitchen counters, door knobs, you get the idea. Add a generous splash of vinegar to your mop bucket, fill with water, and mop away.

Baking soda: use 2-3 TBS, and mix in enough water to make a paste. Use that to scour your tub, porcelain sinks stove top, or oven. It’s a gentle abrasive (emphasize gentle), so you’ll want to maintain the shiny clean look so as to avoid the need for hours upon hours of scrubbing.

Lemon juice: my favorite for dusting wood furniture! In a small bowl mix a 2 TBS of vinegar with 1 tsp olive oil.  Dip your dusting rag in it and give every wood surface a generous swIpe! The citrus scent of the lemon juice will give you some added energy, and you’ll have a dust-free house with nicely conditioned wood to boot!

I can clean just about anything with those few ingredients from my pantry. Sure, I’d prefer some Shaklee, but shipping to Eastern Europe would cost me more than a month’s worth of pirozhki! I’ll leave you with a few pics of Moldova.

Fields of canola flowers. Moldova doesn’t make canola oil for cooking – they sell this for diesel, only they sell it way below market value.

 No, this isn’t our mode of transport – we live in the city. But outside of the city this is a common sight.

See the castle on the hill? Sorry I didn’t get a better picture. I’ll do better next time. I’ll ask that crane politely to move out of the way…

Then there is the user review factor. I like to know if other people like this product. Obviously, we all have different tastes but I still find other peoples comments to be very beneficial. In fact, they help calm that twitch of buyers anxiety that starts to well up inside of me when I walk into the store or get ready to submit an online order.

So, I’ve done the research and I’ve read the reviews and I’ve tested the products myself. It took trial and error to find out what our family liked and what worked best for each of us. Over the next few weeks (months, years, however long it takes) I will be sharing with you, our loyal readers, my very own product reviews.

One of my most recent and favorite finds is this…

Weleda Children’s Tooth Gel

My daughter did not like my toothpaste which led to her not wanting to brush her teeth. I didn’t like the struggle to get her to brush, but I didn’t feel like the fruity toothpastes would make for a very easy transition when she was older. I went on a search and when I found this product it had RAVE reviews for it’s gentle minty flavor that isn’t too overpowering for little mouths. Its Skin Deep rating was a 1, which is great to me, but kids don’t always care about ratings. I was a bit skeptical but I hit send on my online purchase anyway. I really talked up her new toothpaste. By the time it got here she was so excited. We ran the the bathroom and tried it right away and to my surprise she LOVED it. She brushed and brushed and then asked for more! Now there is no more struggle and each time she brushes her teeth she has to brush once, then have just a little bit more…

If you have kids and you are looking for a natural, fresh scent toothpaste, this is definitely one to try!

Natural living has been a big part of my life for over two years now. When I was pregnant with my daughter I started to really grow concerned over what I was putting in my body. The food we ate, the vitamins we took and the drinks we were consuming.

It started small with browsing the organic foods section and picking out a meal or two. I wandered the aisles of Whole Foods and was blown away at all of the choices (and samples) we could try. Little by little more organics and natural foods began making their way into my cart on a regular basis. I started researching the foods we eat and what the preservatives and artificial ingredients can do to our bodies and was pretty disappointed that I hadn’t found this information sooner.

Then I started to grow concerned with the cleaning products we used. While pregnant I would always have to ask my husband to clean the bathrooms. The cleaner I was using worked really well but smelled so strong that you had to shut the bathroom door, turn on the fan and open the windows to keep the smell out of the rest of the house. I knew there was no way that could be good for me, my husband or our baby. Again, I started small. I tried a few in store, natural cleaning products and was pretty surprised. A nice smell, not overwhelming and good cleaning power! I was so excited and on my way to who I am today!

I now shop for food with ease and I’ve grown accustomed to my favorite natural and organic products. I know how to hunt down a sale! My tastes have changed to where I prefer the taste of sweet, creamy organic milk over conventional milk. I would much rather use whole wheat than white. Whole foods are my friends!

Cleaning products are a snap too since I use the same products we use here at Broom Huggers. It took some time for me to realize that it doesn’t have to smell like bleach or strong cleaners to be clean. Now I use unscented products and add a few drops of essential oils and my home is just as clean as it ever was – without harsh chemicals.

So, to say I am passionate about what Broom Huggers is all about is an understatement. I am elated to be given the opportunity to put my time and knowledge into this company and I have enjoyed every day of it!

I am so grateful for this chance to do what I do…

I, Kathy, the one who started this whole thing and poured myself into it for so long, have responded to a request for help at a recently-opened home in Moldova for women who have been rescued from human trafficking. That’s right, me and my whole family picked up, left the suburbs, and went to live in the poorest country in Europe.

I’ve passed the Broom Huggers baton to Jeana, client of Broom Huggers and long-time contributor to the blog. Jeana is working out how to do tough things like manage the company’s taxes, overhaul the local marketing efforts, and ensure that all our clients are well taken care of during the transition. Once she gets all of that settled, she’ll be posting here more regularly.

And, as I have time, I’ll be posting from Moldova. So until I see you again, I wish you all the best! And be sure to give Jeana lots of positive ju-ju – she’s handling a very short transition time with a great deal of grace!

In solidarity with our friends who are snowed in (but still have electricity and internet), share a few of your favorite indoor games to entertain the kids.