"Catching" a Cold - with Essential Oils Help

It all started last Friday morning.

I awoke like always, got up, and there it was.  You know.  That stuffy feeling in both nostrils, accompanied by a weird tingly, pulsing sensation in my sinuses.  

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DANG...DOUBLE DANG... I WAS GETTING A COLD.

I didn't have the time nor the energy to get a cold, so I jumped into action.

But, before, I roll into this post, I need to print this right here.

Because, you know, the FDA and medical/pharmaceutical community are pretty picky about anything that's not considered "real medicine."

MEDICAL DISCLAIMER: All content and media on the norulesafter50.blogspot.com is created and published online for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice and should not be relied on as health or personal advice.  Always seek the guidance of your doctor or other qualified health professional with any questions you may have regarding your health or a medical condition. Never disregard the advice of a medical professional, or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this blog site.  If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor, go to the nearest hospital emergency department, or call the emergency services immediately. If you choose to rely on any information provided by norulesafter50.blogspot.com, you do so solely at your own risk. External (outbound) links to other websites or educational material (e.g. pdf’s etc…) that are not explicitly created by norulesafter50.blogspot.com are followed at your own risk. Under no circumstances is norulesafter50.blogspot.com responsible for the claims of third party websites or educational providers.

Okay, so back to me and my issue.

Having had many colds in my life, I recognized the signs and knew that I had about a 24-hour window to use my essential oils and some good old-fashioned "mom mom" remedies to help with the symptoms and the general feeling of sickness.

First, I started with a hot cup of Earl Grey tea.

While the tea was steeping, I added a dollop of local honey from Remkay Farms.  Locally made honey is one of the best food sources for you.  When bees make honey from the plants in your local area, you are better equipped to handle seasonal issues.  It's a bee thing, but I fully believe it.  Nature and all that...

I added 2 drops of Young Living Lemon Vitality and Thieves Vitality (not shown here) essential oils.  Both are great for supporting a healthy immune system, plus the hot steam from the tea helped to loosen up my stuffiness.

Next, I assembled a little Thirty-One bag of supplies that followed me throughout the house on Friday.

Here's what was inside:

Box of tissues

Thieves Wipes

Thieves homemade spray

Thieves Hand Sanitizer

Super C Chewable Tablets

Lavender, Peppermint, & Thieves Essential Oils

Homemade Diffuser Blend

Q-Tips

The tissues are obvious as is the Super C Chewables, so let me talk about the oils a bit.

The Thieves oil has a metal roller ball on top, and I use that to roll on the back of my neck at the base of my brain stem, right where there's a natural dip in the neck at the start of the spine.  Again, Thieves is a great immune support oil.  

The Lavender and Peppermint oils are used together to support my breathing ability.

Now, this may sound a bit gross, but believe me, it works for me.

First, I drop one drop of Lavender oil on both ends of a cotton swab.  One end I rub just inside a nostril, sweeping it around the area.  Now, I'm not placing it up my nostril any further than a half inch, basically the length of the actual cotton part of the swab.  I flip it over to the other swab side and do the other nostril.

No, it doesn't burn at all and it smells heavenly.

I then place a drop of peppermint into my palm and rub my palms together to spread the oily goodness.  I cup my palms and place near my nose, eyes closed, and breathe SLOWLY but deeply to inhale the peppermint.  I can get pretty close to my nose with this one, but I started about 6 inches away at first because it's pretty powerful.

Lavender, it's said, aids in a healthy immune system.  by swabbing up the nose you may also be gathering any organisms clinging to the fine hairs just inside your nose.  Hence the reason I swab each nostril with a different side of the swab.

Peppermint is also noted as an aid with immune support, and it can help to open up stuffiness. 

I repeated this frequently throughout the day.

I don't have small children in my house, so I've not done this with children.  Young Living has some amazing oils specially formulated for children, which would be my first recommendation.  I can help you with that if you're interested, just comment below, email me, or visit my YL Site.

The diffuser blend (4 drops Peppermint oil, 4 drops Eucalyptus oil, 2 drops Lavender oil, 2 drops Lemon oil, & 2 drops Rosemary oil) went into the diffusers in my home.  I make up the blend in a larger batch (by multiplying each drop by 10) using a dropper bottle.  I label it and use it when we are feeling a bit stuffy.

This blend fills the air with a great minty smell.

The next task was to wipe down frequently touched areas in our home.  I had saved an old Huggies wipes container and transferred some of our Young Living Thieves wipes to that container because it's skinner in size than the original container shown here.

Made with pure Grain Alcohol and several heavy-hitting essential oils, it is a great wipe for "undesirable organism" eradication! (check out the directions above). 

Remembering to wipe down your electronics, TV remotes, door knobs, and stair railings is a great way to PREVENT the spread of germs back to yourself and other family members. 

A great way to give your body a BIG BIG BOOST of everything is with our Ningxia (pronounced "Ning-zaa") Red Essential Oil Infused Wolfberry Supplement.

I hated every type of "supplement" drink out there.  In fact, when I became a YL member, I wouldn't touch the two packets in my starter kit because I knew it was a terrible taste.  I just knew it!

For whatever reason, I eventually did taste it and I WAS HOOKED!

I love it by itself in these 2 oz. packs, but my fav way of drinking it is mixed with an 8 oz. can of Perrier in a glass Mason Jar with ice and a metal straw.  

Since I no longer drink soda (5 plus years now), this is my carbonated treat for the day.

So, what's so great about Ningxia Red?  Check it out...

It comes in either pouches (my preference) or bottles.  You only need 1 oz, which is what this graphic references to in terms of the amounts of all these great health nutrients, but I drink the whole pouch which is double the above reference.  It's just easier than saving the pouch for the next day.

You must shake the pouch as well as the bottles because the heavier bits of the drink settle to the bottom.

The taste is a fruity/earthy taste to me, but hubs says it tastes like cherries to him, so it's a personal thing.

Last, but not least, I made an Oregano Vitality and Lemon Vitality capsule (YL "00" capsules) and took it in the evening.

Many people are not too keen on ingesting essential oils, and I PERSONALLY ONLY INGEST YOUNG LIVING BECAUSE I TRUST IT FULLY AND COMPLETELY.  Young Living IS the leader in the essential oil industry and has a standard that I believe NO OTHER essential oil company can match.  I can share what makes us different with you if you're interested in learning more.

This capsule was made and taken immediately.  I don't make them up ahead of time.

I used 2 drops of each and took it with a full glass of plain water.  I do not experience an after taste, but if you taste the oregano, it will remind you of an Italian dinner.  

Oregano has many properties that support a healthy immune system.  One of my team members drops it under her tongue each day and swears that it keeps her healthy.

I made sure to drink water all day long to keep my system flushing out whatever had gotten ahold of me.

I'll be honest, I felt at about 70% all day long.  My nose kept "pulsing" and I want to sneeze as much as possible, and I generally felt run-down and yucky.  I spent quite a bit of time on the couch reading and watching some TV.

I went to bed that night, ready to start the protocol I had created for myself once again the next day.

Then Saturday came...

And, wait for it.............................................

I felt like my old self again.

SERIOUSLY!

NO stuffiness.  NO pulsing nostrils.  NO aching, NO runny nose, NOTHING!

NADA!

ZILCH!

I had "caught" whatever had grabbed me and given it the one-two YL essential oil and product punch out of the park!!!

Just to make sure, I repeated the same protocol as before.

I was afraid of being too cocky.

By Sunday, I had put those things back where they belong and finished up my weekend.

Take that you cold germs!

(One more time...just in case - MEDICAL DISCLAIMER: All content and media on the norulesafter50.blogspot.com is created and published online for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice and should not be relied on as health or personal advice.  Always seek the guidance of your doctor or other qualified health professional with any questions you may have regarding your health or a medical condition. Never disregard the advice of a medical professional, or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this blog site.  If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor, go to the nearest hospital emergency department, or call the emergency services immediately. If you choose to rely on any information provided by norulesafter50.blogspot.com, you do so solely at your own risk. External (outbound) links to other websites or educational material (e.g. pdf’s etc…) that are not explicitly created by norulesafter50.blogspot.com are followed at your own risk. Under no circumstances is norulesafter50.blogspot.com responsible for the claims of third party websites or educational providers.)

Messy to Organized - a Tale of Desk Mess

I was tired.

Like really tired of seeing this hot mess on my office desk every day.

This was a pile of "stuff" that needed to be organized.

Most of it needed to be handled in one of these ways: Trash, File, Keep for future need, Research, Project Idea, Financial Need, and Appointments.

I daily found myself shuffling the pile, or moving the pile, or trying to hide the pile in a drawer; only to need something from the pile and then the hot mess would rear it's ugly head once again.

It needed an intervention ASAP!

So... I decided to create a Task File System with materials that I already had on hand (but I'll break down a Dollar Tree cost for those of you who don't have it at your fingertips) and I got to work.

I pulled out the following:  5 pieces of 12 x 12 scrapbook type paper, Dollar Tree a yellow polyvinyl "envelope," a Dollar Tree zippered pencil pouch, Post-It tabs in white, Dollar Tree large stickers, my Brother P-Touch label maker with white and yellow label tape, and my Scotch laminator and film.  I also used my bypass cutter and a ruler.

My goal was to create a divided, CLOSABLE, file that I could move without fear of stuff falling all over the place, with organized sections, and hold my pile of stuff.

I started by measuring the width and length of the envelope because I needed to cut down and laminate the scrapbook paper to make my dividers.

I knew that the measurement from top to bottom was going to have to also accommodate the Post It tab height.

Once I cut the first sheet to the desired height, I then cut the other sheets to match.

They all went into the laminator with the 5ml lamination sheets.  This made them a bit stiffer than using my normal 3ml sheets.

I did not trim away the lamination sheet edges to any of my dividers.

Next, I used my bypass cutter to lop off the 3-ring holes on the side of my pencil pouch.  I could have left them on, but I didn't want any added bulk to the envelope, especially because I would be adding papers to it later.

I cut near the inside seal, just to the left of the metal grommets.  You could also use a pair of scissors to cut this off as well.

Next, I added this cute fox with flora to the front.  I am a big fox lover, and when I saw this set of woodland creatures in the home decor section of Dollar Tree, I grabbed them.  I mean, they are only $1 and you can't find large wall sticker like these anywhere else for this price.

Seaford Dollar Tree

The Dollar Tree has a nice selection if you are looking to add some decor to your home walls, the front of a notebook, a flower pot or vase, or a wooden craft board.

Their selection of faith-based sayings is nice.  You could easily refurbish an old frame by using one of these charming sayings and a bit of leftover paint.  Or, you could create something for a child's room or bathroom.  However you do it, for only $1, these large stickers are great!

Once I had organized the file, it looked like this:

Now, it was ready for this...

Which ended up inside, looking like this...

That messy space, on my desk, to the right of my chair, is now organized and ready.

I have a floppy disc (my 22 year old's baby photos that need to be converted to USB - I'm researching where to send them) and a small slip from Heirloom Restaurant which has their Dinner with Wine pairing nights for the winter season (we want to go with some friends on one of the nights).

The rest of the stuff is organized by the tab.

If I need to add more tabs, I can, OR I can change out the tabs as different things come up.

So, if you don't have any of these materials on hand, here are my suggestions.

Dollar Tree List

Vinyl zip or snap envelope

3-ring tabbed dividers (5 in a set)

Pencil pouch

File labels

(all above can be found in the stationary aisle)

Vinyl stickers

(found in home decor aisle)

Cost = $5

Of course, you can make this project much more expensive if you wanted to.  You don't need the bypass cutter or the laminator, or the label maker - those are just things I have on hand from my teaching days.

Whatever option you go with, make it fit your needs so that you can feel less stress!

Break those rules!