Toothache-Natural Remedies

After a night of misery, I did a little research into natural remedies. There is only so much Bizocaine I want to ingest and I find the numbing of everything else around the tooth very annoying. So here is what I found.



GARLIC Take a clove of garlic and mix some rock salt with it. It help to crush the clove a little to get the oils released. Place this on the tooth. An alternative is to chew a garlic clove on the side of the ailing tooth. Garlic is a powerful herb, it contains antiseptic, antibiotic properties. Garlic has so many other great properties, but that's another post.

Just a warning though, if you have never eaten raw garlic before. It is strong! Let the burn begin, my husband likes the taste of fresh garlic. I have to eat it in very small amounts at a time.

ICE CUBE Take an ice cube and rub it in the V of your hand between the thumb and forefinger. This will help to alleviate the pain.

VANILLA EXTRACT This is not your vanilla flavoring for baking. You must make sure it is the extract. This is claimed to be instant relief. I'll be buying some on my next trip to town.

HOT TEA BAG Place a hot tea bag next to your tooth. It is like a mini heating pad and tea has properties that kill bacteria in the mouth. I have also drank hot tea, letting the liquid sit in my mouth around the tooth.

ONION Chewing on raw onion for approximately three minute kills all germs and helps relieve pain due to infection. Onion is a bactericide. So next time someone complains of your onion breath, just tell them you just want to keep your mouth healthy.

WHEAT GRASS Juice of wheat is a great mouthwash for overall dental health. It draws toxins from the gums and keeps bacteria in check within the mouth. This could be a natural substitute for Listerine.

SALT Gargling with warm salt water can help dislodge any food particles stuck in the teeth, causing you pain. Most of the remedies for this say one teaspoon salt to one cup water. In my opinion the more salt the better if you can stand the taste. Nothing can survive in pure salt. Be Gone Bacteria!

VIC'S VAPOR RUB Now this may not be the most natural, but there are natural homeopathic versions on the market. Which ever you choose. Rub the ointment on the side of the face of the ailing tooth. Place a cloth over this and lay down on top of that. The warmth from the salve and the build up of body heat combined are a very effective pain reliever.

CLOVE OIL Placing a drop of clove oil into the cavity will take the pain away. I have yet to try this but my father swears by it. Clove oil is a strong antiseptic, killing any infection.

NEVER USE DRY HEAT! This draws out any infection from the tooth compounding the problem. When I was a teenager I spent almost two days laying on a heating pad. The heat kept the pain away, which was horrible at the time. By my dentist appointment the whole side of my face was swollen and I had a puss pocket the size of a dime on the inside of my gum. The pocket had to be lanced and drained, and I ended up having an emergency root canal. Infected teeth will not numb, so I got to experience this lovely root canal feeling every bit of the pain.

25 Things to Do Besides Watch TV

1. Be a Model For a Day Really, have fun with this. Get with your friends or loved ones and EVERYWHERE you go. Pose and take pictures, be sexy, be silly. You can dress up for this as fancy, funky or fun as you like. Even if you have to run to the store, snap those pictures. People may think you are from a magazine or a model when they see you posing as you get out of your car, shopping, and paying. Go to parks or around town. Just make sure you keep a straight face if you have people stopping and staring at you wondering "Who is this person?" Change outfits, really go all out. Make sure the person with the camera tells you if you need to pose differently. Tilt your head to the left, raise your chin, move over there, lift your arm slightly higher to the right.
2. Pitch Out Clothes From Your Closet You know we all have them. The clothes that we haven't worn in two years. Toss it all out on the bed and decide whether you want to keep it or not. The extra closet and drawer space will make it worth it, I promise. The general rule of thumb that I hear is, if you haven't worn it in a year than toss it. I think this is a little harsh, my rule of thumb is two years. So many people say they are saving clothes because they plan on loosing weight and getting back into those clothes one day. Don't you think if you work hard and loose weight you should be allowed to buy new clothes. Besides, are those clothes even going to be in style when you loose that weight?
3. Make a Crazy CD There is some really strange and off the wall music out there. Why not explore and see what's out there. You can make a crazy Cd and slip it in the the player next time you are hanging out with friends and family. Watch and see what their faces look like when they hear this music. You never know you may find an artist that you love and you would never know if you just didn't take a look around. One of my favorite music sites is Kohit.net. They have tons of free down loadable music. If you know any other great sites, let me know.
4. Go For a Walk or Drive Don't underestimate, a good ol' fashioned walk or country drive. My bet is that you will notice something about your street or neighborhood that you never noticed before. You may discover a favorite little shop that you never looked twice at before.
5. Favorite Product Finds Do you have a particular brand of cereal, coffee, pizza, green beans, chocolate milk, etc.? Look them up on line. One of my favorite cereal brands where giving away free samples of a new cereal they were coming out with along with printable coupons. Just look them up, it an almost guarantee that they will at least have printable coupons.
6. Rearrange Your Living Space It's always good to have some change in your life. Moving your living room or bedroom around could make a world of difference in the way you feel about it. You could try Fun Shai and see if does anything for your life.
7. Read a Book I have a philosophy that if you don't like to read than you haven't read the right book. Books are like the Internet, there is something on every topic available. So any interest that you may have, there is a book for it. You can't lounge on the couch or lay in the tub with a laptop and you don't have to wait for a book to download the page so you can read it.
8. Enter a Sweepstakes There are TONS of online sweepstakes that you can register for. Some are for cash, some for products. Just look around and see what interest you. Two that I have used are onlinesweepstakes.com, sweepstakes advantage . So if you are feeling lucky, give them a try. Good Luck!
9. Lost Treasures No I'm not talking about combing the beaches and going scuba diving. I'm talking about all the food in your cabinets that have become buried beneath a pile of cans and boxes and forgotten. You know that new food you wanted to try. It's back there somewhere.
10. Discover Your State Get a travel guide and discover all the places available to visit right in your own state. You could look it up on line as well. Check out Local.com and you can look up places to eat and look up places to go by your interests.
11. Get to Weeding Most households have a flower bed or garden. I'm sure it could use some weeding. If you've let the weeds grow up considerably, wait till after a good rain and the roots will loosen up their hold on the soil. This will make your job a whole lot easier. This is one of those instant gratifications. Like painting, you can take something that looks awful and in one day, turn it into something that looks awesome.
12. Actually Print Those Pictures We all have them. Pictures waiting to be printed on our memory cards. Some of us have over 100 pictures, these are not something that you want to risk getting erased. I've had over 80 pictures disappear on me and they were of my sons first birthday and Easter. Needless to say, I wish I hadn't procrastinated. Don't want to pay for all those pictures? Download them onto a disc for safe keeping.
13. Jam Out I mean really crank that music. Sometimes we forget how enjoyable it is just to blast the music and sing along. Better yet, bust out that guitar that's been collecting dust in the corner. Crank up that amp if you have one and get to jammin'.
14. Go Through Memory Lane Most of us have that box of old letters, concert tickets, restaurant menus, movie stubs. Take that box and reminisce. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll get mad when you read the lies that boy told you in high school love letters.
15. Play a Game I'm not talking about a video game, remember no TV. Those board games stuffed under your bed or tucked away in the closet. Blow the dust off and spend the evening getting reacquainted with them.
16. Dye Your Hair Get some temporary hair dye, the kind that washes out in washing or two, and see what it's like to have another hair color. Go wild and go blue, red, pink, orange, purple. It'll be fun till you wash it out.
17. Learn to Write Your Name in Another Language It could be your next tattoo. Chinese is not the only beautiful writing. Thia is gorgeous, or how about elvish if your a Tolkien fan. Does your significant other want you to get a tattoo, maybe writing it in another language could be an option. There are a lot of websites that translate, here are two alphadictionary.com and for a site that teaches you to write in elvish. Elvish writing is sooo pretty.
18. Romance Your Partner That's always more fun than TV. A break out of the ordinary could really spice things up. It may even help fix an argument that has come between you. Nothing but good could come from a little romance!
19. Funk Up Your Clothes I'm sure there are a pair of jeans that you are bored with sitting untouched in your wardrobe. This is a perfect opportunity to spice em' up a bit. Put some trendy patches on the back pockets. Try out some embroidery skills and put some nice stitching around the pants legs. You could get some old clothes and cut out patches placing them randomly. The same goes with that old hooded sweatshirt or jacket. Do have a favorite band tee shirt that has been worn to nothing? Use that and give your favorite band new life by sewing it on to the front or back of your hoodie. Wha-La! New shirt. Put some lace on a plain dress, giving it new life. The options are endless.
20. The Library I don't know if you have been in a while or not, but libraries offer more than books. You can check out movies or music and it's all for free. Why pay to watch a movie when all you have to do is check one out from the library. Browse the magazines, there are tons of magazines available.
21. Get Ready for Halloween Now is the time to start figuring out the best thing to wear for Halloween. Make an awesome costume now. You'll have plenty of time to be the best and scariest person at the party. There is nothing worse than looking and looking for the perfect costume you just can't find.
22. Teach Your Pet a Cool Trick We've all seen that person who shoots their dog and it falls to the ground, or flips over backwards, opens the fridge and gets them something to drink. Take a little time and you can be that person. I know your furry friend will love the attention as well.
23. Geocaching I don't know if you have heard of this before. Geocaching is an online treasure hunt. You can find anything from money to kid's meal toys. There are capsules hidden around your area I can almost guarantee it. You'll even get to go on private property in some cases, so you will get to go places you wouldn't be able to otherwise go. You put in your area code and there is a list of geocaches around you. They give you the gps location and using your phone you try to hunt these down. I have friends that do this quite a bit, they get bored and they go for a hunt. It is a good way to get out of the house and do something different. They make a competition out of it and see who can find it first.
24. Cook Up Something Different You know that lost food you found in your cabinets. If your wondering what you can make with it or just have food that you don't know what to do with it, there is a great site Super Cook. You can insert what food you have and it will give you a list of dishes you can make with those ingredients. It can be something as little as green peppers and it will have many option of what you can do with those peppers. It's a great site when you are staring in your fridge wondering "What am I going to cook tonight. It can also help you save money, by giving you ideas on how to cook up that left over chicken before it goes bad.
25. Test Your Psychic Abilities This can be a fun way to spend the evening. There are many ways to test your psychic abilities. If you have a deck of cards, then take turns going through the deck guessing whether the card will be black or red. You can even try to guess the number or suit. It's all up to you. Keep score if you want. Have your friend visualize a picture and guess what it is. Ladies, don't get mad if your man can't read your mind. There are lots of ways to test your abilities, that could be your next Google search. Have fun.

When All Else Fails, Read The Directions

When my husband and I first got our little place in the country. We knew we wanted to have a garden and preserve the food that we grew ourselves. This is a daunting task if you have never done or been around this before. I didn't know where to start. It almost seemed that the art of preserving was some kind of magic lost long ago. Magic I was going to have to come up with since I am a stay at home mother and most of the canning was going to fall on my shoulders

There were so many questions. I was unsure of the do's and don't's. To be honest, I was just lost. Lucky for me we moved to the country after the growing season was over and winter was approaching. Like most towns they have jamboree's or festivals in the fall, so when the jamboree came to my hometown, I went to visit my family and take a look around. There is always a man selling used books every year by the grocery store. And being the book lover's than my mother and I are we let everyone else go on along as we looked through all the books.
That is when the Gods shone down on me and I spotted the book Stocking Up III. I snatched it up and hugged it to my chest like someone was going to try and take the book away from me for their own use. I just remember thinking "Oh. Thank God, cause I don't know what I'm going to do next year." I was hoping this was going to be my ticket to gain that magical knowledge.

The book has EVERYTHING in it. If you are just getting started with canning vegetable and fruit. Then this is a must have book, there are even some recipes as well. It is our preserving bible. I'll give you the contents of the book so you can see what I mean.

Vegetables and Fruits

Choosing Vegetable and Fruit Varieties
1
Harvesting Vegetables and Fruits
containers to use for freezing--freezer organization--thawing vegetables and fruits--how and why to blanch vegetables--blanching in a microwave--blanching in a pressure canner--steps to follow for freezing vegetables--preparing vegetables for freezing--freezing grape leaves--freezing fruits--preparing fruits for freezing--what to do if the freezer stops running--freezing herbs
27
Canning Vegetables and Fruits
Sterilizing food--choosing and preparing your vegetables and fruits--head space--canners--closures-tin cans--raw packs and hot packs--checking seals--labeling--storing canned foods--spoiled food-canning fruits--step-by-step processing of fruits, tomatoes, and pickled vegetables--step-by-step processing of vegetables
43
Drying Vegetables and Fruits
why drying works-nutritional value-preparing food for drying-blanching-drying vegetables--sun-dried tomatoes--special techniques for drying peas, beans, and corn--drying fruits--don't microwave your food dry--temperature and ventilation--drying outdoors--drying indoors--oven drying--home dryers--electrical dryers--stove top dryers-solar dryers--our solar dryer-a low-cost indoor dryer--when your food is dry--storing--freeze-drying:good, but not at home--re hydrating--cooking dried vegetable and fruits--using dried foods-fruit puree--fruit and vegetable flour--fruit leather-herbs
171
Underground Storage
vegetables--fruits--good storage conditions--where to store your stash--storage containers
193
Pickles and Relishes
salt-free pickles--ingredients--equipment--canning pickled foods--step-by-step directions for canning in a boiling-water bath--storing pickles--brine curing--Euell Gibbons's dill crock--if your pickles fail--signs of spoilage--sauerkraut--pickles--pickles vegetables--relishes-pickled fruits--chutneys--mustards
239
Jams, Jellies, and Fruit Butters
jams and jellies with honey--cooked-down and pectin jams and jellies--homemade pectin--extracting juice for jellies--jams and preserves from frozen fruits--jelly tests--if your jellied fruits fail--uncooked jams and jellies--using artificial sweetener--using low-methoxyl pectin--filling and sealing containers--step-by-step directions for canning in a boiling-water bath--making fruit butters-jams--jellies--preserves--conserves--marmalades
287
Juicing Your Harvest
tomato and fruit juices--steam-juicing--using juicers--apple cider--turning apple cider into vinegar--herb vinegars--pickling with homemade vinegar--juices
307
Vegetable and Fruit Recipes

Dairy Foods
347
Storing Milk, Cream, and Eggs
Freezing milk and cream--eggs--old-fashioned storage methods--freezing eggs
353
Homemade Butter
separating the cream--chilling and ripening the cream--churning--taking off the buttermilk--washing and working the butter--butter in a blender--in a food processor--using an electric mixer--using a glass jar--if you have trouble--salting and storing butter-butters
365
Homemade Cheeses
equipment--ingredients--storing cheeses--cottage cheese--ricotta--cream cheese--plain, semi hard cheese--cheddar cheese
389
Homemade Yogurt and Other Fermented Milk Products
yogurt--a thicker yogurt--using a yogurt maker--making yogurt in the oven--in a covered casserole--in a thermos--what can go wrong-yogurt cream cheese-kefir--piima
399
Homemade Ice Creams
hand-cranked--electrically cranked--freezer ice cream--sherbet and sorbet--how-to's--adding fruits and nuts--storing--ice creams--sherbets and ices (sorbets)
417
Dairy Recipes

Meats, Poultry, and Fish
439
Preparing Meats and Poultry for Storage
butchering your own meat--preparing wild meats--if you're having your meat butchered--headcheese and other pressed meats--rendering lard--sausage--poultry
469
Freezing Meats and Poultry for Storage
freezing in bulk--what wraps to use--freezing combination dishes--freezing soup stock--quick freezing--thawing and cooking frozen meats--drying meats-salt alert
495
Preparing and Storing Fish
cleaning and dressing fin fish--clams, oysters, mussels, and scallops--crabs, lobsters, and crayfish--shrimp--freezing fresh-caught fish--thawing and cooking frozen fish-extending the refrigerator life of fish--canning--fish recipes--drying
517
Meat and Poultry Recipes

Nuts, Seeds, Grains, and Sprouts

Nuts and Seeds
harvesting tree nuts--hulling--drying--cracking--harvesting--and curing peanuts--storing shelled nuts--sunflower seeds--pumpkin seeds--nut and seed butters
549
Grains
really fresh flour--storing bread--freezing baked bread--thawing bread--making breads moister--freezing unbaked bread dough--storing store-bought grains--harvesting and storing your grains
561
Sprouts
the how-to's--storing and using sprouts--diastatic malt--sprouts' vital statistics
569
Nut, Seed, Grain, and Sprout Recipes

Throwing in the Towel

Paper towel that is. My family has made the switch to cloth towels instead paper last year when my husband when through all his tee shirts and was going to throw away a heap of holey stained shirts. I immediately took advantage of the situation to make the switch.

It surprising that people do not use cloth towels anymore. They absorb just as well or better than paper towels. They are "stronger" and more "durable" than any brand of paper towel no matter what the commercials may say.

When you think of the money that you can save by making the switch it seems pretty obvious. This amounts over one hundred dollars a year in savings! Some people claim that is is offset by the energy and detergent it takes to wash and dry (none if you use a clothes line) the cloth towels. Lets get real people. You can toss in fifteen or twenty cloth towels with barely any effect on the load. I really think this is an excuse. People, do not worry you won't be slaving away washing and folding those cloth napkins. Once you are in the habit you do not notice it anymore than you would any other laundry. It's just changing your habits.



-Paper products account for 40% of the trash filling up our landfills.

-30% of the timber consumed is for making paper products.

-8 million trees are are cut down and shredded just for making paper towels.

Need I say more.



There are other factors to consider. The elemental chlorine used to give you those nice white paper towels are responsible for the release of dioxin and furans, these are strong carcinogens and mutagens. These chlorintated componts adversly affect immune systems and reproductive systems of aquatic life and wildlife. Not to mention the fact that these chemicals are bioaccumulative. Meaning they collect in the tissue of animals and are passed along the food chain all the way to higher animals (humans included).

Make a fashion statement. I don't make a statement with my clothes but I do have them in a really nice basket, sitting right next to the paper towel roll. If you are handy at sewing you could put nice embriodery on them. Get colors to match you decor or get some really funky cloth to make a statement. Or put funny saying on them to surprise your visitors like "Ooh! I like it when you rub me." "Bought time you cleaned those dirty hands."
Make them handy. As I said I keep mine in a basket right next to the paper towels. This got rid of the excuse "I keep forgeting to use the cloth." that I kept hearing from my husband. I used to keep them in a drawer in the kitchen, but they were only getting used by me. This habit is just like any, it takes a little adjusting too.
Don't forget all the uses. They are not just for wiping your hands and face। I use them to microwave the baked potatoes. Putting a sandwich, apple slices or slice of pizza on. Even if melted cheese get on them a trip to the washing machine solves this. You don't have to worry about paper sticking to your wet food with a cloth napkin. Cleaning the spills on the carpet is a breeze. Cleaning my glasses and computer screen. The only think that I don't use them for is to clean up grease, that's it.

Clothes Lines

We are coming to an age when we finally realize that we must cut down on our energy consumption. The U.S. Department of Energy rates dryers at number two on energy consuming appliances. Project Laundry estimate that the use of dryers use an average of 6%, going up to 10% of residential electricity consumption in the U.S. That is an unbelievable amount.

When I mention that I use a clothes line to dry my clothes there are usually one of two responses. "Oh! Don't they just smell so fresh!" or "Ugh! They are so stiff!". It seems to be a love or hate relationship. A lot of people have just heard stories from their parents or grandparents how stiff their jeans where when they were a kid and their clothes where out on the line. They smelled fresh though! Take a minute and think, what kind of soap where they using on those clothes? Things are different today. We have more options available to us. Fabric softener for one. For those who prefer natural products, such as myself, this can be as simple as adding a little vinegar, yes vinegar, to the water. No your clothes will not smell like vinegar when they come out. Which wouldn't matter even if they did (they don't) the sun naturally bleaches and disinfects, which would take care of that.

I've seen a lot of creative and artistic clothes lines these days, some looking like trees and much more. I just found one today that looks like a table umbrella, now how cool is that? I for one have line strung from on tree to another, well two lines, four trees. I needed more space. very simple. I prefer using resources around me. Whatever your preference, don't throw away the idea before you give it a try. I find it to be quite relaxing and even fun when my three year old is hiding behind a sheet or large towel saying "Look at me, I'm taking a shower!".

I for one think that hanging clothes is a misunderstood act. Yes there are days, especially when there is no breeze or better yet, wind. That certain items such as towels or jeans can be a bit stiff. This is easily remedied with 5 minutes of tumble dry, which is a lot more energy efficient as using the dryer for the whole drying process. Simply hanging your clothes inside out can solve this problem as well. After they are dry you "loosen" them up when you put them right side out. On windy days there is no problem. The only items that ever seem to give occasional trouble are towels and jeans. This is severely outweighed by the fact your clothes won't get twisted and wrinkled as they would in the dryer. Did I mention no static? Or shrinking? Your clothes will lasts longer as well, what do you think that is in the lint catcher? Your clothes.

As with any new action you will have to find your own groove. I've been told by many a busy person that they just don't have the time. I don't buy it. How can they know if they have never even tried. I'm a busy person too, at least in the warmer months. Yes it may take just a few more minutes, you do have to walk over to the clothes line, heaven forbid. But I think that it is worth it just so I don't have to listen to the dryer running and heating up my house. I find it very Zen, and I like doing anything that makes me more self-sustained.

There was a woman who said she would love to hang her clothes out to dry but she was terrified that birds would poop on her clothes. I had to laugh at that one. I have been drying my clothes on a line for two years now and my clothes lines are under five big trees, there is not a square inch of line that doesn't have tree above it. My clothes have been pooped on twice, no big deal I just throw it back into the dirty clothes. Two times in two years, I don't think that is an excuse not to give it a try, or better yet make it a lifestyle change.

There are also those who live in apartments or condos where clothes lines are not allowed or the neighborhood is not a place they want their clothes out for easy taking. This can be solved by line drying in your home. One clever person I read about has retractable clothes lines attached to a stud in the wall, with hooks for the line on the opposite wall. When she is not using the clothes line she retracts them and covers them up with pictures. Now that is using what you have!

Some tips I can give you that will make your starting experience go smoother.

Clothes Pin Bag I didn't think I needed one in the beginning. I thought "Why not just leave the pins on the line after taking the clothes down?" Because, you are not always going to hang the same items in the same place. When you have eight socks in a row, it will be a big annoyance when you have to take down eight clothes pins to make space to hang that towel. Not to mention walking back and forth to get pins to hang those socks where a sheet was last time. Get a bag.

This can be anything from a bag bought from the store to a plastic sack tied to the line. I myself took an old sleeper of my son's, sewed the neck closed, sewed the arms closed close to the body, used safety pins to hang the feet on the line, and left all but the bottom two buttons open. Wha La, clothes pin bag for free. Be creative, got on old purse?

Twice as Thick Takes Twice As Long If you are hanging items such as pants, hang them by the pants legs instead of the waist, all that extra material and pockets will take much longer to dry if they are folded over on the line. You always want to hang from the thinnest material. There are exceptions when you have a sheer material, but you can figure it out. I hang my shirts upside down as well, this prevents creases in the shoulders.

Cut Yourself Some Slack When you are hanging your clothes to dry you don't want to stretch them out as you pin them up. Stretched out on the line = stretched out when they are dry. When I first began line drying I pinned clothes up pulling them kind of tight, thinking that if I left them slack it would cause them to wrinkle. All I ended up with was a stretched out shirt. You do not get the shrinkage as in a dryer. Which is a definite advantage for those snug clothes that get tight after being dried. I think most of us have squatted and pulled trying to loosen those clothes at one point or another.

Watch the Weather Become aware of what the weather is going to do. I have the weather forecast on my Google page. If it looks like it is going to be rainy for a few days I try to make sure all the clothes are washed. That is not to say that I haven't been surprised. And quite honestly I have just let them get rained on and let them dry again. No harm ,no foul, to me. I am dedicated to my clothes line.

One surprising thing, you can even dry your clothes in the winter! Yes, they will dry, it may take a bit longer but they will dry. I haven't done it myself, but there are people who will even dry their clothes in below freezing temperature. The only reason I haven't is because I absolutely hate the cold and will not even stick my head out the door unless I have too.

If you are a clothes line advocate like myself there is a petition going right now to get the White House to hang their clothes out on the White House Lawn for a day. As a way of showing the American public that we are ready for energy Independence. You can sign or view this petition at http://right2dry.org/ . I've already signed. Come on! Don't you want to see if the Prez. is a boxer or breif man!