Colds suck! But they don’t have to be wasteful.
I'm finally recovered from a cold that hit me and my husband like a truck.
Usually, I go straight for the cold meds since life is too busy to sit at home and recoup. This time it was close enough to a weekend to compel me to avoid the caffeinated cold meds and opt instead for a few days off, tons of liquids (soup, tea, LOADS of water), so much sleep, and echinacea.
Being home allowed me to use my large arsenal of cloth tissues and hankies. While using those tissues for 3 days my nose didn’t get dry or chapped like it usually would with a cold. Went to work Monday and used paper tissues - by lunch my nose was in revolt.
So I was very glad to have my cloth tissues for the sake of my poor nose. One afternoon at the height of my sickness I stayed in the same general area of my house so I was able to gauge how many tissues I’d used by the size of the pile that had accumulated. It made me realize that if I’d used paper tissues I would have amassed a huge amount of waste in just a few short hours. Let alone the entire two weeks that my cold endured.
Had I been using cold meds this time around, I would've also thrown away pill blister-pack garbage. Unfortunately, if you get day and night-time packs they don’t come in bottles, only in plastic packs.
Something else I discovered
During my cold were these delightful Canadian made honibe lozenges. They’re 99% honey 1% menthol & eucalyptus. They have no added sugar, no artificial colours, flavours, or sweeteners. This all sounded too good to be true to me. I bought them thinking they would probably be crap but I had to try them if there was any chance that they might work. Without cold meds, there wasn't anything to ease my coughing keeping me up all night. Tried one lozenge and it soothed my throat so I could go right to sleep. It was shocking how well it worked.
Almost forgot to mention that the carton is 100% recyclable - feels like real cardboard!
I was too big a wimp to try taking a tablespoon of oregano oil daily this time around - I’ll save that trick for next time. I have a friend who swears by it. Has anyone else tried it? What other sustainable, natural, or local products do you like to use when you’re sick?
Any great soup recipes or tips & tricks to share?
