NATURAL INSECT REPELLENT

I just guessed on how to put this together after researching the most common recommendations for natural mosquito / insect repellents. I tried it when we were going into a situation that has been known to be miserable with mosquitos - on a river bank where the critters come out at a certain moment around dusk and typically they regard deep woods off as a appetizer. I didn't have a lot of confidence that this would work, but it worked great, and I never had to bring out the serious chemicals that I had packed as back up in case of failure.

This is what I tried, and it worked -- so I stuck with the same formula for refills. It is possible that other proportions or combinations would work. In fact, I probably didn't make it up exactly the same every time. Basically this is it:

In a 16-oz spray bottle put:

15 drops cedarwood oil

15 drops bergamot oil (bergaptene free)

5 drops rosemary oil

5 drops tea tree oil
5 drops peppermint oil

fill the rest with water

Spray on all exposed skin as well as on clothing. For the face, spray on hands and rub on face avoiding eyes. The only caution is some peoples' skin may be sensitive to one or more of these oils. None who used it on our trip had any adverse reaction (or any mosquito bites!) Also, if you have it on your face and then sweat so the stuff gets in your eyes it might sting. But probably no more than chemical repellent would.

FREE PAPER SHREDDER ALTERNATIVE

Completely destroy confidential papers without a shredder.

I got this tip from the head of an accounting firm: Submerge paper in water, then wad it into a ball and throw in the trash. There's no way any readable information can be recovered. You don't have to let is soak; it is wet enough after a few seconds. For a thick stack of papers, I soak the whole stack till saturated, then roll in a tight log. I had a shredder that broke and I have never been tempted to replace it. This works great. It's actually quicker than a home paper shredder if you have a lot to process, and no shredded to jam or to need to be emptied regularly.

REMOVE BLOOD SPOTS

This works well -- even on dried blood.  Caution: It could lighten the color on some fabrics.

1 cup hydrogen peroxide
1 teaspoon dish washing liquid

Whisk dish soap into the peroxide in a bowl. Moisten a cloth or sponge with the solution and rub on the stain till it disappears. Or put in a spout-top bottle and squirt directly on the stain.  If the stain has set the solution might need to work for a minute before the spot can be rubbed out.

MSM AND GLUCOSAMINE FOR JOINT PAIN

This isn't a homemade concoction, but it is a natural treatment for joint pain that I have found to be very effective. It was recently confirmed to me just how effective it is. I first discovered these supplements in the mid 90s when I was experiencing pretty serious pain in my neck and right shoulder. I read about MSM and Glucosamine and decided to try the combination. I had positive results so quickly that I wondered if it could be psychosomatic!  But as I continued to take it my neck pain completely disappeared and my shoulder pain disappeared for all normal daily movement. The only remaining sign of any problem was some pain if I stretched my arm around to reach my back on the opposite side. 


Unexplainably a few months ago I started to have pain in my right shoulder again similar to what I had experienced before. When it didn't improve even with the supplement I wondered if I had an injury from lifting or working out. Then about a month ago I was looking at the bottle and realized that for several months I had inadvertently been taking  1/3 of the recommended daily amount! Previously I had a formula that concentrated the daily amount in 1 capsule, and when I reordered I didn't notice that the new one required 3 capsules for that same supplement strength. I immediately increased to the recommended amount and, again, started experiencing improvement in just a few days.  Now I'm almost back to where I was before reducing the amount.  


Sometimes it is thought that health improvements with nutritional supplements can be attributed to the placebo effect.  But I am convinced that this combination is for real since the benefit disappeared when I unknowingly reduced the amount. Of course it did also confirm that this isn't a healing treatment -- you only get the benefit by continuing to regularly take the supplement. Even so, I would rather take this daily than an over the counter pain med or -- worse -- a prescription with 6 pages of health warnings. I don't know what the condition is that causes this pain, and the supplement might not work on every condition, but it's certainly worth a try if you have any kind of joint pain. You will soon know if it works or not.