Every year around this time, I get ready for winter by making tinctures, elderberry syrup, and other remedies, so I’ve got them on hand in case anyone falls ill. I store all these remedies in my natural medicine cabinet, keeping everything neat and ready to go.
A few years back, I found a major gap in my natural remedies plan when I caught the flu myself. Usually, when my husband or kids are unwell, I promptly administer their remedies on a set schedule. However, during my bout with the flu, I was bedridden when my husband asked, “What do you need?” I realized I had no clue what to tell him.
Being unwell left me too drained to gather all the remedies myself, and I was too exhausted and foggy-headed to explain it to my husband clearly. Despite that, he managed to locate the remedies and did a decent job of giving them to me regularly. Along with plenty of herbal tea and bone broth, I recovered swiftly. This made me realize the importance of creating a checklist that he—or anyone else—could use if I ever got sick again or wasn’t home when one of our kids needed natural remedies.
If you’re usually the one taking care of your family when sickness strikes, I highly recommend making a checklist for your home. This way, if you get sick, you can still benefit from the remedies you typically share with your family.
To create mine, I began by listing all the remedies I had, along with their purpose, dosage, and location. I turned this information into a simple checklist spreadsheet. This made it convenient not only for my use but also something I could easily pass to my husband if I got ill. When we traveled for a conference and left the kids with their grandparents, this checklist was equally useful. One of the kids had a stomachache due to something they ate, and the checklist made it easy for the grandparents to find and administer the right remedies.
Think about what natural remedies you keep ready for the cold and flu season.
