Got Allergies?

This spring’s pollen count is bringing misery to allergy sufferers around the country—so it’s time to take a stand! Check out these quick-fix solutions: 

• If a bowl of hot-and-sour soup or a dish of spicy chili doesn’t clear your stuffy nose, probably nothing will. Spicy, hot food clears out blocked nasal passages and loosens mucus.
• Horseradish clears passages from the nose right up into the sinuses. This is a powerful potion that’s best taken raw: Just grate some horseradish into a glass of tomato juice, mix it up with your favorite salsa, or eat it right off the stalk!
• Use eucalyptus soap in your daily shower. The scent and hot steam will open your clogged nasal passages.
• Soak a washcloth in the hottest water you can stand, wring it out, and lay it across your nose and sinuses for a while. If you keep the cloth as hot as you can, it’ll loosen and liquefy mucus. 

For even more healthy hints that’ll have you feelin’ fine in no time, check out our bestselling book, Top 25 Homemade Healers. You can even try it FREE for 21 days with our Free Preview!

4 Easy Ways to Ease Allergies

Between one lawn mowing and the next, huge amounts of pollen, dust, and dirt can blow onto your grass from who-knows-where. And, then when you mow, you get clobbered with a cloud of it right in your face! But don’t worry. Here are a few easy ways to ease your allergies on mowing day—and all summer long:

Mask your mug. Protect yourself by wearing an inexpensive face mask (available at any drugstore) every time you head outside to mow.
Shut ‘em up. Close your windows before you start mowing, and leave them closed for a few hours after the job is done. And this means all windows, not just those on the ground floor. 

Mow low. Keep your grass cut to a height less than 2 inches. 

Rely on shower power. As soon as you’re done mowing, hit the shower to shampoo and soap away all the pollen that’s clinging to your hair and skin.

For even more lawn-lovin’ tips, tricks, and tonics, check out our bestselling book, All-American Lawns. You can also try it FREE for 21 days by visiting our website. And make sure to sign up for our Free E-newsletter while you’re at it!

Outdoor Chores

Hi there, folks!

Hopefully, you’re all enjoying any warm spring weather you’ve been having lately. If so, then you should take full advantage of the mild temperatures to get some much-needed outdoor chores done.

For starters, if your deck is looking really dirty, it’s time to clean it up! But rather than buying an expensive cleaner, just give it a good scrubbing with this homemade Deck and Porch Cleaner: 1 qt. of household bleach, ½ cup of powdered laundry detergent, and 2 gallons of hot water mixed in a bucket. Use a stiff broom or brush to scrub this solution into your deck. Then hose down the surface thoroughly, and enjoy the squeaky-clean shine.

Next, it’s time to get your lawn up off its “grass” for another growing season. So treat it to a dose of this Spring Wake-Up Tonic: 50 lbs. of pelletized gypsum, 50 lbs. of pelletized lime, 5 lbs. of bonemeal, and 2 lbs. of Epsom salts mixed in a wheelbarrow. Apply this mix with a broadcast spreader no more than 2 weeks before your first official lawn feeding. Your spring lawn will be up and at ‘em in no time!

Unfortunately, springtime chores in the great outdoors usually bring allergy symptoms right along with them. To clear your sinuses in a hurry, whip up this steamy soother: 1 tablespoon each of rosemary and eucalyptus mixed into 1 cup of boiling water. Place a towel over your head to make a tent, and sniff the fumes for 5 minutes to achieve blessed relief.

Then get out there, and kick some grass!

Sniff Away Sniffles Solution

What’s more annoying than a case of constant sniffles brought on by ragweed allergies? Not a whole lot that I can think of!

So when allergy season hands you a runny nose that has you climbing the walls, try this ultra-simple herbal elixir. It’ll have you breathing easier in no time.

Eucalyptus

Rosemary

1 cup of boiling water

Put 1 tablespoon each of fresh herbs into the water, place a towel over your head to make a tent, and breathe in the fumes for five minutes. (Be careful not to scald your face — lower it slowly over the steam.)

Not into sniffing herbs? Try Grandma Putt’s favorite allergy treatment instead. Soak a washcloth in the hottest water you can stand, wring it out, and lay it across your nose and sinuses. If you keep the cloth as hot as you can, it seems to work on the same principle as hot soup or spicy food: It loosens and liquefies mucus.