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| Around the Cabin |
Herbs are good for health, healing, and cooking. But here are other uses for herbs which many people don't traditionally do. You can use some herbs to:
Get Rid of Foul Odor. A few drops of herbal antibacterial oil (try tea-tree, lavander, or rosemary) into a bicarbonate soda would easily do the trick. Pack it into a stocking or sock or similar clothing and insert into your trainers overnight.- Repel Moths. Mix equal amounts of these oils in a small container or bottle: rosemary, lemon, clove, and lavender. Apply some of the oil on a damp cloth and wipe shelves and cabinet surfaces. Apply also on cotton wool balls and place these in cabinet corners like you would moth balls.
- Freshen the Air. Put natural herbal oil essentials in a spray bottle and spray in your room, car, or toilet. A lot of air fresheners sold out there contain toxic ingredients bad for your liver and lungs. Try all-natural herbal oil scents.
- Soften Fabrics. Try using a little eucalyptus oil with vinegar, water, and bicarbonate soda into a mix for softening fabrics.
- Remove Stains. Eucalyptus oil does a good job here. Apply on cloth and then wash. Or, rub stained area with fresh kalamansi or lemon, let it dry in the sun, then wash thoroughly.
- Wash Dishes. Essential oils of lemon, eucalyptus, and grapefruit, mixed in a little vinegar, water, and glycerine, plus some liquid soap, does the trick.
- Freshen Breath and Heal Gingivitis. Gargle with cooled down green tea drink. It's an effective mouthwash and heals gum diseases. Freshens breath.
- Get Rid of Rancid Taste. Use tamarind or sampaloc leaves. Rub the leaves against raw meat or fish to get rid of its rancid taste. People in Deep Asia use it along with salt on animal inner parts, like gizzards and intestines, or stuff it in whole chickens or big fish before grilling or roasting.
- Get Rid of Garlic After-Taste from Your Mouth. If you've been eating raw garlic and the after-taste sticks on your lips and tongue, eat fresh kalamansi.
The list goes on, using both Asian and western herbs. And of course, especially herbs and plants in the Philippines. It's not just for good health; Phil Asian herbs and other plant remedies have a thousand and one household remedies.
