Avoid cold and flu season with these tips to prevent the flu. I follow a strict routine during the winter months to avoid catching the flu. So far this tips to prevent the flu have worked well for my family- hopefully they will work well for yours too!
Don’t forget to grab your flu cheat sheet here so you’re prepared and know what to look for!
Tips to Prevent the Flu
Stay Healthy During Cold and Flu Season with These Life Hacks
Oh my goodness this is turning out to be quite the week! The flu is running rampant throughout the schools and I’m constantly seeing on Facebook where friends are home sick, people are being hospitalized, and it’s just spreading like crazy. I even heard that a few school districts have closed for a few days to try to stop the spread…it’s really THAT bad!
Top that off with the fact that now the news is reporting snow for tomorrow…my week is turning upside down. I’ve just tossed our agenda out the window and we’re playing each day by ear. Luckily there are a few precautions that we take in our house to keep the flu away….
Elderberry Syrup! For the last 2 years my kids have taken a daily dose of Elderberry Syrup and we’ve stayed flu free! If I even feel a little tingle of something coming on, I immediately reach for the Elderberry Syrup. I love this one from The Elderberry Syrup Lady because she’s local to me and I can swing by the local farmer’s market and grab a bottle whenever we’re low…but she does ship nationwide as well.
1. Wash all the sheets once a week in HOT water!
We actually have a sanitize function on our washing machine and I use this feature constantly during the winter months when cleaning sheets, blankets, towels, and school clothes!
2. We have separate “school clothes” and “home clothes”
It’s a pain in the butt because there’s a never ending stream of dirty laundry but it’s better than bringing germs home. Once the kids get home from school they run upstairs and change their clothes into sweatpants and shirts. The school clothes go straight to the laundry so they don’t bring in any extra germs from school.
Doing so much laundry does cause us to go through a ton of laundry detergent- which is why I started making my own. I can make a huge batch of laundry detergent that lasts us about 6 months for less than $30! Plus, I have EXTREMELY sensitive skin so by making my own I’m able to control what all goes into it and I’ve been able to develop a recipe that’s gentle enough for sensitive skin, friendly to HE washers (which we have), and cleans the clothes thoroughly! You can check out my recipe for homemade laundry detergent here.
3. I Diffuse Essential Oils
Don’t worry, I’m not going to try to sell you on one of the many MLM essential oil programs out there! But, I am going to share my experience in using essential oils in our home. Many people are skeptical of whether essential oils really work and I’m on the line of ‘they work fantastically for my family but they may not be for everyone’.
Ever since I started using essential oils about 3 years ago, my family has been virtually free of sickness. Now, the kids do get the occasional cold, running nose, sore throat, slight fever, mild ear infection, etc. But we’ve been completely free of the horrible viruses out there like the flu, strep throat, and high fevers…even when close friends have been laid up for days right after a play date my family skirts by without catching it.
I attribute this fact to my winter routines and the fact that I have essential oils diffusing through the house pretty much ALL of the time! I use Rocky Mountain Oils because they are high quality oils, made with the highest standards, and don’t have all of the extra costs associated with MLM companies. My favorite oils to diffuse during flu season are: Immune Strength, Flu Time, and Purify. I also have the Kids Line Complete Kit of rollerballs that I use daily on the kids. If they start to show one of the symptoms of sickness I use the appropriate rollerball on them and they tend to get better rather quickly.
4. We eat LOTS of Chicken Soups and Stews for Lunches
I know it’s an old wives tale that chicken soup cures a cold but research does show that the chicken broth does contain large quantities of nutrients that help the immune system attack the cold virus. There’s also been lots of research showing that bone broth is amazing for boosting your immune system…so about twice a week we try to have chicken soup for lunch. I make this homemade chicken bone broth in the slow cooker and then I’ll use it to make chicken noodle soup, my Spanish chicken soup which is a fun twist on the classic, chicken and dumpling stew, and sometimes I’ll just sip on the broth if I feel like I may be coming down with something. There really is power in chicken broth!
5. I Constantly Wipe Down Countertops
During the winter months I’m a total germ-a-phobe! I’m constantly spraying and wiping down counters, toys, pretty much any hard surface! I started making and using this All Natural All Purpose Cleaning Spray….it’s antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral...meaning it kills a LOT of germs! Plus, it’s so cheap to make and lasts forever!
I also have a specific cleaner that I use for cleaning the toys. I keep a bottle of this cleaner in the playroom at all times because it’s so handy for killing germs!
6. Daily Probiotics for EVERYONE!
It’s amazing the difference that probiotics can make! We are always hearing about the importance of “gut health” but we can’t always live by the strict diet of clean eating and the maintenance required for a “healthy gut”…as a busy mom it’s definitely not at the top of my to-do list. Which is why I LOVE Smarty Pants Probiotics for the kids and us adults. Smarty Pants are gentle on little tummies but they provide all of the good bacteria that we need to maintain a “healthy gut” without all of the complications of a special diet (most of which items my kids won’t eat).
I get our probiotics auto-shipped each month through Grove because I don’t have to think about when to buy more– they send me an email and text message each month before they ship and ask if I need to change anything. This is awesome because if you need to skip a month due to tight finances it’s no big deal– you simply edit your cart and they won’t charge you. I don’t know any other auto-ship company that reminds you that it’s almost time for your shipment….even Amazon tells you after they ship. Right now you can get a free $10 credit and a free bottle of Mrs. Meyers hand soap just to give Grove a try.
Finally we just do what everyone else does….lots of hand washing, covering mouths when coughing, dedication to hand sanitizer, etc. Sometimes getting sick is inevitable but I want to make sure I take all of the precautions I can and be proactive in the fight against the flu.
But, if and when we do come down with being sick, I know I can turn to my good friend Herchel who writes Gym, Craft, Laundry. She has some amazing Stomach Bug Hacks that are total life savers and literally the BEST cough remedy for a night time cough.
And, I ALWAYS use the Ibotta app to save on cold and flu medications so I’m stocked and ready to go when the need strikes.
Hopefully, these tips for preventing the flu will help you’ll stay well this cold & flu season!
