Working on Wellness: The Neti Pot

The neti pot: the best allergy remedy

Get ready everyone.  Today's post is not only a general wellness tip...but there is also a related BONUS frugality tip!

It's springtime, which means soft rain violent thunderstorms, flowers, blossoming trees, and...allergies.

I've been using the neti pot to irrigate my sinuses for several years now.  For several years before that, I was vehemently opposed to the neti pot - mostly because my Dad kept trying to get me to use it, and I am both a) a contrarian and b) not usually ok with putting things up my nose on purpose. And how glad I am that I finally gave in and tried it!

The neti pot is the gentlest, most satisfying way to get rid of all the guck in your sinuses due to allergies or a cold.  I usually do the neti pot as part of my morning routine, and sometimes if it's been a particularly rough day I will do it in the evening, too.  I won't get into the mechanics of it too much, but you stick that sucker in one nostril and tilt your head to the side, and out the other nostril comes the solution + all the goodies.  If you are interested in getting or using a neti pot, make sure you read the instructions carefully and follow them! There are a lot of tips, tricks, and nuances. I don't really want to talk about those, I just want to tell you to get one and use it.

If you suffer from seasonal allergies, GET A NETI POT.  It is so cheap and effective for clearing out your sinuses.  It's better than taking medication every day, and it's certainly better than suffering with a runny nose for half of the year. I personally don't do anything else for allergies.

Now on to the BONUS FRUGALITY TIP: Home made Neti mix - save $70 a year!!

At CVS/Walgreens/Kroger/etc., you can buy pre-mixed packages of neti mix.  ORRRRR you can make it yourself!  It literally tells you on the side of the box exactly how to make it at home.  The packets are a 3:1 ratio of sodium chloride to sodium bicarbonate.  For those of you who don't remember your high school chemistry class, that is TABLE SALT and BAKING SODA.  We've been doing this at our house for a while now, but until I decided to do this post, I had't actually calculated how much cheaper it is to make your own.

Here's how I spent the past 15 minutes of my life:

Let me summarize my work:  buying the packets from the store is 11 cents per teaspoon (I measured: 1 packet = 1 tsp).  Home made mix is 0.6 cents per teaspoon.  To buy the packets is EIGHTEEN TIMES MORE EXPENSIVE and really, not that much easier.  Especially if you already have baking soda and salt at your house (which you do.)  Now, I understand we're only talking pennies here, but it's the principle of it.  18. x. more. $.  Plus, if you assume two people in a household use the Neti pot once a day (say you're unreliable and skip about 30 days a year) - you save $70 a year! 

Now go on a date to celebrate - or better yet, keep the money and have the peace of mind that it is happily working towards your early retirement/kid's college fund/summer vacation.

xoxo Phae