5 Tips For Thriving During Winter-Germ Season

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc., Campbell’s®, Lipton, Premium Crackers, Theraflu and TYLENOL®. All opinions are mine alone. #SickDaySolutions #CollectiveBias

 

It’s hard to believe, but winter-germ season is here. Along with the colder temperatures comes the potential for sneezes, sniffles, and sickness.

Yet, there are ways you can equip your home and family to stay healthy during this time of year. Let’s take a closer look at 5 simple ways you can prepare your family today for the winter-germ season at home. 

Tip 1: Create a Winter Home Germ Season Survival Kit.

A month before the start of each germ season, I create for my family a Winter Home Germ Season Survival Kit. In this kit contains:

• An easy-to-clean Metal 4-Compartment Caddy
• Thermometer
• TYLENOL® Cold + Flu Severe Warming Honey Lemon
• Severe Cold & Cough Daytime Powders
• Lipton Bedtime Bliss Herbal Supplement

Making this kit was super simple as I was able to pick-up everything I needed, minus my caddy (which I already had on-hand at home), was available for quick pick-up at my local Kroger. With everything, I needed locating right in the pain relief aisle.

I like to pick up a box of Theraflu Severe Cold & Cough Daytime Powders. This makes sure that no matter what symptoms crop up at home during germ season, my family is well taken care of. Theraflu provides my family with powerful relief without a prescription.

 

I also make sure to stock my caddy with Lipton Caffeine-Free Bedtime Bliss Herbal Supplement. Full of carefully selected botanicals and blended with essential oils, it’s a delicious way to help my family get the much-needed rest required to fight off germ season at home. This herbal infusion is like a lullaby in a cup.* Featuring chamomile, mint and orange peel. Perfect for promoting my family’s wellness at home during the winter-germ season. 

For myself, I always pick up the TYLENOL® Cold + Flu Severe Warming Honey Lemon. It provides me with all day relief, of cold and flu symptoms at home and is the #1 doctor recommended pain relief brand to help stop your painful coughing, congestion & sore throat each germ season! It also does not have a harsh taste and the warming honey in the TYLENOL® Cold + Flu products provide relief to sore, irritated throats as well!

Even better, TYLENOL® comes with a Feel better or your money back, guarantees on adult products, that lets me feel assured in TYLENOL®’s commitment to my overall well-being at home this germ season!

Once I’ve gotten home from my local Kroger, I start filling my caddy with all of the essential germ season essentials mentioned above I place the kit in a central location so everyone in my family knows that this kit is the place to come when they need germ season supplies at home. Just add everything to your caddy and store in a convenient place. Super simple! 

Tip 2: I stock my pantry with nourishing foods.

I keep a well-stocked pantry full of easy-to-prepare comfort foods that help nourish and warm my family at home during germ season at home. Specifically, I like to keep Campbell’s® Tomato Soup 4-Count 4-Packs on hand. Because for generations moms have turned to Campbell’s® Condensed Soup to soothe and comfort sick little ones and sick, grumpy, grouchy husband’s too! 

I love that Campbell’s® Condensed Soup has no artificial colors or flavors. They are Made for Real, Real Life.® 

I also keep a stash of the Original Premium Saltine Crackers on hand. This is always my go-to cracker during the winter-germ season because Nabisco PREMIUM is the #1 saltine cracker and makes the perfect accompaniment to soup, such as Campbell’s® Tomato Soup. Premium is also the perfect cracker for quick weeknight meals, weekend entertaining, and are amazing with hummus and other dips! Not to mention how awesome the Original Premium Saltine Crackers are for helping to settle upset stomachs and morning sickness. 

Keeping a well-stocked pantry of these comfort foods helps me to worry less about what I’ll be preparing for dinner and instead focus on my family’s wellness. It’s a no-brainer for me! 

Tip 3: Create a heat and cold pack.

With winter-germ season come the aches and pains of not feeling well during the coldest parts of the year. To remedy this, each family member is given their own DIY Crochet Heat and Cold Rice Pack. This allows my family the ability to stay extra warm and toasty when they might not be feeling their best. They can heat these packs in the microwave for 1 minute for added warmth and comfort and throw them in the freezer for 1 hour for icing achy joints. 

On an average winter night, I heat my pack up and lay it on my shoulders to ease writers tension. They are amazing! If you’re looking for a similar situation for your own family at home, here’s a 1-hour crochet pattern to get you started:

Materials needed:

• 5.0 mm crochet hook
• 1 skein worsted weight organic yarn (100 yards)
• 3 cups rice
• Funnel
• Scissors

Stitch Terms:

• ch= Chain Stitch
• sc= Single Crochet Stitch
• dc= Double Crochet
• sl st: Slip Stitch

Pattern:

Round 1: Ch 40. Sl st into the first ch to create a loop. Making sure to not to twist the chain while working and to keep your stitches tight and even.

Round 2: Ch 1, dc in first ch, sc in next ch. Repeat all the way around the loop. Sl st to join with 40 stitches total.

Round 3: Ch 1, sc in dc then dc into a sc. Repeat all the way around the loop. Sl st to join together with 40 stitches total.

Rounds 4 – 34: Continue alternating rounds 2 and 3 until you reach round 34. then ch 1.

Row 34: Finish your bottom side of your pack with a row of sl st’s. Fasten off. Weave in your ends. 

Next, fill your bag with rice. I use 3 cups which fills the bag 3/4 full. Adjust your rice portions depending on how full or stiff you want your finished product to be. 

To finish your bag, sl st your top closed. Fasten off. Weave in your ends. Compost your yarn scraps. 

To heat your bag, place in the microwave for 30-second intervals until it’s warm enough to the touch for you and place in the freezer for an hour for cold relief. To keep your bag clean, leave it in full sunlight outdoors for 6-8 hours for a full sun-bleaching treatment. Easy peasy! 

Tip 4: Make your own cough drops.

It’s inevitable. during the winter-germ season, you’ll need cough drops. Which is why I love making natural homemade cough drops when my family is fighting a cold. Made with honey, coconut oil, and cinnamon, they not only help suppress coughing but take only minutes to make! Here’s how to get started:

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup room temperature organic coconut oil
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 teaspoon of organic ground cinnamon

Instructions:

1. Scoop coconut oil into a mixer bowl or good processor. Beat until blended.
2. Add the honey and continue to whip until the honey and oil are incorporated.
3. Add your cinnamon powder.
4. Pour mixture into small ice cube trays.
5. Freeze until they’re hard.
6. Pop your cough drops out of the ice cube tray and store in a jar in the freezer.

When you need a cough drop, slowly savor one in your mouth every 2-3 hours until symptoms improve. And in terms of making cough drops, it doesn’t get any easier than this. Try your hand at making your own drops this season! 

Tip 5: Give your home a deep clean.

Throughout the year, but especially during germ season, I find it essential to perform monthly deep cleaning sessions of the areas in my home that germs gravitate to the most, bathrooms, my kitchen, and communal living spaces. Paying particular attention to cleanse shared objects in those rooms such as toilets, bath stalls sinks, bed sheets by their specific cleaning requirements, and to sanitize frequently touched objects such as phones, remotes, televisions, silverware, countertops, lamps, ceiling fan toggles, shared toys, and small appliances with a fine mist of rubbing alcohol.

During germ season I also like to keep a working shopping list on my phone that allows me to know just what I need to pick up while in-store at my local Kroger. I keep all of my go-to home wellness products including Theraflu Severe Cold & Cough Daytime Powders, TYLENOL® Cold + Flu Severe Warming Honey Lemon, and Lipton Bedtime Bliss Herbal Supplements as well as any last-minute food items I might need as well to keep my family happy and healthy each winter season, including Campbell’s® Condensed Soup and Original Premium Saltine Crackers!

This keeps my home well stocked and ready for whatever the winter-germ season may bring our way! Be sure to right-click on my shopping list pdf below to make sure you’re prepared and stocked up for germ season at home too!

Friends, be sure to stop by your local Kroger to stock up on everything you need to help you prepare for this year’s germ season at home. Click here to find out about the savings you can currently score on the above-mentioned products at your local to help ensure your family has their healthiest holiday season yet from your local Kroger!

You can also click here to find even more health-related tips for surviving germ season at home this year! Now I have to ask, what is your favorite way to tackle germ season at home? I’d love to hear about it below!

Campbell’s® – © 2018 CSC LP Lipton – © 2018 Unilever Theraflu – Read and follow label directions. Theraflu is for use in adults 12 years and older. Use products only as directed. TYLENOL® – ® Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc. 2017. Use products only as directed. The makers of TYLENOL® remind you to use only one medicine with acetaminophen at a time.

* These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. This product is not intended to diagnose, cure or prevent disease.