The Ultimate Guide to Building a Natural Medicine Cabinet

This comprehensive guide to building a natural medicine cabinet will give you all the tools you need to stock your own natural medicine cabinet!

I’ve never been one to load up on medicine–never.

Even in my super conventional days, I would only take medicine as a last resort. 

I only took one antibiotic in childhood–for strep throat, as a teenager. And the only other antibiotic (besides during labor) I’ve had since was for a sinus infection when I was 25.

My husband and I laugh at how, in a state of delirium, I accused him of trying to poison me for “forcing” me to take an ibuprofen when I had fever with mono. We were engaged, and he comes from a family of doctors who thought nothing of taking painkillers.

Part of the reason I disdained conventional meds–even long before my healthy living journey began–was because I didn’t like how they made me feel. Sure, Tylenol would relieve a headache, but allergy meds always made me feel loopy. Taking them almost made me feel worse than the allergies themselves.

When I became a mom, I learned about some of the negative side effects of children’s medications. I decided to begin researching more natural alternatives to healing. 

And my natural medicine cabinet was born.

I’m happy to say that my family only uses conventional medications as a last resort–but we don’t just grin and bear illnesses anymore. We conquer them head-on with these more natural alternatives. 

Building a Natural Medicine Cabinet

When I began preparing for this post, I was shocked to find just how full my natural medicine cabinet has become. It was not always like this. It has taken years to build up my natural medicine cabinet.

It would be very expensive to stock a full natural medicine cabinet all at once. If you have the resources, then go for it! But if you are living on a tight budget, you can still begin replacing conventional medications with more natural alternatives–little by little.

When I first began, we were living on a low income. I would visit our local health store frequently and check out the clearance shelves.

Besides this, at first, I mostly just purchased items I needed as needed. It definitely helps to already have things on hand, but that isn’t always possible for some families.

Some of these items you can also make for yourself–like elderberry syrup or some essential oil blends. This is an even more cost effective way to build a natural medicine cabinet.

You an even do a hybrid by purchasing DIY kits, like the Lexie: Naturals elderberry syrup kit, which comes with everything you need to make your own! This saves money over buying fully-made syrup, but it is still easier and quicker than hunting down ingredients and having to start completely from scratch.

Places to Shop

I now purchase most of what’s in my natural medicine cabinet from Amazon. I have found the best prices at these two places. Plus, I never have to leave my home to shop! When placing an order, I will often price compare between the two.

Here are some great places to get you started in building a natural medicine cabinet: 

• Amazon: Amazon carries just about every item under the sun. When in doubt, check here! We are Prime members, so we almost always get free shipping!
• Azure Standard: Azure is a bulk foods store that delivers to various areas across the USA and Canada once per month! Not only does Azure offer high-quality, farm-fresh meats and produce, but they also sell a plethora of dry goods and natural remedies!
• Grove Co. : Grove sells all kinds of household and personal care products, but they also sell supplements, vitamins, and wellness products! If you’re a VIP member (I am!), you can get prices matched with other venues, and you get free shipping! Read my honest review of Grove Co. here. Receive a Grove Sustainable Starter Set for FREE with your 1st purchase of $20+. Click here to get it. 
• Plant Therapy: This is where we purchase the majority of our essential oils. Shipping is free! Use code HumbledHomemaker10 to get 10% off all orders! Shop here.
• Rocky Mountain Oils: We get some essential oils blends from here as well. They are a bit pricier than Plant Therapy, but they are still really good oils and are worth exploring for their large variety of blends.
• Vitamin Shoppe: Vitamin Shoppe has a store local to me, so I mostly shop at it in person. That said, I love that I can shop and pay online and pick things up in the store–often on the same day! They send out some great coupons too!
• Vitacost: I used to shop Vitacost super frequently, but my options have broadened so much that they aren’t my #1 shop anymore. That said, they still have a huge selection of items, and they run some great sales. It’s hard to beat their shipping costs (often free!).
• Lexie: Naturals: We shop for skincare products here but we also love the ease of her elderberry syrup kids. For a limited time, you can get 5% off at Lexie: Naturals by using the coupon code THH5!
• Trilight Health : We’re been ordering herbal blends from Trilight Health since 2012! They are my favorite company for pre-mixed, herbal tinctures that are made in a non-alcohol base. When you place your first order via this link, you will get 20% off your first purchase!
• Pronounce: If you’re more of a DIY type, then you may want to check out this store. You can purchase supplies to make your own products to stock in your natural medicine cabinet!
• Earthly: Earthly sells all kinds of hand-crafted herbal remedies and nutritional support supplements. The founder, Kate Tietje, is a long-time blogging friend of mine and is one of the most “natural” people I’ve ever known.
• Your Local Health Store: This could be a locally-owned venue (which is often the best!) or even Whole Foods (which, by the way, has free delivery to Amazon Prime members!).

About Brands

You might notice in the pictures and links that I use a wide variety of brands. I usually look at reviews, but some of these brands are simply the most cost effective ones I found when I ordered them.

There are a few linked-to brands that I haven’t used yet. As I wrote long ago in a post about the essential oils “wars,” I am not brand loyal. I purposely linked to some neutral essential oils brands for this reason–although I do name some blends we use from the larger companies.

I also highly recommend that you read my following posts on essential oil safety before diving into using them:

Essential Oil Mythstakes, Part 1

Essential Oil Mythstakes, Part 2

This Popular Essential Oil Gave Me a Chemical Burn

Safely Using Essential Oils with Babies and While Breastfeeding

Natural Medicine Cabinet

I store our natural medicines in two locations–a kitchen cabinet for supplements we use often and in a bathroom closet for those remedies we only use as needed.

For this post, I’ve broken my natural medicine cabinet into categories, according to ailment. This is mostly how I keep things organized in my actual cabinet and closet. 

We are also continually adding to our natural medicine cabinet, so be sure to check this post at least once per year to look at what I’ve added to this list.

Respiratory

My older two daughters and husband all have exercise-and-illness-induced asthma, so respiratory health is something we take seriously. In an emergency or extreme case (like when our middle daughter had pneumonia as an infant and again as a toddler!), we will use conventional breathing treatments. But we like to keep it to:

• eucalyptus essential oil : I will dilute this with coconut oil and rub it on our chests or dab it on our pajamas, so we can sniff it throughout the night. I will also use it in baths, mixed with bath salts or used in our essential oil shower diffuser. Note that  eucalyptus oil should not be used on children. Use code HumbledHomemaker10 to get 10% off this oil (or any order) at Plant Therapy.
• elderberry syrup: I like for us to take this to build up our immune systems all winter long, but it’s also great for respiratory health! This is our preferred brand that we get on Amazon, but we recently started making our own syrup with Lexie’s DIY kit as well. My kids prefer the Yum V’s Immune Shield gummies. I love that they are sweetened with xylitol instead of sugar; however, xylitol is extremely toxic to dogs, so take care if you have one.
• cool mist humidifier : Not technically medicine, but we use these in our bedrooms to help with clear breathing.
• essential oil diffuser: This is different than a humidifier. It helps to diffuse respiratory-building oils into the air. We personally have several of this exact model that we use in different rooms of our home, but there is also a huge selection of diffusers available on Amazon. I recommend checking reviews before ordering.
• Lympha Rub from Trilight Health: This is great rub for swollen lymph nodes, especially if you don’t want to mix your own essential oils and herbs. This link will give you 20% off your first order with Trilight.
• Clear Lungs: I learned about this herbal blend when all four of our kids and I had the flu back in 2019. It became part of our daily healing regimen for me to give the kids a capsule of it broken into a cup of applesauce. It gave me so much peace of mine when my asthmatic kids, especially, were battling such a severe illness.
• Umcka: I LOVE this, and when I discovered it in 2019, I thought: Where have you been all my life? Umcka is a homeopathic medicine combined with herbs and the umcka root plant. It makes for a very powerful and healing natural medicine. I noticed a difference within a very short time of taking it. It especially helped calm the cough that accompanied my flu virus in 2019. It’s now our go-to “medicine” for any respiratory illness. I really feel it elevates symptoms and also shortens the illness. If you don’t like liquids, Umcka also comes in chewables and powder form.
• Plant Therapy Respiratory blends: These are effective and afforable essential oil blends.

Ear

Thankfully, we have not had to deal with ear infections for several years, but my middle daughter had several when she was a baby. This is what worked for us:

• colloidal silver: I put drops of this in my daughter’s ears, and it really helped! It’s almost like a natural alternative to antibiotics!
• garlic oil drops: I would rotate garlic and colloidal silver.
• Trilight Health EarAche Wellness Relief Kit : This is a great kit to keep on hand if you have little ones who are prone to ear aches and infections. This link will give you 20% off your first order with Trilight.

Taking our daughter off of dairy and getting her chiropractic adjustments also helped with ear infections.

First Aid

• bentonite clay: This is a must-have! We love the Redmond Clay brand that is already hydrated. If you order directly from Redmond, you can get 15% off with this link. We use this on cuts, scrapes, burns, bug bites–you name it! 
• lavender essential oil : Also great on scrapes, cuts, burns.
• frankincense essentil oil: I recently used this to remove an ingrown hair bump. It’s also great for just about any area that needs healing.
• diy coconut oil stick: I honestly haven’t made this yet myself, but we use plain coconut oil for soothing cuts, etc. all the time.
• homemade antibacterial hand soap(or you can buy some non-toxic soap refills here)
• arnica pellets for pain
• Ouchie by Rocky Mountain Oils
• Earth Mama Organics Eczema Cream

Stomach

• activated charcoal: I’m certain this kept me from getting the stomach virus even when the rest of my family fell ill!
• peppermint essential oil–diluted with coconut oil and rubbed on the abdomen
• ginger tea: Ginger is great for calming nausea.
• probiotics : These are also great for daily health!
• bentonite clay (on Amazon): This is great to dissolve in water. It absorbs any toxins causing the discomfort. If you order directly from Redmond (which I recommend), you can get 15% off with this link and using code “humbledhomemaker.”
• Gut Aid by Plant Therapy
• Apple Cider Vinegar Complex

Cold/Cough/Flu

• elderberry syrup: I like for us to take this to build up our immune systems all winter long, but it’s also great for respiratory health! This is our preferred brand that we get on Amazon, but we recently started making our own syrup with Lexie’s DIY kit as well. My kids prefer the Yum V’s Immune Shield gummies. I love that they are sweetened with xylitol instead of sugar; however, xylitol is extremely toxic to dogs, so take care if you have one.
• neti pot: I LOVE using this to clear out my nasal passages! It is very important to use clean water with this. We usually boil our water first and then let it cool.
• Vitamin C : We up our vitamin C when we feel sick, but we also take it daily during the winter months.
• Vitamin D3: Vitamin D3 is vital to immune health! Like Vitamin C, we take it daily during the winter months, but I make sure we are getting good Vitamin D3 if one of us is ill.
• Echinacea: We give these echinacea drops to our kids, while hubby and I take echinacea capsules.
• I also really love this echinacea-elder tea and have also used this echinacea-goldenseal blend.
• oregano essential oil: diluted with coconut oil and rubbed on the feet
• zinc–for extra immune health
• garlic: Garlic capsules  are easy to swallow, but raw garlic is always best.
• air purifier : We keep one of these in our living room year round.
• bath salts or bentonite clay  to take a detox bath
• Immune Boom by Plant Therapy
• Cold Calm: These homeopathic tablets dissolve in your mouth and can seriously lesson symptoms!

• Oscillococcinum: These homeopathic pellets can help elevate flu-like symptoms.

In this post, I wrote about 10 natural ways to prevent colds and the flu from items in your natural medicine cabinet.

Sore Throat

• Throat Coat tea: LOVE this!
• raw, local honey mixed with cinnamon
• lemon water

Aches and Pains

• arnica cream
• bath salts or bentonite clay  to take a detox bath
• Muscle Aloe Gel
• Deep Blue rub essential oil blend or cream–or a blend of spearmint essential oil and peppermint essential oil

Insomnia

• lavender essential oil: rub on the bottom of your feet for a good night’s sleep!
• bath salts or bentonite clay to take a detox bath before bed
• Cal/Mag: This is a relaxing drink great for before bed. I began drinking it during pregnancy. It can also help with leg pain during pregnancy.
• magnesium: This really helps to get a good night’s sleep.
• melatonin: This helps regulate your sleep.
• magnesium lotion: My husband swears up and down that this lotion is magical and gives him the most restful sleep he’s ever experienced.

Headaches

• peppermint essential oil
• bath salts or bentonite clay  to take a detox bath

Seasonal Allergies

• saline solution
• neti pot
• raw, local honey
• lemon essential oil
• lavender essential oil
• eucalyptus essential oil 

Read more of my tips for natural medicine cabinet allergy relief here.

PMS

• Trilight Health’s Female Formula: This link will give you 20% off your first order with Trilight.
• Clary Sage Essential Oil
• heating pad

What if you’re reading this and you’re already sick and can’t get to the store to get any of these supplies!

I feel your pain! When our family was sick with the flu in the winter of 2019, and my husband was away at work, I utilized Instacart for the first time.

While I don’t use this service on a regular basis, it was a huge godsend to me when I could not get out to shop for medicine and food!

As well, you may want to consider using Prime Pantry from Amazon and ordering meals from a service like Home Chef or Splendid Spoon.

While none of these are services that make it into my regular routine, if I were stuck at home sick for a long period, I would definitely use them.

What’s in your natural medicine cabinet?