How would you feel after reserving some time to make your household safer and healthier for yourself and your loved ones? Take a few moments: Try a few of these easy ways to clean and be on your way to making tremendous strides regarding cleanliness and family health, then you’ll know!
1. Clean and Replace Filters
Indoor heating and cooling is a luxury, yet dirty filters plague lazy homeowners who expose loved ones to foul air. In addition to regularly cleaning air ducts and vents, change the filters on your air and heating system for optimal health and safety. Regardless of the cleanliness of your home, a dirty filter pumps dirty, foul air into the living space.
2. Rid the Cabinet and Refrigerator
Make it a weekly habit to check the refrigerator for outdated and spoiled foods. Even if milk does not smell sour, discard the carton on or after the expiration date. Moreover, rid the medicine cabinet of dated and old prescriptions. Don’t assume a previously prescribed medicine will effectively treat a new ailment; leave such decisions to your doctors. Also, if you have young children or pets in your home, consider placing controlled substances in a secure cabinet.
3. Survey the Garage
A small home project could spell future disaster for a curious child or pet. Survey the garage for paint thinner, gasoline and other substances that exhaust fumes or present opportunity for accidental ingestion. Blue juice, popular with children and the color of windshield washer fluid, is an inviting and toxic item found in many garages. Furthermore, gadgets, tools and sharp-edged objects need be placed in locked boxes or out of reach for children or pets.
4. Inspect Outdoor Equipment
Wooden chairs, metal jungle gyms and fire pits add entertainment, comfort, and ambiance to a backyard. Yet with time, wood rots, metal rusts and a number of backyard staples suddenly pose a threat. Check the condition of furniture and take notice of rot, infestation or fungus. Moreover, through the seasons and cycles of vegetation, yards grow weeds and flowers that may cause newfound allergic reactions in family members. Inspect outdoor equipment and furniture in addition to the landscape of the yard each season.
5. Clean Green
A number of parents and homemakers have gone ‘green’ in the last decade, swapping traditional cleaners associated with harmful ingredients for others made of natural, organic components. Take things a step further: rather than buy mass-produced cleaners from manufacturers, clean and disinfect the home with common grocery staples. For example, vinegar can be used to clean the outside of the toilet bowl and counter surfaces. Adding a little baking soda and water will give the mixture the added power to address the shower, inside of the oven, and other surfaces in need of a deeper clean.
6. Dust with Alcohol
Alcohol works great on cuts and wounds, and it also pairs well with a dusting cloth to disinfect surfaces and rid your home of germs and bacteria. Easy-to-forget places, such as doorknobs and faucets, transfer germs to family members and pets. A meticulous and alcohol-supplemented rub down ensures surfaces remain clean and germs have nowhere to survive.
7. Put a Sock on the Mop
Mopping, which should be done regularly, is not needed as often as a good sweep. While Swiffer and other leading products are available for a fee, you could transform any common mop into something that achieves a similar effect. Place an old sock over your mop head. Spray the sock with your leading disinfectant for an added cleaning punch.
8. Invest in Quality
A quality vacuum will extract dirt from the floor and address multiple surfaces better than a lesser product—saving time despite the added initial investment. You should research leading manufacturers, good prices and learn about investing in quality home care products. When shopping consider the value of time saved and your family’s health in addition to price tags.
9. Line the Fridge
When it comes to the inner portion of the fridge, health takes precedence over aesthetics. Maintain a clean and polished fridge on the outside with leading products and line the inside drawers and cabinets with clear saran wrap. The wrap serves as the outer surface, so you can easily change it out rather than invest time and energy in scrubbing the refrigerator surfaces.
10. Make the Can Mobile
Make your trash mobile. Use a simple plastic bag hanging off of the stove while cooking or one that’s readily available to bring into the living room or other areas of the home for easy pickup and disposal. Whether using a series of small to large bags or cans of various sizes, keep trash on-the-go for optimal cleanliness, disposal and health.
That’s it. In the time it took to learn new methods of easy and healthy living, you could have been done with your first endeavor. Continue learning about healthy cleaning and invest time and money in quality methods and products.
Helen Turner is a retired home economics teacher who is always looking for fast and easy ways to keep her home clean. An avid writer, she then posts what she finds online. Look for her articles on many websites and blogs. For more information on cleaning your home and choosing the best vacuum visit Best Vacuum Info for product reviews.
