Everyone wants to have a clean and healthy home for their families, but not always the time to deep clean like we want to. Make the most of your time with smarter solutions for getting in the places where germs, dust and other nasty home ‘dwellers’ hide out.
Bathroom Blitz-
When your children are old enough sit in the tub and play safely on their own, you can get the bathroom sanitary during that 20 minute bath time. Distilled white vinegar will kill most of the bathroom germs without having to worry about the kids in the tub will be inhaling something that you’d rather they not.
-Toilet: This is where most of the germs in the bathroom hide. Urine is sterile but the other things that head down that drain are not. Flushing can send these germs, bacteria and fungus’ into the air. Pour two cups of vinegar or another disinfectant into the bowl and then spray the hard surfaces of the toilet including the rim and handle. Let sit for ten minutes –while you’re cleaning something else. Wipe the outside and scrub the bowl with a brush.
-Sink: Spray your sink with vinegar and wipe. Don’t forget to wipe down the handles and faucet as well.
-Shower door: Spraying your glass shower door with vinegar can prevent residue from building up
Kitchen after breakfast or lunch-
Most families eat breakfast or lunch in the kitchen either sitting at the counter or island. During that time you can tackle the kitchen cleanup that will leave things more sanitary.
-Surfaces: spray countertops, sinks, cupboard fronts, taps and faucets with a disinfectant or vinegar and let sit for 10 minutes.
-Refrigerator: Dump leftovers that are past their eat by date. Check all the drawers and toss out all withered or moldy produce.
-Replace old sponges
Enough said.
-Trash: Before you put a new bag in the can, spray down the sides and wipe clean. Because bags can leak or overflow, bacteria can collect in the bottom of the bin.
-Sink: You may think that your sink is the dirtiest place in your kitchen, but you may be surprised to find that it’s actually under your sink that holds the most grime. Take out everything. Wipe hard surfaces clean with spray or vinegar. Toss out old cleaning products.
-Floor: After the kids are done eating spray the floor with a disinfectant or vinegar and let them use dirty dish towels to wipe it clean. Toss the towel into the laundry room
Laundry Room-
When you think about cleaning your laundry room you think about changing the lint trap and maybe sweeping the floors. Behind your appliances actually holds the worst allergens such as dust mites and mold.
Grab a trash bag. Move the machine—don’t worry it’s easier than you think. If it’s not most stores sell furniture coasters to help make the job smoother. Use a dust cloth or vacuum to get up all the loose lint and dust. Spray surfaces with disinfectant or vinegar and wipe, no need to let sit. Throw away any detergent junk that has accumulated.
Knick Knacks-
Believe it or not your little treasures attract the worst domestic germ for you health: dust. The worst culprits are silk flowers and other artificial plants, newspapers and magazines, stuffed animals and picture frames. You don’t have to toss out everything, but get rid of those things you don’t really need to keep in order to keep your home healthier.
How low can you go:
Periodically look under your furniture. Take 20 minutes, grab a dust cloth and dust, in your high traffic rooms:
-under the couch
-under the tables or entertainment centers
-under the stereo, computer or other large electronics
-In the floor vents (a favorite place for dust to hide)
And if you want to be more thorough in any of these dusting activities, use a hand vacuum or buy a micro-fiber dust cloth.
As always, this blogger suggests printing out a list, buying pre-cut laminate (sold at most stores in office supplies) and use a dry erase marker to check off your progress over and over.
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