CLEANLINESS: Household

The second most important part of our live to be bothered about is the cleanliness of our homes. The home is where we live, the degree of our personal cleanliness tells on how clean our households are.

Our homes are expected to be clean, free of dust and dirt and free of germs. But the case is not always so because so little time is spent on house cleaning.

Anyone would like to come home to a house which is clean, orderly and organised; the outside world is disorganised enough as it is and we would like to be relaxed when we go home. Giving attention to the state of our home is beneficial to our health and is as vital as our personal hygiene.

Maintain a healthy environment in your home by using the following basic ideas.

·        Be conscious of germs and do not postpone cleaning your house. Clean your house at least once in a week.

·        Using a sanitizer to clean and dust surfaces; this should be done before vacuuming and include each surface that collects dust in the house (bookshelves, cabinets, photo frames, coffee tables, TV, shelves e.t.c.)

·        Vacuum the floor, rugs and carpets and sweep off cobwebs at least twice during workdays, and extensively during weekends (majorly Saturdays).

·        When sweeping, sweep towards the center of the room and not towards the walls to avoid sweeping dirt into crevices and holes where rats and insects would take delight to dwell.

·        Use disinfectants and soap to mop your house at least once a week. Mopping should be done after the other cleaning is complete and left to dry for at least 30 minutes.

·     Take extra care to avoid clutters. One major problem with house cleanliness is that if you postpone cleaning or you don’t maintain it, clutter will just pile up, and you might one day wake up with loads of stuff anywhere staring at your face.

·        In the kitchen, clear the counter, stack the pans nicely, remove items which is not use always, keep the counter always clean and clear. Clean the refrigerator, at least once a week.

·        Avoid clutter. All stuff and items should have a place in the house. Put them in their proper place. De-cluttering the house is not humongous task indeed, if you are used to where stuff are put, it should be in their proper places I.e., put all bags of children in one place, books, clothes. When you shower place your dirty clothes in the laundry basket, if you don’t have one get one today.

·        Clean your bathrooms and toilets, using good cleaning products. Cleaning your bathrooms and toilets include cleaning the sinks/wash hand basins, mirrors, shower, the walls and floor. Scrub the toilet bowls and clean the sit.

·        Use neutralising air fresheners to neutralise odours that may emanate from your toilets and bathroom from time to time.

Very Important House Cleaning Tips

* Every couple of months sprinkle a mixture of baking soda and a tablespoon of your favourite fabric softener over your mattress let it sit for an hour, and then vacuum it up. Gets rid of dust mites and freshens up the mattress. Keep that same mixture in a small mason jar with holes poked in the top in your linen or clothes closet to keep it smelling fresh!

* House smelling weird? Put two caps full of vanilla extract in a coffee cup, then place it in the oven at 300 degrees for one hour. Within twenty minutes the whole house smells like Heaven.

* Place pillows in the dryer with a couple of tennis balls to help get them back to their fluff stage and kill germs with the high heat; moulds that can grow in pillows if you do not do this.

* Dish soap + hydrogen peroxide are all it takes to get rid of even the toughest carpet stains.

The key to cleanliness is maintaining a daily habit, once you have this down to performing these thing on a regular basis, our household cleanliness will be easier to manage.