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Nothing is quite as satisfying as coming home to a clean home. It’s pretty overwhelming to think of cleaning your home top to bottom in one go – not to mention, time-consuming – so take it room by room (or appliance by appliance) with these tried & tested spring cleaning tips by Lauren Smith McDonough and Caroline Picard from Good Housekeeping!
Your Phone
So the bad news is, your cell phone probably harbors more germs than your toilet seat! That’s why you should give it a once over with an alcohol wipe to zap germs, as well as other electronics – like your TV remote and computer mouse.
Your Bag
Take everything out, throw away the trash and random wrappers, and organize everything by category and purpose. Sort the smaller items, like pens, hand sanitizer, makeup, etc into little pouches, or purse organizers before you put them back inside. Wipe down the exterior with a disinfectant wipe while you’re at it!
Your Microwave
Enough with the random food stains – this trick will make cleaning them up much easier! Place a large microwave-safe bowl with 1 cup of water, and a chopped-up lemon, lime, orange, or several tablespoons of vinegar inside. Turn the appliance on high for several minutes, or until the solution boils and the window is steamy, and then let it sit to cool for 15 minutes before opening the door. Remove and wipe out the inside and outside with a sponge.
Your Fridge
You probably wipe down your fridge’s interior shelving on the regular already, but don’t forget about the rest. Pop out the door shelves and bins, and wash in warm, soapy water, to get rid of food bacteria and any spillage that’s occurred.
Your Kitchen Cabinets
Sticky kitchen grime is a mix of dust and grease that builds up over time. Rub the exhaust hood over your range every time you cook to keep grease from settling. To de-gunk, use a Kitchen Cabinet Cream to cut through dirt and leave shelves and doors moisturized. Do an extra pass around the door and drawer pulls and other places where grease may collect easily.
Your Junk Drawer (Everyone has one!)
Start small and pick your stash spot. Empty it out and vacuum up the dust. Toss or relocate any items you no longer need, or that don’t belong in that drawer. Everything else can go back, but in an organized matter! Repurpose mix-mated plates and bowls to store cords, stamps, and other odds and ends. Adding a nonslip liner will help keep them in place.
Your Shower Curtain
Did you know you can wash a plastic or vinyl curtain in your washing machine? Throw it in on the gentle cycle with detergent and add a couple of bath towels for extra cleaning power. Then hang it to dry. To keep the curtain cleaner longer, spritz it a few times each month with a bleach-containing all-purpose cleaner. Then just let the shower rinse it off, before you hop in!
Your Makeup Brushes
To de-gunk your favorite foundation brush, squeeze a few drops of shampoo or dish liquid into your palm, and rub the bristle tips into the soap, then gently work the suds through them. To rinse, hold the brush (bristles down) under warm running water. Gently shake over the sink to remove excess water, and lay the brush down on a paper towel to finish drying, and preserve the bristles shape and texture.
Your Shower Drain
To freshen drains (not unclog them), and help keep them free-flowing – mix ½ cup baking soda with ¼ cup table salt. Pour the mixture down the drain, followed by 1 cup of heated vinegar. It will foam and bubble – let it stand for 15 minutes. Follow by running hot tap water for at least 15-30 seconds!
Your Furniture
Pull furniture away from the walls and vacuum behind and underneath – and don’t forget about the baseboards and air vents! Then switch to the upholstery tool on your machine, and go over both sides of cushions and underneath them. The crevice tool can help de-gunk along the trim and stitching.
Your Bookshelves
After all of those cozy winter reading sessions, your library (and likely your kid’s too!) is in need of a cleanup. Take a few minutes to organize your coffee table books, bedside novels, or favorite magazines. You can alphabetize, coordinate by color, or sort by size – and take a quick wipe down of each, to get rid of the dust!
Click HERE to continue reading the full article from Good Housekeeping.
With schools being closed, virtual schools are being used to fill the gap left by in-person education. But with kids hanging out at home, how do you keep them focused on school? There are a number of simple actions you can take to make sure your kid’s eLearning assignments aren’t just getting finished, but also working effectively.
Structure a Schedule
While working or learning from home may seem like you can pop in and out of your assignments as needed, the opposite is true: having a routine and sticking to it is a surefire way to make sure your kids (and you!) are working effectively.
Waking up at the same time, having a designated work area, and knowing when to stop working for the day all work together to guarantee that the time they spend in front of the computer is productive. As an added benefit, your kids will develop strong time management skills, since they won’t have a teacher to keep them accountable for getting their work done.
Set Up a Designated Workspace
Your surroundings have a huge impact on your mood, mindset, and productivity. This goes for your kids, too! Make sure that when they’re working on assignments, they aren’t doing it on the couch while streaming television showsor while lying in bed. Separating their work areas from their play areas is important to make sure they’re staying focused on the task at hand.
While it’s easy to get distracted in areas like the living room or the bedroom, there’s another benefit to keeping work and leisure separate: you can relax in the spaces you’re supposed to. If you’re constantly working in your bedroom, you will eventually begin to associate that space with the idea of work, making it much harder to relax – or even sleep – in these areas.
Limit Distractions
A reminder: working from home still means work! Make sure your kids keep devices like cell phones, tablets, and games stored away until the end of the workday. This keeps them focused on the task at hand, and allows them to take in information and learn it easier, since their focus is totally on learning versus partially on school and partially on texting their friends.
Take a Lunch
This tip may be the most effective of them all! No matter how you’ve set your child’s workflow up, it’s important for them to take a lunch, as well as breaks a couple times an hour, to refuel and recharge. Make sure they’re getting nourishing, healthy food to keep them active and awake. Even if they aren’t hungry enough for a full meal, the thirty-minute to an hour-long break will do their brain wonders in regards to giving them a chance to recharge and tackle the rest of their day.
Whether you’ve got them set up with their own desk in a home office or you’ve cleared off the dining room table as a temporary classroom, these learning from home tips are sure to keep your kid focused for at least a little longer. For more ways to maximize your workflow while hanging out at home, be sure to like Lennar on Facebook.
