- If you spill, clean it up right away. The longer it stays, on your counter, on your floor, on your upholstery, the harder it will be to clean up.
- Vacuum your floors and carpet regularly. According to The Carpet and Rug Institute, "Removing loose soil while it remains on the carpet surface prevents dirt from being ground into the carpet pile and can help preserve the cushiness of your carpet." It is also the best way to free your air of allergens. When people are buying an Air Purifier due to allergies, we first ask if they have a good vacuum cleaner. Vacuum, instead of sweeping wood floors, especially if you have allergies. Dirt and grit act like sandpaper and will scratch your wood floor.
- Keep a microfiber mop handy. We recommend the Bona Mop. After you've vacuumed your hard surface floors, running a microfiber mop over it will keep it looking clean and shiny. Get your microfiber completely wet with hot water and then wring out as much water as possible before you mop. Unlike other mops, the microfiber attracts the dirt and does not re-distribute it on your floor.
- If you splatter, clean it up right away. Keep a microfiber cloth handy in all the usual places that this could happen: near your kitchen counter, near the bathroom mirror. Those spots on the mirror that happen after you brush your teeth are much easier to get off right after you do it. If you get water on your bathroom counter, they won't spot if you wipe it up right then.
- Do regular maintenance. Keep a squeegee in the shower for shower doors, shower walls and use it. This prevents build-up and water spots. We also keep Unique Pet & Odor Eliminator (yes, humans can use it to) mixed with water in a spray bottle. About every other day, I spray the shower doors, floor, where they meet, shower walls with the mixture. Next time you finish your shower, rinse it off and use the squeegee.
- Keep a lambswool duster nearby. If you see a build-up of dust, get the duster out and use it. They don't spread the dust around. Thousands of soft, dense lambs wool fibers act as a magnet to naturally attract and hold dust particles without the use of cleaning chemicals or aerosols.
- Keep clutter to a minimum. It is easier to clean and better for your indoor air quality. Clutter gets in the way, collects more dust and can affect our overall sense of well-being. Use baskets or other containers to store the clutter that collects in your house and store those out of your living areas, like in a closet. Also, keep an empty basket or two to gather up junk out of your living room to re-distribute it in its proper place.
- A Place for Everything and Everything in its Place. Make sure where you keep your items is close to where you use them. I just did a reorganization of my kitchen because I realized how much time I was spending putting things away and that things stayed out longer because of this. Re-evaluate how and what you use and keep the things you use frequently nearby and store lesser-used items in out of the way places.
- Replace disposables with reusable items. We have eliminated paper towels in our house and retail store. We keep a good supply of microfiber cloths for all jobs and have a designated hamper or bucket to keep the used ones until we wash them. I even have old flour sack towels I use to soak up grease from food when I cook. Washing them in hot water makes them able to be used again and again for that same job. We no longer use paper napkins, replacing them, instead with cloth. We use glass straws. All this cuts down on the garbage we throw out, making less work for us and helping the environment at the same time. Modern conveniences sometimes cost more time and usually take a toll on Mother Nature.
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