In other news, I finally found my camera and cord to upload so I've got some pictures to share. This last month or so, I've been doing a lot of cleaning. I spent a good 8 hours cleaning our apartment top to bottom to make sure we didn't get fined. Then when we moved into our temporary house, it had been vacant for a while and needed some touch ups. When we finally got our house, it too had been vacant for a while and needed a good cleaning - I prefer knowing I've gotten rid of the previous owner's germs and living with my own.
So here are some tips that I hope you can use...
1.Start at the top and work your way down. This is especially important when dusting bookshelves, fans, blinds, etc. All the dust that doesn't get trapped in your duster is going to settle on the floor so don't vacuum until after that is done. Check out the thick layer on the blinds in our new house...blech!
2. Give your vacuum a good clean before and after your clean. I usually empty the canister after I'm done with mine, but this time I gave the filter and brush a good cleaning. Starting with them clean with help maximize their efficiency.
This is what came off of my vacuum's brush...apparently I shed like an animal. Needless to say it did a much better job of picking up stuff after this was gone.
3. Go through your stuff as you clean - if you don't use it and it's in the way, say goodbye. I really hit this hard while packing. I figured there was no reason to pack and move it just to have it take up space at our new house or donate it once we got it there.
4. There are two ways I like to go about cleaning: either do one room at a time or one task at a time. I've done both and I guess it just depends on my mood. When I don't have to move a lot around I usually do one task at a time, like dusting everything in one room then moving onto the next room. This works well for windows too. Either way you choose to do it, try to keep it manageable so you don't get overwhelmed.
5. Use green cleaning products. I mention this one because I've come across a bunch of articles lately telling about the harm regular chemicals can cause babies, pregnant moms, and really anyone. The chemicals can be absorbed through the skin so it's important to know what you're cleaning with.
Just recently Fox News published an article about Children's Health called "'Greening' Your Baby From Head to Toe"
The article talks about the best things you can do to expose your child to fewer chemicals; organic formula and foods, an organic mattress, and cleaning products.
"Go into your cabinets and throw out everything that has a long list of ingredients you can't understand," said Kligler.
Once you've accomplished that task, it's time buy some new supplies.
"Go for environmentally friendly products," said Greene. "Studies have shown during pregnancy the use of certain cleaning products can lead to a higher risk of asthma."
And just yesterday I watched an ABC Good Morning America Health segment and they talked about pesticide exposure. A recent study found that exposure to certain pesticides during pregnancy is harmful to your child's development possibly lowering their IQ. The researcher also mentions that there are so many other pesticides and chemicals we know even less about and it's a good idea to avoid these chemicals all together.
Progress report:
Our house is still a mess. Painting has been taking forever so most everything is still in boxes. I have so many projects running around in my head, but one at a time. I'm currently working on the pantry, it seems like a good place to start.
