Banish Clutter Forever

August 14th, 2008 by Kristyne McDaniel

De-cluttering before packing is an important aspect of preparing to move - because it allows you to decide what you’ll need for the new house, what you’ll have room for, and what you won’t.

The most important thing to remember when de-cluttering is that you’ll be making room and getting rid of emotional baggage, whilst lowering your moving bills. An average four person house requires at least a seven tonne van to move, whilst a house that doesn’t de-clutter might need twice that!

De-cluttering can be considered essential or heartless - but either way, moving house is one of the best times to do a proper de-clutter - in fact sometimes, its the only ’spring clean’ that some people do. And while its always good to hang onto things of sentimental value, do you really need a newspaper from 1985 with an article about something that you needed to follow up within a week of the printing?

Get rid of any papers that you don’t need (though keep all important documentation) - consider donating any magazines, books, old toys or clothes in good condition to a local charity - or sell them on Ebay or similar, to make some cash.

These donations and sales make mental and space sense - you’re not wasting perfectly good items you will probably never use again, and you could sell the really good condition items in a variety of places. You could hold a yard sale, or garage or even a car boot sale - or if you have enough time, auction them online, either via a recognized site, or through your own website, if you have the know how - getting rid of the things you don’t need is both very freeing and releasing, and can actually generate you some extra money for the move. You could even sell off surplus office, or craft supplies, if you have them spare, making your home office move leaner, and easier.

July 27th, 2008 by Kristyne McDaniel

Bathrooms seem to be notorious for becoming cluttered and unkempt.  Between small makeup compacts, medicine bottles, hair accessories, razors and the like, it can be quite easy to lose things in the shuffle.  Assess your bathroom and its contents and utilize a few simple ideas and you’ll find more space and tranquility as a result.

First, take a good look at your medicine cabinets.  Ironically, it’s probably not a good idea to store medicine in your medicine cabinet, as most bathrooms become hot and humid during showers and baths, and can be detrimental to medication that requires being stored at room temperature.  Don’t keep medicines past their expiration date, even if you’ve never opened them or have used them very little.  Try storing your medications on a high shelf in your linen closet with a lock-tight lid.  This will help lengthen their shelf life as well as keep them out of reach of curious little hands.

The same should be done with old makeup.  Generally speaking, most makeup will last about 18-24 months, with the exception of mascara, which lasts about three months, and liquid eyeliner, which lasts about three to six months.  Nail polish generally only holds up for about a year, so if you have any older than that, get rid of them.  And since many makeup products have animal-based ingredients, it’s also important to pay attention to how they smell.  If they smell like they’ve gone bad, they probably have, so toss them. Try using a permanent marker to mark the purchase date on the back of the item, so that way you won’t have to try to remember just how long it’s been since you purchased something.

If you take a look in your favorite discount store’s home organization aisle,  you’ll find lots of inexpensive storage containers that can easily be utilized in bathroom drawers, under the sink, and for shower and bathtub areas as well.  Since bathrooms are full of small things, they can easily be organized in small bins, baskets or boxes.

June 6th, 2008 by Kristyne McDaniel

Keeping your swimming pool nice and clean is easier than ever these days due to the ever increasing amount of quality cleaning accessories.  There are many tools to choose from, including skimmers, brushes, and vacuum heads.  These tools make pool maintenance easier than ever, meaning that you can spend more time swimming and less time cleaning.

The more specialized tools that are used to clean swimming pools include leaf skimmers, leaf rakes, brushes, corner brushes, pool sweeps, grids and cartridges for the filter, motors and pumps, pool filters, and many more.  Most of these accessories are a must have, especially for those who have trees around their pool.  Leafs in the water can be very annoying and distracting, and should be removed on a frequent basis.

The biggest aspect to keeping your pool nice and clean is to make sure that the care of your water is always up to date.  There are many water care products that you can buy, including balancing chemicals, sanitizes, chemicals to treat algae, stain treatment products, water testing kits, and saltwater systems.  Normally, chlorine is used as a sanitizer, as it helps to get rid of and prevent any organic material that exists in the water.

By using chlorine in your pool, you will greatly reduce the load that organic material puts on the filter.  The regular maintenance of your pH balance and the right levels of alkalinity are also very important to keeping your pool clean.  You should also make sure that you check your calcium as well.  The pump that you use is also important, as it will prevent the waste of energy.  To make things easier on yourself, you can get an automatic pool cleaner that will do just about everything for you.

To get the right amount of chlorine feed, you’ll need to use hand feeding or tablet feeding.  This will ensure that you get the right amount of chlorine in the water.  Chlorine is also important for protecting skin, although you should try not to swallow water that has chlorine in it.  There are saltwater chlorine generators out there as well, which are one of the most popular ways to get the right amount of chlorine in your water.

As long you use the proper cleaning supplies and products with your pool, you’ll be able to enjoy fresh and clean water whenever you decide to go swimming.  Keeping your water clean is also healthy for your skin, and anyone else who gets in your pool.  You should always make sure that you have cleaning supplies on hand, and check your water on a frequent basis.  You can get a pool testing kit for a little of nothing - which will more than pay for itself when you decide to check your water.

May 27th, 2008 by Kristyne McDaniel

When purchasing your barbeque grill, think of it as an investment rather then just another item for your outdoor entertainment. You should expect this item to become a large part of your outdoor activities for many years to come. But like any other investments, proper maintenance and care is needed to ensure that your barbecue grill will work for you for many years to come.

Leaving you grill messy after each use will not only make it harder on you when you finally do clean the grill, but it will also drastically decrease the lifespan of your grill. If you grill sits dirty, you increase the risk of rust.

While some maintenance and cleaning is specific to the type of barbeque grill your own (gas, electric, charcoal or smoke barbecue grill), the majority of maintenance that should be carried on does not change from grill to grill.

Step 1- Gathering The Necessary Items

You will need some common household items on hand when it comes time to clean your barbecue grill.

• Brass wire grill brush
• Steel wool pads, preferably that contains soap already.
• Mild dish soap
• Sponge or dishcloth
• Spray cooking oil
• Dry baking soda
• Aluminum foil

Step 2- Brushing Your Grill Off

The first thing that should always be done to your grill is a routine brushing. Using your brass wire grill brush (or other brush suitable to your type of grill) you should brush off all the surfaces. By routinely brushing your barbeque grill, you will prevent any type of buildup. If buildup from food is left to long, it can become increasingly difficult to remove, and can end up causing problems such as rust.

Step 3- Spray Cooking Oil

Once you are sure that your grill is free of all buildup and debris, and that your grill is completely cooled off, you will want to spray it down with a light layer of cooking oil. Spraying it down with cooking oil will prevent your barbeque grill from rusting. It is especially important to make sure you barbeque grill is completely cold, as spraying cooking oil on a hot surface may cause the oil to heat up and ignite, which could be potentially dangerous to you and your barbeque grill.

Step 4- Use Baking Soda and Aluminum Foil on Your Grill

Baking soda is a very nice cleaning and polishing agent. Once you have removed any extra debris and buildup, lightly scrubbing your barbeque grill with baking soda will give it that extra shine, similar to the day that you brought it home from the store. This can also be used on handles and knobs to remove any extra buildup tat cannot be taken off with a wire brush.

Aluminum foil can also be used to keep your grill looking nice. Gently rub the aluminum foil on your grill, and you will notice that it removes grim and buildup. This is a cheap and inexpensive way to clean your grill.

Step 5- Clean Your Racks

The racks in your grill are especially important as this is where the food touches when it is cooking. You will have to use the wire brush to remove as much buildup as possible. Once you remove as much as possible, start washing the racks with dish soap. If the racks are really dirty, you may also want to use the steel wool pads. Be sure to completely rinse off all soap and residue before cooking on these racks again.

May 12th, 2008 by Kristyne McDaniel

We have harmful chemicals and radicals in the air that affect our health. Recent studies showed that most homes have PBDE, which is a hazardous chemical. We also fight radiation, dust mites, mold, dust, mildew and other irritants daily. Sometimes it is difficult to find allergy relief, yet we must take action to save our health.

High-efficient air filters can help battle most microns and chemicals in the air. In addition, if we dust and vacuum our homes regularly it can reduce irritants in the air. Particulate air filters can help you to avoid circulating dust back into the air.

You will find vacuums that do not use filters. This is ideal, since touching the filters after cleaning can cause allergy outbreaks. Always clean your hands after dusting, cleaning or touching anything that may have germs or bacteria around the area.

You can take Vitamin C and clean your hands regularly to avoid irritants that may cause allergy outbreaks. In the spring and summer, months invite outdoor air into your home. Open your doors or windows on warm days. Ventilation and fresh air will help reduce PBDE chemicals, as well as other radicals that come into the home.

During winter or cold days use a humidifier or dehumidifier to keep away irritants in your home. Dust, pollen, dust mites, mold, dander, mildew and so on often stay away from cooler climates.

How to avoid irritants that affect the respiratory:
Recent studies lead to the discovery that ionizes or generating ionizes filters or purifiers, such as the stand-alones affects the respiratory system. Use products that you know have proven to reduce irritants in the air without affecting the respiratory system.

In the summer months, instead of using an air-conditioner, which produces artificial air, open the doors or windows and use a humidifier.

How filters reduce irritants:
You should purchase the MERV filters. The high-quality filters will remove most particles from the air. Use the higher MERV filtration units for best result. Change your filters as recommended.

Foam packed furniture does not have harsh chemicals that affect the sinus or respiratory. If you do not have foam based furnishing in your home, perhaps you might want to consider the latest dream mattresses and so on.

Fact: Did you know that many cell phones and computers have a chemical that has linked to cancer? Learn more about PBDE products.

If we sit and worried each day about the things that affect our health, we’d worry ourselves to death. Instead of worrying about things you have no control over, stand up and take control of the things you do have control of, find allergy relief.

How dust mites cause allergies:
Dust mites can hide. They are not seen by the human eye. To avoid these critters you will need to consider bedding and furniture that is not made up upholstery types of material. Foam is recommended. However, you can purchase bedding, such as pillowcases, blankets, and sheets and so on to reduce dust mites.

Dust mites cannot survive in climates below 39 degrees. We certainly do not want a home with this level of coolness. Still, we can use dehumidifiers, purifiers and humidifiers to keep dust mites at bay.

Dust mites can cause swelling eyes, running nose, congestion, headaches and so on. The allergic symptoms emerging from dust mites affects over 80% of those diagnosed with allergies and most do not know that they are allergic to these spider mites.

To learn more about these mites visit your doctor. Your doctor will provide you with pamphlets or other information related to these allergic conditions. Most doctors today are studying allergies stronger than at one time, since allergic problems is hitting the charts and causing serious illnesses to emerge.

May 1st, 2008 by Kristyne McDaniel

All across the United States, there are many homeowners that have pools in their backyards.  Unfortunately, not all backyards are the same.  This means that although your neighbor’s pool may require only a small amount of maintenance and cleaning, yours may require more. Regardless of the debris in your backyard, your pool will need to be cleaned. You just may have to clean it more often than others.  Whether you clean your aboveground pool on a regular basis or whenever it needs it, you will have to purchase pool cleaning supplies.

Pool cleaning supplies are often considered a pool accessory.  This is because when you purchase an aboveground pool, cleaning supplies are typically not included. Therefore, you will need to purchase your aboveground pool cleaning supplies separately.  If you are a new pool owner or if you have never purchased pool cleaning supplies before, you may be wondering what supplies are right for your aboveground pool. To find the perfect cleaning supplies for your pool, you are advised to familiarize yourself with all of your options.

One of the ways that you can familiarize yourself with cleaning supplies, for aboveground pools, is by browsing through the products that are currently available for sale. You can easily do this by visiting the website of an online pool supply store or by visiting your local pool supply store.  In addition to pool supply stores, you may find other retailers, including sports stores and department stores, that carry pool cleaning supplies.

While browsing through the cleaning supplies at a pool supply store, is a great way to learn about cleaning products, it will not necessarily keep you informed. Anyone can look at a store shelf or a product description, but those things will not enable you to determine which products are the easiest and most effective ways to clean your aboveground pool. That is why you may also want to consider using the internet to research pool cleaning supplies.

When using the internet to research pool cleaning supplies, it is likely that you will find manual cleaning supplies and automatic cleaning supplies. Popular automatic cleaning supplies include pool vacuums.  Pool vacuums are an ideal way to clean your pool with as little hassle as possible.  There are some vacuums that may also be considered manual; however, there others that are completely automatic. Pool vacuums that can operate without your assistance are often referred to as robotic pool vacuums.

If given the opportunity, most aboveground pool owners would choose to have automatic cleaning supplies.  However, not everyone prefers to go with the most modernized equipment.  If you are one of those individuals, you may want to examine manual pool cleaners. Many times, these manual cleaners include skimmers and scrub brushes.

While you may only want to purchase one type of aboveground pool cleaner, you may want to consider purchasing both. Despite the fact that automatic pool cleaners are nice, they do take some time to clean the pool. This means that if you are looking to take a quick swim, you may not have time to clean your pool.  If you have a skimmer or another similar product on hand, you could easily give your pool a quick clean before going for a swim.

Whether you are interested in purchasing manual cleaners, automatic cleaners, or both, you are advised to do so right away. The longer that your pool goes without cleaning; the harder it will be to clean. That is why it is advised that you always have the adequate amount of pool cleaning supplies or equipment on hand.