Entryways see a lot of traffic obviously but they also see a wide range of temperature swings, changing currents of air, more spiders, etc. Using the folded face cloth technique from the 4TH week of January, wipe the walls and woodwork around the doorways. This can be a pretty quick wipe with a merely damp cloth. No need to dwell on it, just a quick wipey-wipey. You are going for dust mostly. Take up all of the mats and small rugs you can pick up and take them outside for a good shake. Mind which way the wind is blowing so it doesn't blow back toward the door. I like to shake the rugs, etc out as I walk backward so I don't get so dirty. After you're done shaking everything out, dust yourself off because now you do have dust on you and you are fixing to take it back inside.
If you've had a "sick house" lately, with colds and sniffles, this a good time to give a quick wipey-wipey to the switch plates, door handles (fridge, cabinets, microwave, etc all have door handles, too) with a disinfectant. A "dis infect ant", by definition destroys micro-organisms found on non-living objects. I will go into cleaning chemistry soon enough, so just go with what you know.
If your winters are cold enough for water to condense on the window sills (I've seen it condense on toilets also) give this area a bit of disinfectant also as this is perfect for mold spores to set up camp. This is a great time to wipe the inside of the windows, especially in the kitchen and bathrooms. These areas see a lot of variable humidity, the moisture collects on the relatively cooler window glass and takes impurities from the air with it. What a great time to have clean windows to let the increasing sunlight in.
Run your bed pillows, comforters and stuffed animals through the dryer on hot for 15 or 20 minutes or fluff them out in the below freezing temps or if it is less than 50% humidity. Get them out on the clothes line or shake them out and lay them over the porch railing. You want to get fresh air to flow through the fibers, so fluff them with that in mind. Direct sunlight has a cleansing effect if you live closer to the Equator and don't get the purifying winter weather. Since I'm at 44 degrees latitude here in Auburn, Maine, we don't get the direct sun so much. The goal here is to get dust and dust mites out of your bedding, see 3RD week of January.
Speaking of sunlight, during this time of year (or during the early and late parts of the day in the southern climes) when the sun comes in at a slant, you can really see the dust. I take advantage of the light and wipe the bottom 3 or 4 inches of all the furniture legs because you can really see it. Foot and vacuum traffic through carpeted rooms kick up dust and the heaviest stuff lands quickly, right on the legs of your furniture and baseboards. On hardwood floors, not only does the dust down low show, but the 2 or so inches of floor around the furniture legs shows dust the floor tool doesn't quite reach.
Focus on your vacuuming and dusting techniques as these tasks are especially important when your home is closed off to the weather. Make sure to dust the heat sources, carefully of course, don't wipe your swiffer over the woodstove, OK? Safety First is best accomplished if you can keep your mind on the task at hand. I look at housework (actually almost everything) as a game, just like Minecraft or Grand Theft Auto. You've got a mission, tools to use either poorly or wielded well, time limit is up to you. The foes you are up against are biologicals (mold, bugs, virus, bacteria..) and fluffy stuff (dust, fur, fibers) and grit, grime and goo. "They Are Going Down, kapow!" I'm also big on sound effects so I use them often (uuuurch, vroooom). Avoid the traps and pitfalls, such as knocking something over, missing a spot, tripping over cords and thresholds, getting dizzy from standing up too fast and the worst, bumping your head on something. Oh, don't jam your fingers, either, or cut yourself sliding your hand under the baseboard heat. There's hazards alright, but when you get done, you'll have kicked it and it will stay kicked for days, a week probably and you'll smile as you strut from room to room, "yea, that's right...I kicked it and it looks goood in here".
Another aspect of focusing on technique is to consider the exercise you are getting. It's a good workout IF you are mindful of your posture as you go whipping around, otherwise it's a chore not only for your schedule but for your body. When you are down on hands and knees wiping the edges of the hard floors for instance, be mindful of your back. Slowly, arch up like a cat and drop it down the other way to keep yourself limber. Before you stand up again, sit back with your haunches on your ankles (if you can, safety first) and stretch your arms and shoulders forward, along the floor, child's pose for yoga people. Then slowly come up with your feet firmly under yourself and come straight up using your legs and not your back. Breathe slowly and center yourself. No, really, if you have to stand up and squat down and bend all around doing this housework, you might as well do it with some benefit to your physique and well being. With all of the push-pull of mopping and vacuuming, I go into a mild squat, plie' or horse stance (depending on if you are an athlete, a dancer or practice Tai Chi) and put the handle of the tool at or near waist level and use more leg strength than back strength, then I walk forward and backward about a fast as a bride walks down the aisle. I don't stand in one place, push and pull this weighty power tool back and forth unless I have to get around furniture. My weak link is my lower back so that's how I do it. Take your own weak link, be it knees, wrists, bad attitude... into consideration and use housekeeping to strengthen instead of wearing you out. As you push the vac forward, just slide the nose of the vac up to the wall or couch and hold it there for 2 seconds. The motor is loud and hopefully you are wearing ear plugs, so maybe you can't tell you are slamming the device around. There is no need of that, just put it where you want it, it's your vac, your place, your hands, take it easy and just take care of the task. If you are going to vacuum for more than just a few minutes, consider wearing hearing protection. The vac may not be the loudest noise you'll ever make but it is pretty constant and it's the consistency of the same loud sound that flattens your hearing. Don't do that to yourselves.
I guess that's enough for now, my babies. Next week, I'll put some suggestions out there on how to get housework to be a team sport.
If you've had a "sick house" lately, with colds and sniffles, this a good time to give a quick wipey-wipey to the switch plates, door handles (fridge, cabinets, microwave, etc all have door handles, too) with a disinfectant. A "dis infect ant", by definition destroys micro-organisms found on non-living objects. I will go into cleaning chemistry soon enough, so just go with what you know.
If your winters are cold enough for water to condense on the window sills (I've seen it condense on toilets also) give this area a bit of disinfectant also as this is perfect for mold spores to set up camp. This is a great time to wipe the inside of the windows, especially in the kitchen and bathrooms. These areas see a lot of variable humidity, the moisture collects on the relatively cooler window glass and takes impurities from the air with it. What a great time to have clean windows to let the increasing sunlight in.
Run your bed pillows, comforters and stuffed animals through the dryer on hot for 15 or 20 minutes or fluff them out in the below freezing temps or if it is less than 50% humidity. Get them out on the clothes line or shake them out and lay them over the porch railing. You want to get fresh air to flow through the fibers, so fluff them with that in mind. Direct sunlight has a cleansing effect if you live closer to the Equator and don't get the purifying winter weather. Since I'm at 44 degrees latitude here in Auburn, Maine, we don't get the direct sun so much. The goal here is to get dust and dust mites out of your bedding, see 3RD week of January.
Speaking of sunlight, during this time of year (or during the early and late parts of the day in the southern climes) when the sun comes in at a slant, you can really see the dust. I take advantage of the light and wipe the bottom 3 or 4 inches of all the furniture legs because you can really see it. Foot and vacuum traffic through carpeted rooms kick up dust and the heaviest stuff lands quickly, right on the legs of your furniture and baseboards. On hardwood floors, not only does the dust down low show, but the 2 or so inches of floor around the furniture legs shows dust the floor tool doesn't quite reach.
Focus on your vacuuming and dusting techniques as these tasks are especially important when your home is closed off to the weather. Make sure to dust the heat sources, carefully of course, don't wipe your swiffer over the woodstove, OK? Safety First is best accomplished if you can keep your mind on the task at hand. I look at housework (actually almost everything) as a game, just like Minecraft or Grand Theft Auto. You've got a mission, tools to use either poorly or wielded well, time limit is up to you. The foes you are up against are biologicals (mold, bugs, virus, bacteria..) and fluffy stuff (dust, fur, fibers) and grit, grime and goo. "They Are Going Down, kapow!" I'm also big on sound effects so I use them often (uuuurch, vroooom). Avoid the traps and pitfalls, such as knocking something over, missing a spot, tripping over cords and thresholds, getting dizzy from standing up too fast and the worst, bumping your head on something. Oh, don't jam your fingers, either, or cut yourself sliding your hand under the baseboard heat. There's hazards alright, but when you get done, you'll have kicked it and it will stay kicked for days, a week probably and you'll smile as you strut from room to room, "yea, that's right...I kicked it and it looks goood in here".
Another aspect of focusing on technique is to consider the exercise you are getting. It's a good workout IF you are mindful of your posture as you go whipping around, otherwise it's a chore not only for your schedule but for your body. When you are down on hands and knees wiping the edges of the hard floors for instance, be mindful of your back. Slowly, arch up like a cat and drop it down the other way to keep yourself limber. Before you stand up again, sit back with your haunches on your ankles (if you can, safety first) and stretch your arms and shoulders forward, along the floor, child's pose for yoga people. Then slowly come up with your feet firmly under yourself and come straight up using your legs and not your back. Breathe slowly and center yourself. No, really, if you have to stand up and squat down and bend all around doing this housework, you might as well do it with some benefit to your physique and well being. With all of the push-pull of mopping and vacuuming, I go into a mild squat, plie' or horse stance (depending on if you are an athlete, a dancer or practice Tai Chi) and put the handle of the tool at or near waist level and use more leg strength than back strength, then I walk forward and backward about a fast as a bride walks down the aisle. I don't stand in one place, push and pull this weighty power tool back and forth unless I have to get around furniture. My weak link is my lower back so that's how I do it. Take your own weak link, be it knees, wrists, bad attitude... into consideration and use housekeeping to strengthen instead of wearing you out. As you push the vac forward, just slide the nose of the vac up to the wall or couch and hold it there for 2 seconds. The motor is loud and hopefully you are wearing ear plugs, so maybe you can't tell you are slamming the device around. There is no need of that, just put it where you want it, it's your vac, your place, your hands, take it easy and just take care of the task. If you are going to vacuum for more than just a few minutes, consider wearing hearing protection. The vac may not be the loudest noise you'll ever make but it is pretty constant and it's the consistency of the same loud sound that flattens your hearing. Don't do that to yourselves.
I guess that's enough for now, my babies. Next week, I'll put some suggestions out there on how to get housework to be a team sport.
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