personal space

Jul

2021

Home Care Tips for People with Little Time

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Too busy with work to actually clean the whole house? Your home is one of the places where you should feel safe, so it is important to keep it feeling clean and safe. Here are some home care tips for people like you, who have little time to do regular home cleaning. These will save you a lot of time while allowing you to keep your home looking and feeling clean.

1. Spend 15 Minutes to Clean What You Can

Do a 15-minute cleaning routine. Schedule 15 minutes in the morning, noon or night to check all around the house and clean what you can. Put things back in their proper places, wipe and sweep and throw out what needs to be removed. This way, the number of things you need to keep in order and to clean doesn’t pile up. Doing a little every day means less stress than doing a huge cleanup all in a day. This is one of the home care tips that really works!

2. Clean As You Go and Put Things Back

Clean as you go and put things back in their proper place once you’re done using them. This is one of the easiest ways to keep things in order and looking clean. So wash the dishes after every meal including the pots and pans you used for cooking. Wipe the oil splatter on the stove top as well. Put the remote back into its place once you’re done watching TV. Store the vacuum cleaner properly as soon as you’re done using it. Also, fold the laundry as soon as you see that they’re thoroughly dry. It’s little things like these that keep your space looking clean and in order.

3. Keep Cleaning Supplies Where You Need Them

In order to have a more efficient cleaning routine, make sure that you have the cleaning supplies you need ready at all times. Keep the cleaning supplies you need each time in a caddy that you keep in one place. This way, it’s easy to take it with you wherever you go around the house to clean things up. Of course, don’t forget to put it back in it’s proper place once you’re done. You can also keep a stock of kitchen towels and cleaning spray in different spots around the house where you need to do some spot cleaning regularly.

4. Keep Your Shoe Rack by the Front Door

One of the ways to get a clean-looking home is to keep dirty shoes off your floor. Having your shoe rack near your front door helps to reduce the dust and dirt that comes into your home. Have indoor slippers for everyone to change into once they get inside the house so they can leave their shoes on the rack. Place the shoe polish and brush near the entrance too so they are easily accessible. A welcome mat is also a great way to stop dirty shoes from going any further into the house.

5. Purify the Indoor Air, Make It Smell Good

Bad odors can ruin your home’s clean atmosphere. An air purifier is a great way to keep your home looking and smelling clean and fresh. You can also create your own cozy, warm atmosphere or light and bright ambiance with the use of scented candles or diffusers. Use it as the final step to your quick cleaning routine. It will not only give you a sense of accomplishment but also signals your brain to transition to work mode since you’re done cleaning. You can even light an incense to not only purify the air but also to clean the energy in your home.

These are some ways to help you keep your home looking clean while keeping dirt and stress away. What other tips do you have to keep your home clean when you have little time?

Feature Image: Original Image by Karolina Grabowska from Pixabay.

Oct

2020

Lessons Learned from COVID-19

Reading Time: 4 minutes

The COVID-19 pandemic took everyone by surprise. No one was fully ready despite numerous warnings from scientists for a possible pandemic for decades now. Moreover, a lot of people dismissed it as an isolated case that would probably be contained in one area, just what happened in the past with the SARS, bird flus and swine flus. But the inevitable happened. The virus spread from Asia to Europe and to the Americas at a very rapid pace. And soon, everyone on the planet just woke up to a whole new world. As of this writing, more than 35 million people around the world has already been infected with over a million deaths. We can no longer undo the past but now is the time to learn the lessons from the devastating experience. As we look forward to reliving our life again in the new normal, here are lessons learned from Covid-19.

1.Health is Wealth.

People don’t generally take care of their wealth especially when young. it is common knowledge that health is the most important thing in life. Yet people only starts thinking about their health when there is already some form of illness or disease. This is because it is hard to resist unhealthy eating habits and behaviors. The pandemic reminded us to take care of our health.

In New York state, more than 80% of the total Covid-19 deaths have underlying illnesses.

Covid-19 has been dubbed as a ‘lifestyle virus’. This is because a great majority of those hospitalized, with severe symptoms and those who died have underlying illnesses. And these underlying illness are mostly lifestyle illnesses, or those illnesses associated with a person’s lifestyle. Hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, obesity and cancer are some of the lifestyle illnesses.

If we want to survive this health crisis, it is now time to rethink and change our lifestyle. Develop habits that will improve our immune system so our body can naturally be able to combat viruses and other illnesses.

2. Proper Hygiene

Good personal hygiene is the best way to protect yourself from the virus. A simple act as washing your hands with soap and water can be a life-saving action. Not only does it protects you, it also protects others. The practice of good personal hygiene can prevent you from spreading the virus to others.

3. Importance of an Emergency Fund

Because of Covid 19, many people faced reduced hours while some even lost their jobs and businesses. Unfortunately, not all people from around the world received government aid. The pandemic is not simply just a health crisis, it is also a very challenging time financially for most people. Just imagine what happened to those families who do not have an emergency fund set aside.

Going forward, now is the time to seriously consider setting aside a portion of your future income as an emergency fund. The rule of thumb is to save at least 10% of your income a month. The money jar budgeting system is the best guide on how to budget to ensure that you are ready for the next emergency.

4.Importance of Diversification

If you are a stock market investor, you probably watched in horror as the market dropped significantly. Investing in one company or one industry alone would have hit you badly especially if that industry has been greatly hit. Examples of such industries are airlines, tourism and hospitality. But if your portfolio is diversified, like you also have investments in health care or consumer goods, then you have minimized your losses. The market is very volatile and unpredictable. Diversification is the only way to manage risk.

Diversification is also applicable to all kinds of investments from real estate to businesses. For example, you invested all your money in a restaurant chain. And that restaurant closed down because of the lockdown. Another example is what you invested all your money on real estate rental properties. And because of the pandemic, the tenants all left leaving you with no income. And worse, you still have to pay mortgages for the properties. With diversification, all these scenarios could have been prevented. Always remember to not put all your eggs in one basket.

5. Having People and Healthy Relationships

Ever since the outbreak, most people have been spending their time at home. This is the perfect opportunity to spend more time with family and loved ones. It is ideal for those people who have healthy relationships with people close to them. But what about those people who have not so good relationships with their family? Being trapped at home for months with people that you cannot stand and fight with can be a nightmare.

It is the same thing for people who live alone because they don’t have living social interactions with others. In a study done by Martina Luchetti from the Florida State University College of Medicine, they found out that living alone increase the feelings of loneliness.

6. Respecting Other’s Personal Space

Respecting other people’s space is one thing that we normally taken for granted. With Covid-19, we learned how to respect other people’s space. When someone goes near us, we feel uncomfortable. In the same way that they feel uncomfortable too if we get near them. That’s why we become conscious of our space and other people’s space.

7.Having Goals and A Routine

Having daily goals and a routine is good for your mental health. Goals will give you something to look forward to. Instead of dwelling on the uncertainties of the now, your focus shifts to a dream of a better tomorrow. A routine on the other hand is a good way to combat boredom. It is also an effective way to make you feel in control during times of great stress. It will keep you busy and takes your mind off things.

8. Importance of Gratitude

With all the negative things happening around, it is so easy to fall prey into negative thinking. Instead of reading the news or opening your social media account, why not start your day with gratitude. Gratitude shifts thinking away from the negative and into the positive. Instead, gratitude makes you focus on your blessings.

How about you? What lessons have you learned from this whole Covid experience?

Photo by cottonbro from Pexels