Fresh and Clean

Last night the President gave the country some updates on the situation regarding the coronavirus and what the government is doing in response to this situation as well as reminding individuals of the importance of good hygiene and playing our role in keeping ourselves and others safe from the virus.
Everywhere we turn right now we are hearing about the importance of washing our hands and keeping away from germs. Your Two Chums don’t tend to be fearful people, but we also want to be wise and encourage our readers to do the same. So today we have some tips and suggestions for cleaning in and around our homes.

These are simple suggestions and they are easy and quick to implement. Given that many unhealthy germs, specifically the new strain of coronavirus, can live on surfaces for up to 9 days, it isn’t a bad idea in addition to washing your hands frequently throughout the day, to take the time to keep our own personal environments as clean as possible.

1. Sheets and bedding– Whether you are ill or not your bed is a place for bacteria and viruses to collect. Wash your sheets once a week in hot water to ensure that you can rest well in your bed. If you are sick you might want to do that more often or change your sheets if you have an extra set.
2. Sinks and Countertops – Your sinks and countertops can be a place that bacteria and virus collects and grows so they should be cleaned everyday to disinfect and remove the germs that might be growing there.
3. Bath towels – Because they collect gems and they can grow on them quickly, especially when damp, professionals recommend changing out your bath towels every other day and washing them in hot water when you do the laundry, to ensure they are really clean and bacteria and virus free.
4. Kitchen sponges – Nearly every kitchen has a sponge sitting somewhere near the sink and it is used to wipe up all kinds to surfaces…dishes, stoves, countertops, etc. Your sponge is contaminated with germs (though not all germs will make you sick just fyi) and you can be spreading those germs around your kitchen every time you use your sponge. Germs can build up quickly so popping your damp sponge in your microwave everyday for 2 minutes will take care of that problem. You can also put your sponge in the dishwasher every time you run it, unless YOU are the dishwasher and don’t have a microwave oven, in which case you can put your sponge in boiling water for a couple of minutes to kill any unwelcome germs.
5. Doorknobs – Normally wiping off your doorknobs once a week or so would be sufficient to keep your home clean and but in the current environment wiping them down more frequently is a good idea.
6. Cell phones and tablets – We touch the screens on our phones and tablets all day and if we haven’t just washed our hands we can be putting germs on the surface of our devices, or picking them up from the surface of the devices. Experts are suggesting using anti-bacterial disposable wipes daily or even more frequently to keep these surfaces clean and disinfected.
   

All these cleaning suggestions are just that…suggestions. Under all circumstances we want fresh and clean homes. There are a plethora of cleaning products out there to help you achieve your cleaning goals, but we would like to add one more simple one to the list. Vodka. It is good for cleaning and disinfecting surfaces and it can be sprayed on clothing and upholstered furniture, even mattresses, to disinfect and freshen them. It is colorless and odorless, and when sprayed on surfaces, kills germs and eliminates odors as it evaporates. If you are spraying it on clothing or upholstered furniture, test it in an inconspicuous place first to be sure it doesn’t discolor the item.

As a side note, vodka is also very good for freshening clothes that have been packed away and smell musty, or to remove odors in between dry cleaning.

Stay fresh, stay clean, leave the germs behind. Instead spread love, joy and the spirit of abundance everywhere you go!