Saturday, July 15, 2017

Top Tips For Cleaning Your Bathroom

Cleaning your bathroom is one of those chores that you either love or hate. You might love it because you love having a clean bathroom, or you’ll hate it because cleaning a bathroom is a lot of work and involve dealing with all sorts of gross things. Getting your bathroom clean is also one of those things that can be difficult to do, with some messes needing a little bit more than elbow grease. Check out these top tips for cleaning your bathroom to make it a breeze.

Before you get started

Cleaning your bathroom requires quite a few tools and products to make sure all bases are covered. Perhaps more so than other rooms in your home, you’ll need a selection of sponges, etc. to get the job done. If you intend to reuse any of your cleaning textiles, you should make sure you put them in the washing machine straight after cleaning.

Get your gloves on

Cleaning a bathroom is a messy business. There are all sorts of germs and bacteria lurking around that you won’t want to touch with your bare hands. Cleaning products can be abrasive as well, so it’s better for your skin that you keep your hands covered and take care with your clothing and other exposed skin. If you’re allergic to latex, there are some other alternatives you can use that will allow you to clean without having your allergy flare up.

Image: Pexels

Start by putting everything away

Getting rid of the bathroom clutter will make it easier to clean, and will also help you work out which products have run out, so you can throw them away (and recycle the ones you’re able to) and replenish as needed. De-cluttering the counters and the area around the shower and bath will help you see the real extent of the mess so that you can see how much work it is. If you have several bottles of almost-empty shampoo or shower gel, prioritize using them ones to help you get rid of them quicker and revert your bathroom to its clutter-free state.

Use natural cleaning products to reduce the number of chemicals in your home

Some of the best cleaning products are the ones that are more natural and use no chemical ingredients. Use them to clean your surfaces and areas like the sink and shower to freshen them up and get rid of any dust and grime. You’ll find some great recipe ideas for homemade bathroom cleaners that you can make with many items you’ll find around the home. The other bonus of homemade cleaning products is that they will smell great too for a more fragrant bathroom. In some areas, using bleach cleaners is inevitable, but if you can go through the day to day cleaning using just natural products, your home will be much better off.

Use magic erasers on your shower doors

Glass surfaces in your bathroom can be difficult to clean, even after scrubbing away you might find that some residue still remains. One way to really clean your glass doors is to use a magic eraser - they are tough on getting rid of bathroom dirt and grime and don’t need any chemicals to use them effectively. You can cut them to size, wash them, reuse them and use them to get rid of marks on the wall and other nuisance bathroom products, making them a cleaning essential. 

Invest in some microfiber cloths

Microfiber cloths are a real life saver in the bathroom. They can pick up all sorts of dust that can get spread around by other types of cloth and sponge and are especially great at cleaning your bathroom mirrors. You can wet the cloth a little bit if there are some stubborn marks on it. Remember to wash your cloths regularly to prevent bacteria from having a place to breed in your bathroom.

Do the bath first

Your bath is likely to be one of the dirtiest parts of your bathroom, but you can make it easier by spraying your bathroom cleaner around the edge and leaving it to settle while you clean the rest of the bathroom. By the time you come back to the bath, the dirt and grime will have begun to move and dissolve, meaning it takes far less effort to clean than it would have if you’d gone straight in and scrubbed away. You can also do this for the sink and the surfaces which can all benefit from a pre-soak before you really get to cleaning them. 

Make the most of your bathroom equipment

You can make life a bit easier for yourself by making the most of the equipment that’s in your bathroom to make it easier to clean. Your shower head or even your bidet attachments (check out some great ones here: http://www.toiletbidet.com/brondell-bidet-attachments.php) could help you by giving you a supply of water in hard to reach areas and to help you get every bit of your bathroom. Remember to give these a good clean too.

Try a steam cleaner

Steam cleaners are a popular tool for cleaning bathrooms, especially stubborn tile areas which can take a long time to clean. You can buy some great steam cleaners with different attachments, including tile brushes which will make the normally long, tough jobs super quick. Steam cleaners are also chemical-free, so if you’re looking to be more environmentally friendly in the bathroom, you’ll do well with a steam cleaner.

Clean your toilet regularly

To avoid the unpleasantness of having to deep clean your toilet, clean it regularly instead. Tackling it every couple of days with bleach or a toilet cleaner will save you the hassle of having to clean harder when you get to doing your overall bathroom.

Use old toothbrushes to get into tricky corners

Some bits of your bathroom can be difficult to clean, such as around the taps or in between tiles. Your old toothbrushes can actually find a new purpose by being used to clean all of those tricky bits. Just don’t confuse them with your current toothbrush - maybe label them so that you don’t get confused.

Make your towels fluffy again

Everybody wants their towels to be fluffy and dry like they were when they were first bought or like hotel towels. You might think that the key to getting fluffy towels is to use plenty of fabric softener, but the opposite is true. For really fluffy towels, you’ll want to wash them in warm but not hot water, with minimal detergent. You can even use baking soda as a way to really open up the fibers and get them clean. The internet is full of good advice on keeping your towels fluffy. One great tip people use is to put a tennis ball in the dryer when they’re trying to get their towels fluffy as the ball moves around and knocks the bumps and lumps out of the towels that can stop them being fluffy.

Don’t neglect your bath mat

Your bath mat is probably covered in bacteria that it picks up through a lack of thorough drying and having lots of different feet stand on it before and after they get out of the bath/shower. Wash your bath mat (and pedestal if you have one) on a high setting to kill the germs, and you can put it on to dry too to make sure it’s completely fresh the next time you use it.
Make sure the air vent is cleaned out regularly

Cleaning out your air vent is a job you can do by yourself, but you might want to have a specialist cleaner or even a handyman come to look at it to save you the trouble. This job shouldn’t need doing very often, so hiring someone else to do it won’t be such a drain on your bank balance.

Fix a dirty shower head

The shower head can become gross pretty quickly, and isn’t an easy job to fix. A good tip is to put a solution of water and vinegar into some sort of secure bag, like a sandwich bag, freezer bag or something small enough you can tie around the top. This will help dissolve all of the grime and without making a mess.

How to deal with bathroom mold

If you live in an apartment, in particular, you’ll notice how moldy a bathroom can be if it isn’t ventilated regularly through a window. Mold spots need to be tackled quickly, and there are fast acting bleach cleaners that can work quickly to get rid of it. You’ll need to set aside some time for this to work as the fumes can be strong, so do it first thing in the morning before you go to work and open the windows and doors to air it out. 

Bathroom cleaning is a tough business, but hopefully, some of the tips above will save you time or make it easier for you to clean more regularly. Cleaning your bathroom could form a part of a deep clean weekend that all the family can join in to make the workload a bit lighter for everyone. It’s not a fun job but is one that will help keep you and your family happy and healthy in one of the most used rooms of the day.

Friday, July 14, 2017

When Roles Reverse: Taking Care Of Elderly Parents

There usually comes a point in your life when the roles reverse and, as well as or instead of looking after your own children and relying on your parents for support, you will have to look after them and support them. This can often be as a result of ill health, but generally old age can be to blame for most of the ailments that come along. There’s no escaping it, and while some cope with the additional pressure pretty well, it can be hard to know how to deal with the responsibility and pressures that it may bring. 

What You Can Do When A Parent Is Gravely Ill


While there is no one single way to deal with this, when you have a loved one, like a parent who is going through the final stages of their life, it's undeniably difficult. And we all find ways of trying to deal with this stress, but when we are attempting to support a parent who has been diagnosed with a terminal illness, you feel like you need to be Superwoman to get through the issues. And while we all deal with our mortality in different ways, some of us go on a major health kick and encourage our children and other family members to do the same, this might be the symptom of something much deeper. And it's important to recognize what you are going through as well as the person you care deeply about.

Thursday, July 13, 2017

Dinner Parties: Creating A Stress Free Menu


When it comes to planning your next dinner party, you need to create as little stress for yourself as possible. There is so much to remember, from preparing the dinner table to arranging the seating plan. Of course, it is the food that needs to take priority, as you don’t want your guests leaving your home with an empty or unsatisfied stomach.

To help you, here are some tops tips for planning your dinner party, with some examples of food that may go down a treat with your guests.

Wednesday, July 12, 2017

Let’s Keep Our Kids Healthy with Nutrawell!


With school back in session, kids are more likely to get ill. Just recently, Athena and Brianna was admitted to the hospital, thus they have to miss school and Emergency Leave for me and Jaear. That's why we have to take extra effort to keep our kids healthy. This extra care will help them maintain their energy to perform in school and excel in their chosen passions. A great way to do that is by giving them the right Nutraceuticals every day. 

A week ago, Generika Drugstore sent me a wellness bag for the kids. It includes Nutrawell Probiotics and Actimed Ascorbic Acid. Exclusively available at any Generika Drugstore near you, these food supplements can help boost your kids’ wellness.


Nutrawell Probiotics for Kids contains 5 Billion Colony Forming Units (CFUs) of 7 safe and effective strains of active lactobacillus. A grape flavored powder mix with more strains compared to other probiotic brands, it can be mixed with your kid's favorite drink. With its fruity flavor, your kids can even take their daily dose straight from the sachet too. Regular doses will help restore the good bacteria in the digestive system, helping the body improve its defenses against disease.


Actimed Ascorbic Acid is a potent antioxidant and vitamin that serves an important role in many of the body’s functions. An overall immune booster, it assists in the repair of blood cells, tissues, and bones. This vitamin also helps in the proper absorption of iron and aids in the speedy healing of cuts and wounds. Nutrawell Sodium Ascorbate provides the same benefits without the potential side effect of gastric irritation. Both food supplements come in syrup form.

To make the most out of Nutrawell Nutraceuticals by Generika Drugstore, it’s best to keep your kids on a healthy regimen. Make sure they get ample time for rest while having enough time for sports and other physical activities. Shifting your household menu towards more fruits, vegetables, and lean meats also helps – so that your kids develop a preference for healthy food over processed options.

Visit a Generika Drugstore near you to discover safe, effective, and affordable medications and nutraceutical products. Starting this school year, give your kids the gift that lasts a lifetime – their good health! To learn more about Generika Drugstore, simply visit their official Facebook page at www.facebook.com/Generika.com.ph.

Saturday, July 8, 2017

Addressing Different Skin Problems

Problem skin can be hell - especially if you’re struggling to keep it under control. As we age, have babies and experience different lifestyle changes, our skin types can change, causing misery as we learn to deal with them. Knowing how to tackle different skin issues will mean you’re ready for anything and will help you get your skin back under control. Take a look at the following tips for tackling different skin issues.

Image source: Pexels

Stop Letting These Rooms Go To Waste!

If there's one mistake that a lot of people tend to make when it comes to their home, it's this: they simply aren't using every room to its full potential. That might sound like a rather odd thing to say, but it's true. After all, you can probably think of rooms that you use much more often than others, right? The living room, kitchen, and bedroom are the rooms that you find yourself spending most of your time in and, of course, you're going to need to use the bathroom no matter what. However, those aren't the only rooms in the house, and if you're ignoring the others, then your home is never really going to feel right. With that in mind, here are some rooms in your home that you might be letting go to waste.

Dining room


For a lot of people, the dining room ends up being somewhat pointless. After all, so many of us eat our meals on our laps in front of the TV. But this means that you're missing out on one of the best things about the dining, that it's a communal space for your family to get together and just spend some time with each other. There's something wonderful about everyone sitting down for a meal at the dining room table without any distractions from the TV or phones getting in the way. Not only that but the dining room can be the place where you and your family play games, make things and spend a lot of quality time together.

Office


Many people set up an office in their home with some really good intentions. It will be a dedicated space for them to work without being disturbed so that they can be as productive as possible. However, in reality, what ends up happening is that they do any work that needs doing on the couch and their office ends up basically being a dumping ground for things that they don't have room for anywhere else in the house. If you have work that you need to do at home, then you should make sure that you're always using your office for it. You'll be able to focus much better, and you'll end up being much more productive because of it.

Attic


In the vast majority of homes, the attic really is nothing more than a glorified storage closet. It's the place to dump boxes, old furniture, and anything else that you simply don't have a place for. However, this is a real waste. Not only does it encourage people never to throw anything away but it means that you're not taking advantage of a potentially fantastic space in your home. Instead of just dumping stuff in it, why not convert your attic into a spare room? Sure, it will take a little bit of work, but your kids will love having a special secret place where they can spend their time away from the world, playing and keeping themselves entertained. Plus, it gives you somewhere to put guests up when they come to visit, making your home a much more inviting place for friends and family.