I’m 45 years old, and I would be willing to bet that most people my age and younger either don’t know what the term “Spring cleaning” really means or have never heard of it. Maybe it’s because we’ve convinced ourselves that women staying at home and cleaning was “busywork”—and the work itself wasn’t really necessary or important.
Spring cleaning actually helped to keep us healthy, because our moms, grandmas, aunts—basically all the women in the family—would either take everything outside and clean the whole inside of the house (and all the stuff they took outside) and then bring everything back in. At the very least, they would move everything out of a room and do the same thing one room at a time until the entire house—and everything in it—was cleaned.
What I’m saying is, they would clean the walls, baseboards, electrical outlets, light switch face plates, light fixtures, floors—everything—and then nothing was moved back into the room until it was also cleaned from top to bottom. This was done after the winter months—in the Spring, because the house was closed up in the winter and germs and bacteria would collect in the house. Airing out the house as it was being cleaned was also a part of the cleaning process—and very important element as well.
Have you noticed the increase selection of air fresheners? Do you know what causes odors in your home most of the time? It is Germs and bacteria—which can’t really be eliminated by spraying something into the air, but only by genuine cleaning.
I have worked as a housekeeper before, and one of the things I noticed the most was that people have a lot of stuff just cluttering up their space—and making it impossible to clean. Not only that, but everything in your house is a potential home for germs. So, the more stuff, the more germs—unless you can keep all of those things clean, of course!
Personally, I don’t know how feasible it is for most us to move everything out of our homes and clean those items, like people did in the past. I can tell you from experience, though, that the cleaner our homes are, the healthier we are—mentally as well as physically. If you want to do Spring cleaning, consider doing the following.
• Get rid of excess “stuff”
• Clean your bathroom more regularly. Pay particular attention to the toilet—especially the outside of it and the floor around it.
• Don’t wait until you can see dirt to acknowledge its existence—germs cannot be seen with the naked eye!
• If you have children, no matter what age, their “stuff” and their rooms are the places where the most germs will be living—clean them regularly and ruthlessly!
• Everyone must wash their hands after using the toilet—every single time—and washing up for dinner isn’t some quaint custom from the past—it’s a necessary step in preventing passing of germs.
• If you have carpets, consider getting rid of them. As far as I’m concerned, carpets should never have been invented—they are nothing but havens for dirt and germs.
Once a year, even if you don’t think it’s necessary, clean your entire house from top to bottom—as best as you can. If this isn’t possible, hire someone to do it for you. Make sure that all the furniture gets cleaned, as well as toys, electronics—anything that people touch a lot.
I know, I know—it sounds extreme. Talk to your grandparents or older members in your family. They’ll tell you—it’s just good sense. And, good sense never goes out of style!
Spring cleaning actually helped to keep us healthy, because our moms, grandmas, aunts—basically all the women in the family—would either take everything outside and clean the whole inside of the house (and all the stuff they took outside) and then bring everything back in. At the very least, they would move everything out of a room and do the same thing one room at a time until the entire house—and everything in it—was cleaned.
What I’m saying is, they would clean the walls, baseboards, electrical outlets, light switch face plates, light fixtures, floors—everything—and then nothing was moved back into the room until it was also cleaned from top to bottom. This was done after the winter months—in the Spring, because the house was closed up in the winter and germs and bacteria would collect in the house. Airing out the house as it was being cleaned was also a part of the cleaning process—and very important element as well.
Have you noticed the increase selection of air fresheners? Do you know what causes odors in your home most of the time? It is Germs and bacteria—which can’t really be eliminated by spraying something into the air, but only by genuine cleaning.
I have worked as a housekeeper before, and one of the things I noticed the most was that people have a lot of stuff just cluttering up their space—and making it impossible to clean. Not only that, but everything in your house is a potential home for germs. So, the more stuff, the more germs—unless you can keep all of those things clean, of course!
Personally, I don’t know how feasible it is for most us to move everything out of our homes and clean those items, like people did in the past. I can tell you from experience, though, that the cleaner our homes are, the healthier we are—mentally as well as physically. If you want to do Spring cleaning, consider doing the following.
• Get rid of excess “stuff”
• Clean your bathroom more regularly. Pay particular attention to the toilet—especially the outside of it and the floor around it.
• Don’t wait until you can see dirt to acknowledge its existence—germs cannot be seen with the naked eye!
• If you have children, no matter what age, their “stuff” and their rooms are the places where the most germs will be living—clean them regularly and ruthlessly!
• Everyone must wash their hands after using the toilet—every single time—and washing up for dinner isn’t some quaint custom from the past—it’s a necessary step in preventing passing of germs.
• If you have carpets, consider getting rid of them. As far as I’m concerned, carpets should never have been invented—they are nothing but havens for dirt and germs.
Once a year, even if you don’t think it’s necessary, clean your entire house from top to bottom—as best as you can. If this isn’t possible, hire someone to do it for you. Make sure that all the furniture gets cleaned, as well as toys, electronics—anything that people touch a lot.
I know, I know—it sounds extreme. Talk to your grandparents or older members in your family. They’ll tell you—it’s just good sense. And, good sense never goes out of style!
