Author: oi_admin

Is your home a tad stinky? Use these odor control tips.

Posted on January 19, 2017 by oi_admin - Green Cleaning Tips and Tricks

Is your home smelling a little stinky? This usually happens during the winter. We close up our homes in October and don’t open them up again until April. That means we’re living with the same air for six months. If you’re smelling some unusual odors in your home, read on for a plan to help you control odors in your home and freshen up:

Garbage Cans

Clean the inside of the trash can by washing it with hot soapy water. Then deodorize it with distilled white vinegar mixed with an essential oil.

You can make a "garbage sachet" to place at the bottom of the pail beneath your trash bag: place some fresh coffee grounds and whole cloves in a clean coffee filter, and tie it closed using string, a twist-tie or a rubber band. Simple!

Refrigerator

Don't just remove rotten food, but also clean the shelves and drawers to remove any rotten liquid. When things rot in a refrigerator, they tend to leak and leave a terrible smelling fluid. Clean and disinfect that area using distilled white vinegar or hydrogen peroxide and a microfiber cloth. Or remove the shelves and wash them in the kitchen sink with hot soapy water.

Pet Smells

Smells from your pets can be removed with consistent cleaning. You should vacuum two to three times a week to remove pet hair, fur and dander.

Pet beds should be washable or have removable covers - launder every week. Keeping your pet groomed will also help control pet odors in the home.

Cooking Odors

Control cooking odors with a DIY air purifier. Combine 2 cups of water, some baking soda and a few lemon peels in a pot and heat the mixture on your stove. The aroma will work to remove those stinky smells.

Bathroom

Areas around the toilet can have what I call "little boy syndrome" where the urine sprays out of the toilet and embeds into the walls, woodwork and flooring. Regular cleaning with a good cleaner AND a disinfectant will work to control those odors.

The inside of the toilet also needs to be cleaned well. You can use a simple mixture of salt, baking soda and borax to make a toilet bowl cleaner that will clean and remove smells. If you have a toilet bowl that has stains - use a pumice stone to remove those stains.

Carpeting

Carpets hold smells like a sponge. Fill a spray bottle with bottom-shelf vodka and spray that over smelly areas. When the alcohol evaporates it carries the smells away with it! This tip will also control odors on smelly fabric furniture. If the carpet and furniture are really bad you should spend the extra money and hire a professional to steam clean them.

Garbage Disposal

Your garbage disposal can be the cause of a stinky sink.

To correct that, clean the garbage disposal by grinding a mixture of ice cube, salt and frozen lemon peels. Let it run for a few minutes, then flush with boiling water. Fresh!

Bed Linens

Launder bedding weekly. In nice weather hang everything outside to dry, where the sun and fresh air create ozone that helps remove stale odors from pillows and quilts.

Closets

Stinky shoes can really make your closets smell terrible. Control odor in your shoes by spraying some newspaper with distilled white vinegar then crinkling it up and placing it inside your shoes.

If you don't want to use newspapers, you can spray the inside of your shoes with rubbing alcohol or vodka. Add a few drops of an essential oil into the alcohol or vodka to help cancel out the alcohol odor.

Stale Odors in Rooms

General bad smells can be removed by spraying door jambs with vinegar and your favorite essential oil. By spraying the jams of all the doorways you will get a clean fresh smell when entering into the room!

Workout Clothing

Exercise clothes retain sweat smells and are extremely difficult to remove. There are some new laundry soaps that work great to remove these smells. Borax or baking soda are great additives to the laundry to get rid of smells too. Just add a tablespoon to your regular laundry soap.

Repeat these tricks to control odors in your home year-round, but especially in the winter. Happy cleaning!

Post-holiday cleanup: LATER is NOW

Posted on January 11, 2017 by oi_admin - Green Cleaning Tips and Tricks

Oosouji is the Japanese tradition of cleaning up and getting ready for the new year. When translated it means the “big clean”. The Japanese actually spend their New Year’s Eve cleaning their home to get it ready for the incoming new year. (These are people after my own heart.)

Let’s do an American version of oosouji for our homes. Nothing feels better than getting a fresh start into the new year.

Deal with your presents

The holidays are over so it’s time to put your presents where they belong. If you got something you really didn’t need or want, take it back and return it for something you really do need. There’s no point in keeping something you don’t want.

Holiday cards

Go through your holiday cards and create a spreadsheet so you can keep a record about who sent you a card and their addresses. Don’t bother with an address book as it will just create clutter. Instead keep a digital copy you can access it from your computer or phone.

Back to the guest room

In our 20-day countdown to clean we started with the guest bedroom, getting it clean and ready for our guests. Now time to start there again and clean it really well. Remove and launder the sheets so they are lovely and fresh. Putting the pillows in the dryer on a high heat will disinfect them. Also disinfect areas that could contain germs like light switches and door knobs. Your next guests will appreciate your thoughtfulness.

Organize your Christmas ornaments

Taking down the tree needs to be done with care because throwing all the ornaments into a box will just create a terrible mess. Instead, remove any wire ornament hangers and store them in a zip lock bag. Separate the breakable ornaments, pack them with tissue paper and store them in specialty ornament boxes. Wrap the lights around a piece of cardboard or the cardboard tube from an empty paper towel or wrapping paper roll. Then seal everything in an airtight container with a clear label.

Clean out the refrigerator

It’s time to deal with all those party leftovers in the frig, so grab the garbage can and start tossing. Take time to check expiration dates on bottles and condiments too. Wipe the shelves with warm soapy water and a microfiber cloth. Rinse them with hot water and start restocking.

Spot clean your spots

In the busyness of the holidays, things get spilled and left to be dealt with later. Later is NOW. You can spot clean carpets and fabric furniture with some club soda and a microfiber cloth. Sprinkle a few drops onto the microfiber and work the club soda into the spot. Let the area air dry and repeat the process if any of the stain remains.

Check your china and crystal for chips and cracks

Before you put your china and crystal away, make sure you check the rims and edges for chips and cracks. You don’t want to discover at your next event that some of your beautiful crystal was chipped during the holidays. You can try filing a small chip down by yourself with a specialized tool or even a nail file. There are a number of professional companies that will grind the entire rim so that the chip is unnoticeable. If it’s a quality piece, sending it away is definitely worth the cost.

Launder the linens

All your linens need to be check for spots, laundered and ironed so they are ready for your next event. The usual spots you will find on linen napkins are red wine and lipstick. Lipstick can be treated with rubbing alcohol and red wine will disappear with hydrogen peroxide. Treat the napkins before placing them in the laundry. Check them before you place them in the dryer – if any stains remain, re-treat and re-launder. Do NOT dry them until you know the stain is totally gone.

Holiday Stain Removal Primer

Posted on December 23, 2016 by oi_admin - Green Cleaning Tips and Tricks

Along with the season's cheer come some nasty holiday stains. Whether it’s a tiny spill on a guest’s new dress or an oily mess on your heirloom table cloth, having the basics at hand will help you get through the holiday stain season. Read this now and add any stain removal items on your last grocery list before the holidays.

Gravy

When gravy spills on a tablecloth, use a touch of corn starch to absorb the moisture. The corn starch will get thick and will lift off with a spatula. Since gravy is oil based, pre-treat the stain with rubbing alcohol or vodka. Don’t dump the alcohol on the stained area as that will just make it bleed into the surrounding fabric. Instead, put some alcohol in a spray bottle and lightly mist the area. Then dab it with a clean white cloth. Continue that process until the cloth comes away clean. Keep the area moist until you are ready to put it in the washer. Use a simple bar soap, like Ivory, and rub the soap into the stain. Then place the table cloth in the washer. Once it’s completed the cycle, check the area to see if the stain is visible. If so, repeat the entire treatment with the alcohol and soap. Don't place the tablecloth into the dryer until you know the stain has been completely removed.

Candle wax

Even dripless candles can drip onto your favorite table cloth. But don’t worry, here’s an easy stain removal solution. After your guests have left, place the table cloth in the freezer to harden the wax. Once the wax is frozen, remove the tablecloth and scrape off the wax with a dull knife. There will be a waxy residue left down inside the fabric. Using a clean face cloth and a hot iron, you are going to pull the excess wax out of the fabric. Place the cloth over the waxy area and heat it with the iron. Don’t remove the facecloth until it’s completely cool. Once the cloth is cool lift it up and the wax will be attached to the facecloth. Repeat this process a few more times until you feel the wax has been removed. Then treat the area with rubbing alcohol to remove the oily buildup. Rub the area with a simple bar soap and scrub with a stiff brush. Place the tablecloth in the washer with a grease cutting detergent. Check the stained area when it’s done and repeat the process if there are signs of the stain. You can let the tablecloth air dry to see if the stain is totally removed.

Chocolate

Treat hard chocolate stains as if they were candle wax. Freeze to harden, then use a stiff brush or knife to remove as much as possible. Finally, treat it with rubbing alcohol and bar soap. For chocolate syrup, dab off as much as you can with a clean dry cloth. Once the cloth comes off without any chocolate on it, pretreat the area with hydrogen peroxide. Place the hydrogen peroxide on the cloth and continue to dab until the stain looks like it’s starting to break up. Let the hydrogen peroxide sit on the stain for a few minutes. Then use a bar soap and work it into the chocolate stain with a toothbrush. Continue to hand wash and rinse until the stain is gone.

Red Wine

There are a few quick treatments to have on hand when entertaining, because you know someone is definitely going to spill some red wine. Immediately after a spill, spray the stain with club soda and cover the area with salt. The salt will start to absorb the wine. Once the guests are gone brush off the salt and dab the area until the cloth comes away clean. Then treat the area with hydrogen peroxide. Be patient – it takes the hydrogen peroxide awhile to work, but you will see the stain disappear before your eyes. Alternatively, soak the fabric in warm (not hot) water and hydrogen peroxide until the stain is gone. Air dry the item to make sure the stain is completely gone. Repeat this stain removal procedure until the stain is entirely gone.

Mystery stain

Suppose your friend has a spot on her new dress and isn’t sure what it could be. In this case use a neutral treatment to prevent setting the stain. Put a spray nozzle in a bottle of club soda and lightly spray the area. Magically, the stain will be completely gone once the area is dry. This trick also works with mystery stains on your carpet. Just lightly mist the area and dab it with a clean cloth. Once it’s dry the stain will be gone.

Knowing these foolproof cleaning tips for removing stains, you’ll be able to truly mean it when you reassure the friend who spills her wine during the celebratory toast, “No problem.”

Preventing food-borne illness at home

Posted on December 21, 2016 by oi_admin - Healthy Home

Every year, 1 in 6 Americans get sick from food-borne illnesses. These illnesses, also called food poisoning, also send about 128,000 people to the hospital, resulting in about 3,000 deaths nationwide each year.

Bottom line ~ food-borne illness can be more serious than we think.

Causes of food poisoning are mostly microorganisms, like viruses or bacteria. And although many of these microorganisms cannot be seen, smelled, or tasted, they can cause an illness that ranges from mild to life-threatening.

Food-borne illnesses are mostly picked up in areas where food is prepared as well as eaten, such as restaurants, schools and even our homes. Food-borne illnesses can also be acquired from contaminated drinking water, and water found in swimming pools. Microorganisms can even be passed from person to person, which is why proper hand washing is extremely important!!!

Food-borne illnesses can have a variety of symptoms, but the most common symptoms are nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, and diarrhea. Always check with your doctor if you are experiencing any of these symptoms.

To keep your kitchen clean, and those pesky unwanted microorganisms at bay, follow these great tips:

Wash hands properly and often. If your hands are not clean, chances are you're spreading bacteria and virus germs all over your food, your utensils, the kitchen counter tops, and even your family!

To properly wash your hands, scrub your hands with soap and warm water for twenty seconds, making sure to get under the nails and in between the fingers.

When preparing to cook, pre-clean your work area with an all-purpose cleaner. THEN, spray disinfectant on the surface, letting the disinfectant soak for a few minutes. After about five minutes, wipe the surfaces with a microfiber cloth. (For cutting boards, use natural anti-microbials like lemon juice, white vinegar or tea tree oil.) It's very important that you clean the surface before disinfecting it.

After each use, wash all surfaces, including kitchen counter tops, cutting boards, and even utensils. Be sure to use warm to hot soapy water. Don’t forget to wipe down other surfaces and areas that have been touched in the kitchen, such as drink dispensers on the fridge door, light switches, spatulas, and all handles, controls and faucets.

Wash all fruits and vegetables, before and after peeling them.

Do your best to separate raw meat, eggs, seafood, and poultry from the rest of your foods in the fridge. When cooking or preparing meals, always use separate utensils, plates, and especially cutting boards for all uncooked produce and uncooked meat, seafood, eggs and poultry.

Learn to love your thermometer! When cooking foods, it is important to cook food to the proper temperature, and for the proper amount of time. This way, the food is heated up enough to kill the harmful viruses and bacteria that could potentially cause illness. Use a food thermometer be sure when food has reached its safe minimum cooking temperature. For example, when cooking, all poultry should be cooked to a temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit, and 160 degrees Fahrenheit for ground meats. Microwave foods thoroughly to 165 degrees Fahrenheit.

At meal times, when food is being served and eaten, keep the food hot, at about 140 degrees Fahrenheit or greater.

After meals, refrigerate leftover food quickly. Illness-causing bacteria and viruses can grow in many foods within two hours unless you refrigerate them. During the hot summer weather, it only takes one hour for illness-causing bacteria and viruses to grow in foods.

Make sure you marinate or thaw foods in the fridge and not in the kitchen sink or on the kitchen counter.

Refrigerate all perishable products as soon as possible after grocery shopping. Learn the “two-hour rule,” which states that perishable foods should not be left at room temperature longer than two hours. Harmful bacteria have the tendency to multiply in the danger zone, which is between 40 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit. When temperatures are above 90° F, as they often are in cars that have been parked in the sun, modify that rule to one hour.

If you are traveling over one hour with groceries in your car, use an ice chest or cooler to keep frozen and perishable foods cold.

Where the weather is warm and the air conditioner is being used in the car, keep your groceries in the passenger compartment, not the trunk.

With the holidays approaching, proper cleaning and disinfection can help food-borne illness from becoming the uninvited guest that spoils your celebration! Educating yourself on how to properly safeguard your home and family against food-borne illnesses is one of the best things you can do to prevent any food-borne illness from taking over!

Show this blog and infographic to your family - where food-borne illness is concerned, knowledge is power!

Week 2 of the Holiday Cleaning Countdown

Posted on December 12, 2016 by oi_admin - Green Cleaning Tips and Tricks

20-Day Challenge: Week 2

The Dining Room

holiday-cleaning-countdown-20-day-challenge

(Scroll to the bottom for links to other blogs in this Countdown Series, including a printable checklist.)

The focus for our Holiday Cleaning Countdown is the three rooms you’ll use most when entertaining during the holidays. And this week the focus is the dining room. With one task per day, you’ll spend 7 days on this room, but once completed it will stay fairly clean until the holidays. A quick touch-up is all you’ll need before guests arrive – do this when you place your floral centerpiece to whisk away any petals, berries or needles that stray from the holiday arrangement.

This week our holiday cleaning checklist calls primarily on one tool to get this room ready: microfiber. So gather all your microfiber cloths and mop heads along with your microfiber mop. Microfiber lets you deep clean quickly, without harsh chemicals or any mess.

Below are all the tasks for Week 2 of the Holiday Cleaning Countdown:

DAY 7: Walls - Start by removing the dust and cobwebs from your walls. But instead of washing them like our mothers used to, use the microfiber mop and a spray bottle of water to do the same job. Start with a clean, large looped microfiber mop head and a spray bottle of plain clean water. Spritz the mop head so that it just has a light film of water on it. Start at the baseboard of the wall and by using a Z pattern, work your way up to the ceiling. Work one vertical section at a time, always starting at the baseboard and working up. The damp microfiber mop head will catch and remove dust and dirt that was on the wall. This process will also catch cobwebs that may be hard to see with the naked eye. If your walls are extremely dirty, change the mop head often! Also change the mop head when it gets too damp.

DAY 8; Light Fixtures - When cleaning your light fixtures, let your dishwasher to help! Place then glass globes on the top shelf of your dishwasher and wash them with a normal cycle. Then, give them a touchup with a blue fine woven microfiber cloth when they come out, just to remove any spots or drips. Hand wash smaller glass pieces with dishwashing liquid. Dry with a microfiber cloth.

DAY 9: Dusting - When dusting the furniture use a fresh, lightly dampened microfiber cloth. Normally, water is all you’ll need on the cloth. But, if your furniture is looking a little drab or cloudy, you may want to use a polishing mixture of 1 tbs. mayonnaise and 1 tbs. olive oil. Mix these two ingredients together and apply a light coating on the flat surfaces of your furniture. Let it sit for a minute then buff off with a dry microfiber cloth. Check out our video:

DAY 10: Serving Pieces - Use your dishwasher to clean all the dishes and serving pieces you expect to use during the holidays. This ensures everything will be clean and dust free before serving your guests. Be sure to include your crystal and silver. If you silver is tarnished, set it aside for DAY 12.

DAY 11: Linens - Make sure to launder and iron the tablecloths and napkins you plan to use for your holiday event. Check for spots and stains on each piece. Use some hydrogen peroxide to remove dark spots and rubbing alcohol for greasy stains. Air dry the treated cloth in the washing machine. If the stain has not disappeared repeat the treatment, then launder. If the stain persists, invest in a new tablecloth or set of napkins.

DAY 12: Silver – Safely polish tarnished silver with some old-fashioned paste toothpaste and a soft cloth. If you’re pressed for time try placing your silverware in a deep dish lined with aluminum foil. Fill the dish with distilled white vinegar then place the silver on the foil. The tarnish will “jump” off the silver and onto the foil. The, wash the silver as you normally would. It’s not as effective as polishing but you’ll notice a difference.

DAY 13: Floors – Your final task on this week’s holiday cleaning checklist is to vacuum rugs and vacuum or wash hard wood floors so they look ready for your company. Make sure your baseboards are wiped clean and are dust free. Spot clean the woodwork as needed. Once the floors are clean, you can keep touching them up during your weekly cleaning.

And now there’s just seven days left in the Holiday Cleaning Countdown, and seven days before you can celebrate the wonder of the holidays and rejoice with your guests.

Check back next week for a detailed description of the Week 3 tasks!

If you missed our other posts in the Holiday Cleaning Countdown series, please click on these links:

https://maidbrigade.com/blog/holiday-clean-up-20-day-challenge

https://maidbrigade.com/blog/20-day-challenge-holiday-clean-up-day-1

20-Day Challenge: Holiday Clean Up - DAY 1

Posted on December 5, 2016 by oi_admin - Green Cleaning Tips and Tricks

To help prepare you for the holidays, we've collected some expert advice from our guest bloggers to share throughout December. Be sure to check out our 20 Day Challenge on holiday cleaning and getting your home ready for the holidays. If you plan to host overnight guests, we recommend you download the Holiday Clean-Up 20-Day Challenge PDF guide below, because the first 6 days focus on the Guest Room. READ ON, for cleaning tips and details on preparing the most critical part of this room, the guest bed.

Day 1: Strip and wash the sheets. Remake the bed. Use furniture movers to make changing the linens easier.

Our 20 day count down to a clean holiday will start in the guest room. Why start here when so many other areas need attention? Because the room your guests will pay the most attention to is the room where they sleep. There, they can look around without any inhibitions so it’s really important to get this room extremely clean when making your home ready for guests. The first thing to focus on is the bed.

How to wash your bedding:

Make sure the sheets are clean and stain free. If they look at all worn or off color – spend the extra money and buy a new set. Nothing looks more inviting than freshly laundered sheets! This includes the pillows and the pillow cases. No one wants to sleep on a pillow that looks or smells like it’s been on the bed for decades. Wash the pillows and remove the stains with my miracle pillow stain remover. Watch the video below:

How to make your bed:

Make the bed starting with a fitted bottom sheet. Using a flat top sheet, place the pattern facing down so your guests pull down the sheets they’ll see the pattern on both sheets. Use hospital corners to keep everything nice and tight. Place a blanket over the top sheet. Fold down the top sheet about 4” so that the pattern will show and go over top of the blanket. Top off the bed with a clean, fresh bedspread. Add a down comforter at the end of the bed to give your guests comfort options at night. An easy holiday cleaning tip is to use decorative pillows to make the room look inviting and up to date. Add a big empty basket near the bed to give decorative pillows a special place during the night. Spray the bedding with witch hazel infused with your favorite essential oils to add safe and inviting fragrance to the room to put the finishing touch on your holiday clean up in the guest room.

Keep watching our blog for more holiday cleaning tips throughout the month!

Bright, Easy Holiday Entertaining

Posted on November 25, 2016 by oi_admin - Healthy Soul

easy-holiday-entertaining-mason-jar-lights

Let’s face it, sometimes the easiest way really is the best way!

Throughout this joyous season we put a lot of pressure on ourselves to make a beautiful, sparkling clean home for welcoming our families and guests. On top of cooking and gift preparations, decorating for the holidays can really be overwhelming. Here are some great ideas to lessen your stress and keep your panic level to a minimum so you can enjoy yourself all season long:

Plan it out. Think of what you want and plan it out. From meals, to décor, to beverages, to guests, plan it out. Once the entertaining plan is made, put it into action. On the invitation, give as much info as possible, such as formal or informal, who is welcomed (kids and extra guests), whether or not to bring a side dish, etc.

Make a list and check it twice. If you stay organized, your entertaining vision will come together. Make a “to do” list in sections such as “meals, decorations, etc.” Don’t be afraid to use others to help pick those last-minute items up.

Order your decorations online. Ease the stress of long lines and overcrowded stores by shopping online. From fresh greenery and winter red berries to candles and white lights, there are a variety of stores that offer free shipping and fast delivery right to your front door. While you’re at it, and if you have some spare time, gift shopping on the web is another convenient time saver!

Decorate with ease. A couple strands of strings lights, some fresh poinsettias, a live evergreen wreath or strip of garland, fresh fruits and berries, and a few candles can make any room look festive and beautiful for entertaining. When choosing your scheme, start by picking a color scheme. One or two hues is all you need.

Go rustic, it’s easier. Skip those white tablecloths and choose a rustic winter theme instead. Guests will love the relaxed, nostalgic feel and you will love the easy cleanup. Plain, fresh smelling greenery and a few candles is all you need.

Use essential oils for cleaning and for decorating. Dab a few cotton balls with peppermint, apple, or mint essential oils and stick them around your rooms. Add some pine cones or cinnamon sticks to your scheme for added fragrance.

Decorate with natural items. Use poinsettias as centerpieces on tables or on top of mantles.

Instead of purchasing a wreath or strip of garland, ask for scraps or broken evergreen branches and make your own instead.

What about fresh fruit? Use pears and add small labels on them for place setting.

Make a beautiful garland by twisting together one floral wire or kumquats and one floral wire of cranberries to make one big piece of garland.

A favorite centerpiece of mine is a bowl of sugared fruit. Just fill your bowl with sugar, add some colorful fruits, and place high up in the center of the table. Another idea for a centerpiece can be made by using wooden picks to secure flowers or fruit onto foam forms, and adding a ribbon. Or, decorate a pewter platter with ribbon-wrapped candles surrounded by pears, white cherries, and figs.

To decorate your entryway use scraps of fruit, flowers and branches to assemble a neat mixture for a beautiful urn.

Or, try these easy citrus spheres: Fasten kumquats to three or five-inch foam balls with wood picks. Hide the wire by adding a wide ribbon or bow. Hang the spheres on doors, staircase railings, or place on tables or mantles.

Buy a plain wreath from your local store and decorate it with pine cones, berries, and ribbon. Don't forget to add a sprig of mistletoe inside the doorway!

Give your rooms that soft peaceful holiday glow with candles. Add white candles to glass vases for a warm look.

Fill white paper lunch bags with sand or dirt, add a votive to the center of each bag, and light them up on a path on your sidewalk. Better yet, add small strands of lights to large mason jars and place all around your front porch.

Add some color and comfort. Focusing only on the rooms where guests will be, add a pop of color to the room by placing throws and pillows around the couches and chairs.

Spot clean. Don’t spend a ton of time cleaning when you can quickly spot clean. All you need are a few microfiber cloths for dusting, and a HEPA-filter vacuum for your floors.

Create entertaining "stations". The easiest way to host a large holiday gathering is with stations. Make sure each one is easy to see. Be sure to include a self-serve beverage station, a dessert station, and even a coat station. To keep your guests mingling, set up different stations in different areas of the party. When serving dinner, for smaller parties where guests will be seated and can help themselves, serve dishes in large platters on the tables. For larger parties, a buffet style comes in handy.

Set the mood with music. Celebrate the holidays by listening to your holiday music favorites. Spotify can help. Your local cable network can also help. Karaoke always comes in handy too!

Buy early. Stock up on wine ahead of time. Buy a few extra to have on hand for last minute gifts, too.

Cook simply. As far as food is concerned, not everything has to be homemade! Learn how to spice up store bought platters by adding oil, spices, chives, or even parsley flakes as toppings.

A “one-pot” dinner is never out of the question. Pasta and shrimp, chili and corn, chicken and rice, and many other dinners can be made in one big pot (or crock pot) for that matter. Don’t think you need to cook a three to five course meal all the time. Give yourself (and your post party cleaning crew) a break and cook a big meal in one pot!

Speaking of pots ~ if you never like pot luck dinners because the foods never went well together, have a themed pot luck dinner instead. Assign a “wine and cheese” theme or a “desserts only” theme to your potluck guests. This way you can cook the entire dinner yourself and leave the appetizers and desserts for the guests to make.

Don’t forget the kids. Having kids at your party? Then be sure to plan a “kid zone” in advance. Toys, movies, puzzles, decorating cookies, drawing, or singing. Be sure to have a variety of age appropriate activities for the kiddos.

And most of all....say yes! Say yes to help, no matter what it is, no matter who it is. The more help you receive, the less burden you have. After all, it’s your holiday too!

Here’s wishing you all and a very bright, healthy, and joyous holiday season!

The Bright Side of the Holidays

Posted on November 22, 2016 by oi_admin - Healthy Soul

Imagine a world where the holidays are about joy again. Where days are filled with magic. Imagine a world where the only thing we have to wrestle for is the last piece of pumpkin pie. And where the normal place to camp out is around a fire, not in a store parking lot.

Imagine a world where the holidays are all about people. Where "door busters" refer to our loved ones pouring through the front door. And the four-letter word that defines the season is L-O-V-E not S-A-L-E. What if the only reason to wake up at 3am was to spot a reindeer in the sky? And the only coupons we redeem are for “one more kiss.” Imagine a world where instead of rushing to buy, we rush to give thanks for what we already have.

Imagine a world where we celebrate THANKS GIVING like we used to.

Every year, on the first of November, bright and early in the morning, channel 890 on my local cable network begins their holiday music. As I make room for the Halloween candy in my kitchen, I find myself happily singing along to Christmas songs.

Maybe humming Christmas songs early in November makes most people cringe, but not me. To me, the days that fall between Halloween and Thanksgiving are filled with the holiday spirit the most. This is the only time where there is no pressure, and no stress, physically, mentally and financially to “get everything done” for the holidays. It's now when I feel those happy, warm, child-like memories of what the holidays used to be. My “cringing” period comes the day before Thanksgiving, when the newspaper is three times the usual size, filled with coupons and savings from Thanksgiving morning until Christmas Eve.

What saddens me about today’s holiday season is that society doesn’t allow us to enjoy Thanksgiving. Remember when all retail stores were closed on Thanksgiving? Even the supermarket? Somehow, we lost the old traditions of family, holiday, and thankfulness.

I recently went into a local appliance store and on the front door was a big note stating that the store will be closed on Thanksgiving, “because Thanksgiving is a day for the celebration of families, friends, and loved ones.” The note went on to say how the company respects the values of family and appreciates the hard work their employees do throughout the year, so they gave all 2,761 employees the day off.

I admit, at first I was so “taken back” by this message because I haven’t seen respect for employees like this is such a long time. Reading this message made me feel good, because for five seconds in my busy life, I felt like a kid during the holidays again, happy, warm, and excited to begin the traditions of family gathering, lots of laughs, lots of food, and tons of love.

As hard as I try to carry on those memorable family holiday traditions for my children, it just isn’t the same. Instead the holidays have turned into the “best money making times of the year” with round-the-clock sales and the crowds they create. Heck, even the coffee shops are open 24 hours, fueling shoppers into a buying frenzy. The “thing to do” these days on Thanksgiving is to eat a good meal quickly and plan your Thanksgiving/Black Friday shopping map.

Boy times have changed!

Put the “shopping” piece of the holidays to the side for a minute and focus now on the “hosting” side. This too has changed. The world seemed to have gotten so busy for us that we can’t even enjoy having people over anymore! It seems as if the planning piece of the holidays becomes stressful instead of fun. And once we allow our stress to take over, we begin to lose our values, and the benefits of gathering loved ones and friends over during these special times. Instead of looking forward to sharing our homes with our guests, we tend to focus on the preparation of the gathering instead of what matters the most ~ the people themselves, the holidays, the love and appreciation of the good in our lives, the special memories to be made, and most of all, the thanks ~ to all the people in our lives and the sacrifices they make that help our little world become a better place each and every day.

Let's put more value on what really matters ~ This season, bring back the holidays:

Stay home on Thanksgiving. Then, support businesses that stayed closed for the holiday so their workers could spend Thanksgiving with their families. And support small and especially local businesses whenever possible.

Be present and in-the-moment for your family and friends. Keep your thoughts on the conversation and the person at hand - try not to allow your mind to wander towards your long list of To-Do lists.

Remember that a well-chosen gift is far more precious than an expensive one. The same is true for items made by you or someone you know.

Don't underestimate the power of a simple meal to comfort, nourish and satiate. Fussy food can take away, rather than enhance, a holiday gathering especially if you, the host, are stressing over the meal.

Smile, even when you don't mean it. Smiles are contagious and, you never know who might need to "catch one" from you during this stressful time.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Holiday Clean Up: 20-Day Challenge

Posted on November 6, 2016 by oi_admin - Green Cleaning Tips and Tricks

Getting ready for a Holiday event doesn’t need to be stressful, it just takes a little extra planning. The Holiday Clean Up 20-Day Challenge is a step-by-step cleaning guide for the three most visible rooms during a party or dinner. It’s simple to follow: each day there is one assigned task. Follow this cleaning guide and, in just 20 days, your home will be perfect for all your holiday entertaining.

Click on the image above to download the Holiday Clean Up 20-Day Challenge cleaning guide.

And, you can access this PDF for a more detailed, text version.

There's also a companion blog, about super-quick short cuts to use when company's coming over last-minute, called Holiday Cleaning Hacks.

Holiday Cleaning Hacks

Posted on November 1, 2016 by oi_admin - Green Cleaning Tips and Tricks

During the holiday season nothing stresses people out more than cleaning up for guests. Short on time? Use these holiday cleaning “hacks” to get your home ready in a jiffy.

Only clean what’s dirty – As pros we are programmed for thoroughness but with a jiffy clean we are intentionally finding ways to cut corners. When you're in a hurry, why clean things that aren’t dirty? Instead, spot clean the areas that you can see are dirty like the handles on refrigerators and microwaves. Look around and then clean the areas that look like they need attention.

Use a “tool belt” – You would never see a carpenter going up and down a ladder every time he needed a nail. Instead he carries everything he needs in a tool belt so he can work more efficiently. You can use the same system to make your cleaning easier. Gather all your cleaning products, cloths, brushes and other tools you’ll need and place them in a bucket so you can take them from room to room. Or you can find a comfortable apron with pockets and loops so your bottles and rags will be right where you need them.

Use your vacuum instead of a dry mop – Dry mops do a great job of lifting dirt, but you still have to use a dusting broom and a dustpan to get the dirt off the floor. Remove this step by just using a canister style vacuum with a dusting brush attachment. You’ll be cleaning the same area but removing the step of filling and emptying the dust pan.

Use a feather duster – Instead of polishing your furniture with a polishing spray and cloth, switch to a high quality ostrich feather duster. You can dust every flat surface without moving a thing. A genuine ostrich feather duster will hold onto the dust until you shake it out. Can’t find one? Try a microfiber “feather” duster instead.

Use your appliances – Don’t waste time cleaning something when you can let the dishwasher do the work for you. You can use it to clean items on your bathroom vanity or even the filter over your stove. Your dishwasher can be a very valuable cleaning tool.

Only clean what your guests will see – If you only have a small amount of time to clean, focus only on the areas a guest might see. Leave the upstairs bedrooms for another time. Spend your time on the entry way, hallway, kitchen and the room where you might ask your guests to sit. As far as the other rooms and the upstairs - keep the doors closed. Guests usually won’t open a closed door.

Clean your bathroom in minutes – Start by NOT cleaning the shower. Use a damp, fine woven microfiber cloth and wipe all the surfaces. Start with the mirrors, then move down to the vanity area and save the toilet for last. You don’t even have to dry the areas once you’ve wiped them with a microfiber cloth. They will look perfect when you’re done.

Just swish the toilet bowl– Don’t bother with toilet bowl cleaner when you are quick cleaning. Use the toilet brush and give the inside of the toilet a quick swish. Then flush and move on.

Use your dishwasher to hide dirty dishes – If you don’t have a dishwasher then you can place a large tub under the sink and place the dirty dishes there until you have time to wash them.

Steam clean your microwave – Place a microwavable bowl filled with water into the microwave. Run it on high for 3-4 minutes. Once it’s done, carefully remove the bowl and wipe the sides of the microwave with a microfiber cloth. Any stuck on food should wipe right off.

Lint rollers and paint brushes – Need to get into tight areas quickly? Keep a lint roller and paintbrush in your tool apron. Lint rollers are great for pet hair on furniture as well as dusting lamp shades. Paint brushes are wonderful for removing dust and dirt tucked into hard to reach areas.

Use natural fragrances to cover up your cleaning problems – Sometimes you just don’t have the time to clean but you can “hide” your dirt behind a nice aroma. But don't use store-bought air fresheners - synthetic fragrances usually contain toxins you don't want in your home. Instead, make natural fragrances in a jiffy using a few drops of your favorite essential oils mixed into a bottle of witch hazel and spray entryways and door jambs so your guests will smell the lovely fragrance and overlook your cleaning shortcomings.

But let's face it. Some days there is no gas in the tank for anything extra. If you’ve run out of time or motivation to even do the smallest cleanup, just turn down the lights and turn on a few battery operated candles. You’ll be surprised how nice and clean a room looks with minimal lighting and a few candles.

If you have more time for truly sparkling results, check out the new Holiday Clean Up: 20-Day Challenge I created with Maid Brigade. It's a step-by-step plan to deep clean the three most visible rooms during entertaining, with only one or two tasks per day. Keep it on your phone or tablet for a handy reference during the holidays.

Toxic Household Dust - It's in YOUR Home

Posted on October 25, 2016 by oi_admin - Healthy Home

Do you realize the dust in your home is probably toxic? The Silent Spring Institute, dedicated to researching the effects of toxic chemicals on health, recently conducted a study testing the presence of 45 synthetic chemicals in household dust. There were 10 chemicals that were present in 90% of the samples tested. This suggests toxic household dust is everywhere.

I was fortunate to be able to interview one of the scientists from the study and I’d like to share some of the highlights of our time together.

Robin Dodson is a research scientist that specializes in chemical exposure and risk assessment. Robin and her colleagues found that there are a wide range of toxic chemicals in our household dust. This may be the reason why our homes are considered more polluted than outdoor air.

Robin explained that the chemicals in our homes are interacting with the dust. The dust actually becomes a reservoir for the chemicals. The dust shows the scientists a snapshot of the toxins that are in a home.

Of those 10 pervasive chemicals, Robin and her team identified two as the worst. Phthalates, which are considered hormone disruptors, were found in every sample – the worst offenders. Phthalates can be found in plastic toys, vinyl and the fragrances in household cleaning and personal care products. By law, the formulas of these fragrance components are considered “trade secrets” and manufacturers are not required to disclose such ingredients on package labeling. This makes it extremely hard for consumers to really know what’s in any given product that has a fragrance.

Phenols, chemicals found in cleaning products, were the second biggest offenders. Phenols are used in synthetic fragrances found in cleaning products, body care products and perfumes. They are considered hormone disruptors.

The takeaway is that the scents we smell after using a cleaning product do not disappear. They are still in our homes even after their scent goes away.

Body care product manufacturers are required to list their product ingredients on the package label. But unfortunately, cleaning product manufacturers do not have to list their ingredients so you MUST do research if you want to find out what they are using in their products.

Children suffer the most from exposure to these chemicals. Their bodies are still developing and their exposures are proportionately higher doses than adults due to their small size. Children also spend a lot of time on the floor, commonly putting their hands in their mouths. Therefore they are ingesting toxic household dust! Pets are also at risk, spending a lot of time on the floor and exploring their environment with their noses and mouths.

There are some simple solutions to removing toxic household dust from your home. Vacuuming often with a HEPA-filtered vacuum cleaner is one simple solution. The other is to have your children wash their hands often. And finally, try to avoid products that contain synthetic chemicals, especially fragrances.

Silent Spring Institute has a free app, called Detox Me that will help you think differently about the chemical load you may have in your home. Their app shows you where there may be a problem in your home and gives you alternatives.

Listen to the full interview here.

8 surprising tricks to reduce allergy attacks this fall

Posted on September 30, 2016 by oi_admin - Healthy Home

OR, what do a clothes dryer, a pillow case and a hair dryer have in common?

When the weather turns colder we close our windows and it seems that everyone starts getting sick. Most of the “sickness” is really a reaction to dust and allergens that are hiding in our homes. Hiding??? Yup, hiding throughout your house. If you or someone else in your house notices more congestion, more sneezing or coughing, this could be your problem.

A really good vacuum with lots of attachments isn’t the only way to reduce these irritants indoors. And besides, it’s big and clunky, puts off heat when operated and it’s all the way down in the basement. Instead, try these surprisingly easy tricks to get rid of allergens in your home – and your sickness.

Fluffy deep pile rugs – Rugs in general are dust magnets but those new designer rugs that have long shaggy pile are the worst. Dust, dust mites, pet dander, pet hair and other allergens get embedded deep within the fibers. Put smaller size rugs right into your clothes dryer to remove the allergens. As you will discover in this blog post, your dryer is possibly your best weapon against allergens in your home. The heat of the dryer kills the dust mites and the air flow frees the allergens and exhausts them outside.

clothes-dryer-best-defense-against-allergens

Throw Pillows – Throw pillows accumulate dust just like your wood furniture. I think I’ll dust them today. Says no one, ever. And you can’t, really, anyway. You can clean them with the upholstery tool on your vacuum OR simply take them outside and give them several good whacks to dislodge dust and other microscopic irritants, then use your trusty dryer to kill and remove the remaining, more deeply embedded allergens.

Book Shelves – Books hardly ever get dusted when we clean. Yes, we dust the shelf they are sitting on, but never the tops of books. Ever watch a movie and see the dust they blow off when they pull an old book out of a shelf in the library? It’s exaggerated in the movies, but commonly occurs on a lesser scale in an average home.

Books get really dusty. You can quick clean them on the shelf by using a really good feather duster or your vacuum and the upholstery attachment. But if it’s been a while, a deep clean may be in order: pull all the books off the shelf and dust all six sides of each with a microfiber cloth. Microfiber grabs and holds dust and other allergens while other dusting rags just move dust around. If you’ve got allergies, you need microfiber for a really thorough job.

Draperies- Drapes and curtains are the worst place for dust and allergens to accumulate. Most allergists recommend removing window dressings completely when someone has been diagnosed with dust allergies. If you can’t live without draperies or curtains, there are a couple ways to keep the allergens at bay. Vacuum your window treatments on a bi-weekly basis using your vacuum and upholstery tool. Once a month, take them down and place them in the dryer on high heat. Keep this regimen and you will never need to go through the entire process of washing, drying and pressing your curtains.

Lamp shades – Pleated lamp shades never really get dusted. You may dust the top of the pleats of the shade by “blotting” with a microfiber cloth (you don’t want to push particles into the weave of cloth shades) BUT the real allergens are hiding deep down inside the pleats. Use your vacuum and the upholstery tool to draw dust out of the pleat. Then use a new paint brush and brush down inside the pleats to loosen the dust nestled there. Finish by vacuuming the entire shade one final time.

Artificial plants and flowers – Allergens LOVE to hide in dry flower arrangements and on artificial plants. Artificial arrangements tend to be overlooked when we are dusting. A simple tool you can use to clean the dried flowers is a hair dryer set on a gentle setting. Do this outside or in the garage, if possible. To clean plastic plants, simply use a spray bottle of water and a dry microfiber cloth. Spray the leaves and wipe them dry with the microfiber cloth.

Stuffed animals – If your child is diagnosed with allergies the first thing your allergist will recommend is bag up all your child’s stuffed animals. These, like throw pillows, are a haven for dust and allergens. If your child just can’t part with these beloved friends, place them in a pillow case and pop them in the washer twice a month to keep the allergens to a minimum. If they can safely be dried, use the dryer.

Ceiling fans – Perhaps the most overlooked item on a routine clean is the ceiling fan. Before you know it, there’s a nice film of dust building on the edges of the fan paddles. What you can’t see is the buildup on top of those paddles. A quick and easy way to fix this is with a pillow case. Place the pillow case over the fan paddle and, holding it closed at the base of the paddle, pull the dust off. Carefully open the pillow case and repeat on the remaining paddles. Then just put the pillowcase in the washer. No more allergens!