Have you ever been in a home, and it is so dirty, so cluttery, and the addition of a funny smell just makes your whole experience negative? Well, I have been in homes exactly like that, and I could barely function. I used to nanny for a family, and the environment they lived in was not that of a clean one. When food fell from the baby’s high chair, they would just leave it on the floor. The kitchen was cluttered, the whole house was just an unhealthy place to be in (for me, and probably for the family who lived there). After making the children’s meals, I had to clean the dishes that I used of course, but I was unable to even get the pan or pot in the sink because there were already so many dishes in it. It was really hard, and I couldn’t clean up the dishes that were already in the sink because I had to watch the children, and I was not paid to be their housekeeper. I didn’t want to uncover disgusting mysteries in the mess, and that is partly why I didn’t clean up their mess too.
I come from a house where everyone is very cleanly, and everyone motivates each other to clean. In our house, we never had a sink full of dirty dishes, and dust did not have the chance to accumulate on tables. It was always very clean. It wasn’t always a museum, but it was clean. Being in a clean home not only makes for happiness (happiness does not always come out of a clean home, and that is great too), but it also helps you breathe better, and is much healthier. In an unclean home, there are many undusted areas, and unsanitized areas that can cause sickness. Did you know that in just one dust particle, there are thousands of dust mites. If someone in your home has sensitive lungs, and they breathe in some of that dust, it could potentially cause an asthma attack, or cause a small child to develop asthma, or severe breathing problems. The bacteria is another situation that definitely should be addressed. If you keep a clean home, and you wipe down surfaces regularly with disinfectant, or other bacteria killing solutions, the bacteria problem is probably not a big issue for you. In some homes, people don’t wipe down surfaces regularly, and they definitely don’t wipe down objects that are constantly being touched. These common objects are remote controls; cell phones; door knobs; toilet handles; toilet seats; key pads; land line telephones; and anything that people touch frequently. These should be wiped down at least once a week. Germs are everywhere, and there is no hiding or getting away from them. They exist and we have to deal with that, but we can at least help the problem. Sometimes getting is unavoidable, but hopefully wiping down areas and objects can help prevent sickness. Getting back to the sink of dirty dishes, that can create some major bacteria as well, especially if the dishes aren’t taken care of in a timely manner. The dirty dishes can attract flies, and it is just hard to work around.
Another area of uncleanliness is clutter. Now, someone can keep a clean house, but clutter seems to always lurk around their home. Some people don’t mind it, but others do. It is distracting at times, and when you don’t clean up the clutter, it slowly starts to grow. When there is clutter around me, I have to pick it up. I have a little cleaning policy with myself, if an object doesn’t belong, it needs to be put away, and I just do it. It helps prevent clutter build up. This is only a small area of cleanliness, but if it does not get taken care of, it can lead to bigger problems. Eventually, a clutter problem could lead to a critter problem. Some of the items in the mess of clutter could attract ants, mice, rats, moths, then it is just another problem to deal with. Those critters could still find their way inside even without clutter, but then you only have a critter problem, and not the clutter problem to deal with too.
A practice of keeping a tidy home is also getting rid of old or unwanted things. When I go through my belongings, I look what I need now, or in the very near future. I don’t keep something if I have no use for it, or if it is just taking up space. Ridding your home or living space of items that are not needed in your life is a wonderful way of detoxing your home, and not to mention your mind. It is a great feeling to throw a pile of junk in the garbage bin, or donate unwanted clothing to a second hand store, or a homeless shelter. Getting rid of unwanted or useless items isn’t the only way of detoxing your home. Opening a window every now and then to exchange air flow through the house is a great way to detox the home. There are also certain house plants that detox the air in your home, and they also act as an aesthetic in your living space. Keeping the air clean and fresh will help prevent sickness as well, especially if someone who was sick has been in your home recently. Exchange that air out!
Since we are just around the corner from Spring, a lot of people do annual Spring cleaning, or change-of-the-season cleaning, and I wanted to address why it is important to keep things clean (every once in a while at least). It is tough to keep a clean house sometimes, but a little task every day will diminish the amount of work, and it will most likely increase air quality, as well as health.