7 Tips for Organizing Your Home during COVID-19

COVID-19 has dramatically changed our lives. Many of us are either virtually working from home or just staying at home as a measure to curb the spread of the deadly virus. It’s a new and distressing experience for most, if not all, of us.  Although the virus itself may make you feel powerless, there are some simple actions you can take to take charge of your home space. Even performing a few simple tasks to keep your home organized can help you lead a more comfortable and fulfilling life during these hard times. Here 7 practical tips for organizing your home during COVID-19.

1.      Choose  a Few Priority Areas to Declutter

 Decluttering is a crucial first step in organizing your home. But you don’t have to work on your whole house all at the same time. Instead, choose a couple of priority areas, and then work on each one of them daily. Consider setting up a dedicated workspace, especially if you’re working from home. It doesn’t have to be an entire room – your home office can be just a space in the dining room, pantry, or closet. Every time you complete a specific home organization task, you’ll feel happy and in control. On top of being active, decluttering can be a fun-filled activity. It’ll allow you to check out your old photos, clothing, gifts, and a variety of other valuable belongings.

2.      Clean Up Your Home Office

If you already have a home office space, take your time to clean and organize it. Check what’s on your work desk, bookshelves, or in drawers, and then sort out what you need and what should go to the trash can. Create a temporary filling area by getting rid of some unnecessary items on the bookshelf.

3.      Develop and Follow a Routine

When working from home or self-isolating, it’s advisable to come up with a routine and follow it daily. Start your day by showering, getting dressed, and taking your breakfast as if you were heading to the office. Ensure your home is clean and organized throughout the day. Once you’re done with your work-related tasks, neaten your workspace, clean the dishes, and ensure everything is tidy so that you can start the next day fresh and with a clear mind.

4.      Create An Extra Space

Do you have adult children? If yes, then adding an extra bathroom or bedroom can be a wise decision during the COVID-19 period. This will offer you adequate space to feel at ease, which will go a long way in enhancing your quality of life. Bear in mind that the pandemic has triggered an economic crisis and many people have lost their jobs. Many homeowners have already seen their adult children return home, and it’s a trend that’s likely to go on for a while. So creating an additional space will be a great idea. And one way to do that is through home remodeling, a project that should be handled by a professional. There are many reliable home remodeling contractors, so be sure to partner with one. Make sure to do your own research for your local area and partner with a good one.

5.      Focus on Safety

There are tons of fantastic how-to videos and guides on how to organize your home on the web, but remember many of them were created before the COVID-19 pandemic. Whatever advice you pay attention to, adapt it to the realities of the circumstances at hand. When sorting out and packing up things you want to dispose of during coronavirus, it’s a good idea to purchase moving boxes instead of depending on boxes from coworkers, friends, or grocery stores. Restrict help with organizing your home to close family members.

6.      Find a Designated Spot for the Masks and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

PPE and mask-friendly accessories have now become part of the clutter that you need to deal with during the COVID-19 crisis. Choose two designated spots for these valuable items – one spot for clean masks and PPE and the second spot for dirty ones. That way, it’ll be easy to separate clean ones from dirty ones.

7.      Store Items Based on How Often They Are Used

The items you use daily should be in plain sight or at least where you can easily get to. The things you use occasionally should need a step stool (think of high shelves). Items you use just once per year should need a ladder. This is where attics and high shelves in a garage come in. With this kind of arrangement, it’ll be easy to access items you use frequently while keeping those you don’t use often clean and neat until you require them.

The Bottom Line

Organizing your home isn’t something you can do just one day and forget about it. Instead, it’s something that you should do every day. Integrate it into your daily schedule so that you can become more efficient at completing your tasks during the COVID-19 period.

4 Benefits of Air Duct Cleaning – How To Clean Air Ducts in Home?

We partnered with a Home improvement company for this post. The opinions in the post are honest. All reviews and opinions expressed in this post are based on our personal views. We are excited because we know you will love it.

Air duct cleaning has a direct impact on your home’s internal atmosphere and your HVAC’s efficiency. As your home AC system continues to operate for many months, it traps dirt, grime, dust, and mold spores within the air ducts. Moreover, the AC units themselves collect dust and dirt over time. Because of this dirt, the air in your home begins to feel stuffy and contaminated. Moreover, if you have family members who have asthma, they’ll end up feeling nauseous, have trouble breathing or develop other severe breathing problems. Therefore, you should ensure air duct cleaning is a high priority.

4 Benefits of Air Duct Cleaning

Regular air duct cleaning brings along several benefits for your home, HVAC system, and family. Some of these benefits stem frombetter air quality, circulation, and efficient performance. Therefore, a simple cleaning job can bring a lot of positives to your home.

1. Cleaner & Fresher Air Owning to a Better Living Environment

By preventing dirt, dust, and pollen from circulating your home, you get to breathe in a cleaner, fresher air without an odor. Furthermore, with your air ducts blowing less dust around, you’ll have an easier time keeping your interior clean. Overall, with cleaner air ducts, you can improve your living environment.

2. Easier Breathing & Fewer Allergens

Removing mold, bacteria, dust, and pollen from your air ducts keeps them from circulating your home and causing issues for those with asthma or breathing problems. Furthermore, you effectively remove other irritants and toxins from the air with a thorough air duct cleaning job. Therefore, you can breathe more comfortably after a routine air duct cleaning run.

3. Improve Air Flow & HVAC Efficiency

With fewer obstructions blowing normal airflow, your HVAC system will operate more efficiently, and air circulation around your home will improve dramatically. Therefore, you’ll save up on HVAC running costs, as your AC units will run at peak efficiency.

4. Increase HVAC Lifespan

With cleaner air ducts, your HVAC system will have an easier time pushing air around your ductwork. As a result, it won’t have to overwork itself as much as it would when working with dirty air ducts. Therefore, you can essentially increase your HVAC system’s lifespan if you clean your air ducts regularly.

How to Clean Your Home Air Ducts

There are two ways you can go about cleaning your air ducts - do it yourself or leave it to the HVAC professionals. Generally, to ensure thorough cleaning and decontamination, you’ll want to leave it to your local HVAC maintenance service to clean your air ducts. Occasionally, if your air ducts are well within reach, you can do some simple cleaning as well. However, in most cases, you’ll need thorough air duct cleaning from your local HVAC maintenance services.

DIY Air Duct Cleaning

When you opt for DIY air duct cleaning, you can reduce costs and save time. If you want to take on the job of cleaning your air ducts, these are the steps you should take -

• Locate registers and vents

• Unscrew the panels to the vents you’ll be cleaning while placing cloth or paper towels over all other vents in your house. By covering up the other vents, you can ensure that no dust blows into your home while you’re cleaning your air ducts.

• Since you’ll be loosening dirt and passing it out a single vent, you need to hold your HVAC in fan mode. Therefore, adjust your thermostat to ensure it’s not in heating or cooling mode. Instead, rely on it to blow out any dirt and dust you manage to loosen.

• Once you’re ready, start cleaning out the registers and air pathways. Here, you’d want to hold a vacuum near the opening to collect all foreign contaminants coming out of the air ducts. Moreover, the HVAC fans will be pushing out any dust you loosen as well. Therefore, get ready to catch everything that comes out of your vacuum. You can use a damp cloth on a long handle to sweep up any dirt within your air ducts, but you’ll have to rinse it repeatedly as you’ll end up collecting dirt quickly.

• Once you’re satisfied with your clean up, turn your HVAC system off and make your way to the blower compartments and AC units. Here, you’ll have to clean out the machinery, especially the blower fans and motors, to prevent them from blowing dust and dirt back into your HVAC.

• After cleaning out the HVAC units, it’s finally time to replace your air filters and call it a day.

That’s everything you need to complete a DIY air duct cleaning job. Although it’s not as thorough as a professional air duct cleaning, it’s still better than letting dust and mold run rampant in your air ducts.

HVAC Professional Air Duct Cleaning Service

You can hire HVAC professionals to clean your air ducts. They follow the same procedure as you would during your DIY clean-up, but they will use tools and machinery to clean out your system thoroughly. Furthermore, after the clean-up, they’ll spray the air duct interiors with anti-bacterial solutions to decontaminate them. Finally, they’ll test to ensure your HVAC system works optimally after the clean-up.

Conclusion

Air duct cleaning is simple, easy, and drastically improves your indoor atmosphere. If you have dirty air ducts or a low-efficiency HVAC system, it’s time for a thorough air duct cleaning. And so, hire the best local HVAC contractors to get the best air duct cleaning services. Remember, with regular air duct cleaning, you’ll have a comfortable, refreshing breeze coming from your air vents and save money on excess energy bills.

Everything You Need to Set Up an Ergonomic Home Office

Working from home has become the norm recently, with COVID-19 sending whole countries into lockdown. For many, it has come with considerable benefits. You now have the freedom to set up a completely ergonomic home office, which will support your health for years to come.

As more and more research emerges about the negative impact of staying seated all day, workers are becoming increasingly committed to promoting their spinal and overall health. Now that we know better, it’s important to do better, which is why an ergonomic home office is the perfect solution.

What Is Ergonomic?

It’s a word that has been thrown about in recent years, but is still not fully understood by most people. Simply put, when referring to the home office space, it’s about fitting the set-up to the person. There are many benefits that come with a ergonomic home office, such as:

• Less muscle fatigue

• Increase in productivity

• Reduced risk of diabetes

• Less risk of heart disease

• Reduced muscle strains

• Prevention of back injuries

When we work from home, it’s tempting to lounge on the couch or stay under the covers in our bed, balancing our laptop on our laps. However, doing this for the long run will lead to musculoskeletal issues. An ergonomic desk and office chair can prevent these problems. 

Ergonomic Office Chair

Let’s take a look at your seating arrangement to begin with. Ideally, you should maintain the following position while working:

• Your feet need to be flat on the floor with your knees at a 90-degree angle.

• If you choose to have armrests, they need to be used correctly. Your arms should be supported at 90 degrees and your forearms should be parallel to the floor. Your forearms should never rest on the armrest while you’re typing.

• Your back should be completely flush against the backrest of the chair, with your entire body sitting back fully. This will encourage your entire body to be stacked, with your shoulders over your hips and your head over your shoulders.

One of the best investments you can make is into an ergonomic office chair. You want to find one with adjustable settings that allow you to find the best support for your body shape and style. Here are some of the features you should be on the lookout for:

1. Adjustable seat height, so your feet can be on the floor

2. Adjustable seat tilt, to put your pelvis in the optimal position and take the pressure off your lower back

3. Seat width and depth that provides enough space for you to sit flush against the backrest with about two to three inches between your knees and the chair

4. Adjustable lumbar support to achieve the into the optimum position against your lower back for comfort and stability

5. Adjustable armrests

Ultimately, it all comes down to positioning. Your feet must reach the floor, and your armrests should support your arms at the optimum height with your elbows bent at 90 degrees. Your lower back should be right up against the back of the chair, fitting comfortably against the lumbar support. Your computer should be at arm's-length, with your eyes in line with the top of the screen. Finally, you want to make sure your shoulders, neck and head are all stacked.

All of these steps can be achieved with the Biomorph ergonomic office chair, which come in a range of designs so you can find the best fit for your needs. 

Ergonomic Standing Desk 

While a supportive chair is critical to your health, sitting for long periods of time isn’t ideal for you. For this reason, it’s essential to pair your ergonomic chair with an ergonomic standing desk. Here’s how to get the most out of your set up:

• Stand correctly: Have your feet hip-width apart, with your hips stacked directly above them. Make sure your weight is being distributed evenly.

• Wear supportive shoes: If you’re going to be standing in them all day, make sure your shoes are as comfortable and supportive as possible.

• If you’re experiencing any pain, readjust: Listen to your body to determine what’s not working in your current set up.

• Check your posture: You don’t want to be hunched over your monitor, or find yourself leaning on your desk throughout the day. It can help to switch between standing and sitting in your ergonomic chair. This will allow you to maintain strong posture for the entire day, even as your body tires.

Getting the right set up for your home office will have many ongoing health benefits. Plus, you can move easily between sitting and standing for ongoing comfort, which could even help you increase your productivity throughout the day as a result.

Audio/Visual Home Updates That You Should Make to Prepare for Smart Home Upgrades

A renovation is the best time to upgrade your home and take advantage of the trending smart home technologies. The smart home industry is growing rapidly, and several manufacturers are beginning to provide devices that easily integrate into a home's architecture. If you are looking to turn your home into a smart home, the potential rewards of complete home automation are almost endless.

Home Automation Systems

If you want to install multiple smart home devices during your home remodeling, a smart home system will enable you to automate every device's features. A smart home system provides compatibility with a variety of specific devices across a number of standards and can be incorporated directly with your voice control assistant.

Smart Thermostats

A smart thermostat is an excellent upgrade for your cooling and heating system. Still, these gadgets will more significantly boost your home's energy efficiency if you add a few additional temperature sensors. During your home improvement project, you can configure sensors directly to your smart thermostat, enabling you to adjust the heat in each room automatically.

Built-In Speakers

Audio devices and speakers can consume a lot of your space, and unpleasant cables can really disrupt the stylish atmosphere of your living room. Fortunately, an audio/visual company sells customizable speaker systems that directly integrate into your home's architecture.

Home Security Cameras

Interior cameras, perimeter cameras, and doorbell cameras can be monitored and assessed on your mobile device while you're at work or on holiday. Discreetly disguising video surveillance into the layout of your home's entrance and frequently visited sections can enable you to protect your house and belongings without making family or friends feel uncomfortable. Doorbell security cameras are minimally invasive, have a low-profile, and you can conveniently fix one when you update your doorway.

Motion Detectors and Smart Security Devices

Install sensors that reveal motion, window or door access, carbon monoxide or smoke, broken glass, and flooding. These sensors are specific inputs incorporated into your home automation system and modified to the distinctive architecture of your home.

When you link your home alarm to your automation system, you can get alerts on your mobile phone of every window or door access. This can enable you to flash your lights repeatedly to notify neighbors of a possible break-in. When you’re getting alerts directly to your phone, you can also call emergency services in case of a fire or break-in, even if you’re in another city.

Whether you are remodeling your house yourself or hiring a professional, you shouldn't miss the chance to upgrade your home's technology. A smart home will make your daily activities and tasks more convenient and pleasant while keeping your household and possessions secure.