How to Create a Lung-Safe Cleaning Environment

For those with lung or respiratory conditions like asthma, cleaning can be even more of a chore than it usually is. Harsh chemicals included in many household cleaners can trigger or exacerbate symptoms of asthma or COPD, which can make cleaning harmful or potentially even dangerous, especially if you live in an older home without great ventilation. 

Read on for five safety tips for making sure your cleaning process is safe for you and any lung conditions you may have.

1. Wear a face mask if you clean with chemicals

Chemicals like bleach are found in many household cleaners, especially for the bathroom. While these do a great job of getting rid of germs on high-contact and dirty surfaces liken toilets and sinks, they can also be dangerous to breathe in, especially if you're cleaning an area without a window or proper ventilation. To ensure you aren't breathing in potentially toxic fumes, grab a face mask (or bandana) before you start cleaning, and use an air purifier when needed. 

2. De-clutter and dust frequently

Don't save spring cleaning for once a year — make it a habit to clear out any knick-knacks or items gathering dust on your shelves once a month, especially if you're highly sensitive to dust mites. Small items on bookcases or shelves can gather dust frequently, so ensure you're regularly cleaning and dusting these areas to keep dust from triggering any lung conditions. 

3. Opt for scent-free cleaning products

Clean linen, forest breeze, and tropical escape-scented products may provide a quick solution for a bedroom with dirty laundry or a kitchen laden with cooking smells, but scented products can also cause headaches or exacerbate symptoms of asthma and COPD. These scents can cause shortness of breath, worsened asthma, or dizziness, so it's best to steer clear of scented cleaning products and use unscented ones, or make your own to ensure you aren't worsening any of your lung conditions.

4. Clean in well-ventilated areas

When possible, it's important to clean in well-ventilated areas with decent airflow — especially if you're cleaning with chemicals. If available, open doors and windows to ensure ventilation and control airflow out of the room you're cleaning. If windows or doors aren't an option, turn on or bring in a fan.

5. Prevent mold growth

Especially for those with moderate to severe asthma, mold can make breathing much harder. To control mold and moisture levels in your home, spritz straight vinegar onto your walls and let air dry, as vinegar helps to control the growth and spread of mold spores. To keep mold from getting bad in the first place, it's advised to invest in a dehumidifier and keep fans on when cooking or showering. 

For more deep cleaning tips and ways to create your own lung-safe cleaning products, check out the below visual from Absestos.com. 

Source: The Mesothelioma Center at Asbestos.com

Interested in a Brand New Home? Here's How to Get Started

Buying a newly-built home is exciting. You don't have to worry about damage from previous tenants or wear and tear that has accumulated over several years. If you plan to have it built, you will have total control over the design and structure. If you are thinking about building a home, here are the steps you will likely need to take.

Pick a Location

Choose a lot in the area where you want to live. Look for a good location, since you will be living there for possibly years to come. If you decide to sell it later, you can attract more buyers in a property that is situated in a nice neighborhood with good schools and local amenities. Don't settle for a cheaper lot or one that is smaller than you want just to save money. The lost is as important as the house, so choose one carefully.

Design a Blueprint

Draw a rough sketch of the home you would like to have if you are planning a custom design. You can also use a computer app to design your new home by working with various elements, features, and colors. Coordinate your plans with a building budget that includes all the actual costs as well as possible overruns or extra unplanned expenses. Remember to include any landscaping or yard design that you would like to have. You might have to make tough choices if the budget gets tight, such as giving up one of the three bathrooms to get extra storage.

Interview Building Contractors

Research the best builders for your home design in the area you have selected. Meet with one or more contractors to discuss your plan or blueprints to confirm the home's layout and size. You might also want to look at their existing designs and tour new construction homes for an idea of the quality and style of the finished houses. When you're ready to sign a contract, read the fine print, and consider having a real estate attorney review it first.

Talk to a Lender

Contact your bank, credit union, or another financial institution to discuss financing your new home. Ask about interest rates, mortgage terms, and special conditions that might apply a penalty, such as paying off the mortgage early or making a late payment. You may want to talk with a couple of lenders to get the best loan for your new house.

Building a new home requires thoughtful, detailed planning. Don't skimp on steps like these to make your dream home a reality.

Tips for Moving to a Smaller House

There comes a time in many people’s lives when they realize that they don’t need tons of space to live happily anymore. Downsizing is a very common process that many people go through to save money and purge their homes of unnecessary junk. If you plan on moving to a smaller home than your current one, you should keep a few things in mind. We’ll give you some tips for moving to a smaller house so that you can make the transition smoothly.

Declutter Every Room

Almost everyone has at least one room that they need to take down a notch—the place where knickknacks go to spend the rest of their days. Resist the urge to add more stuff when you move out. You’ll be in a smaller space, so you’ll need to pare down if you want to fit in your new home. Be firm with yourself as you do this. Don’t hang onto things you don’t need just because you don’t like the idea of throwing them away.

Map Out Your New Storage Areas

One of the best tips for moving to a smaller house is to look for and measure all your new home’s storage areas. These measurements will help you figure out how much space you’ll have to work with when you move in. Failing to do this beforehand could result in a very cluttered and messy home since you won’t know where to put everything. Knowledge of your space is the key to avoiding any mistakes in packing.

Measure Doorways and Furniture

Furniture is one of the worst parts about moving into a smaller home. Fitting your precious furniture into a small space may be an exercise in futility, but the important thing is to know that before you begin. Measuring doorways, stairways, and entryways will allow you to know how much room you have to work with when bringing in the furniture.

Choose Larger Items Early

Make sure you know what larger items you’ll be moving into or buying for your new home. If you can pick these items out as early as possible, you’ll have a better idea of how much room you have left for everything else. This list includes appliances such as:

• Stoves/ranges

• Washing machines

• Dryers

• Refrigerators

• Ovens

Setting these up first will help you map out the rest of the home’s floor plan since these pieces must go in specific places.

Home Office Organization Tips

Working from home undoubtedly has its perks. It is a welcome alternative to a pesky office environment and distractions. However, if you aren’t careful, your home office can rapidly become a hub of disorganization. 

The truth is your home office can boost your productivity level to an all-time high. But, it can also cause a detrimental crawl.  The only difference between these two probable outcomes is organization. 

A research by Herman Miller reveals that a "seemingly insignificant" structure of your work chair can affect your creativity--negatively.  So, how you set up your workspace and maximize the space you have is crucial.  

The good news is, whether your workspace is spacious or as small as a cubicle, you can effectively maximize it to heighten creativity. 

This article will reveal proven hacks to make your workspace exceptionally conducive to birth intricate creative ideas. 

Let’s get down to it…

Organization Tips for Your Home Office

Creating a productive work environment isn't difficult. But maximizing your workspace without the right guide might come with a little hassle.

Here are tips to help you maximize your home office space:

Creative Office Space

One unique advantage of a home office is that you can get creative with the location. You can create a home office anywhere in your house… thanks to DIY room dividers. 

So, you don’t necessarily need a whole room for a home office. Any well-ventilated space will do just fine. 

Remember, the aim is to maximize effectiveness and productivity the best way you can. So don’t set up an office in a place where you’ll have to deal with pesky distractions. 

Standing Desk

Chances are you have heard that "Sitting is the New Smoking." Sorry to disappoint you, the peddlers of this notion got it wrong. 

According to the American journal of public health, the health risks of sitting for long hours pales compared to smoking.

However, there are health risks, including the risk of premature death, associated with sitting for long hours.

 See why a standing desk is necessary?  

A standing desk works like magic. It eases the stress of sitting for hours, so It offers a comfortable alternative when sitting becomes unbearable. 

Now, here's the catch— the standing desk trend has spread rapidly like wildfire. With the sheer number of producers on the market, it’s almost impossible to separate inferior from authentic ones. 

Hence, launch extensive research before you get a standing desk. 

One desk that we can vouch for is flexispot’s full-featured standing desk. With this desk, you can seamlessly switch from sitting to standing by adjusting the height. 

You can also check out other trusted brands. Just ensure the standing desk is versatile enough to serve diverse work purposes. 

Maximize Your Wall space

Small wall space can hold more things than you can imagine. For instance, floor-to-ceiling shelves can conceal files and documents perfectly. So, your under-desk drawers can be used for other everyday office accessories. 

You can make a glass sliding door for your shelf to keep private documents hidden. If you have a corner space, a corner bookshelf isn't a bad idea as well.

Hanging a bulletin board on your wall also creates space for important messages and notes. You can artfully arrange crucial messages all over your bulletin board to help you stay focused. 

The wall can hold a mail filling system. It’s tempting to pile mails on your desk, but it's not wise.  When space is at a premium, you can't afford to have your table flooded with daily emails. With a mail filing system, organizing your mail will be effortless.

For more organization, create different spaces for incoming mails, bills, mail to file, and outgoing mails.

Technology

If you have old, clunky monitors adorning your home office, it’s time to get rid of them, especially if you are low on a workspace.  

Replacing huge computers with sleek and modern ones saves a great deal of space. You'll be surprised at how much space they occupy. Similarly, a telephone might just be a waste of precious resources, i.e., workspace. Using a headset to make calls is a much better option.  

Wireless connections make life easier. You won’t have to deal with wires clogging your spaces or causing a nuisance all day. Wireless connections cut down on avoidable wire connections. 

Monitor Mounts

Wondering how to manage your small desk space? Here’s a cheat: get a monitor mount.

You’ll steal back some of the space your monitor occupies. Moreover, the flexibility provides a higher visibility range from any angle. 

With the proper monitor mount, you can have a field day even while using a standing desk. 

There are several manufacturers of impressive monitor mounts. Flexispot’s full-motion design hits the mark. To be sincere, you'd find a couple of authentic brands on the market as well. 

Clean up your Desktop

A cluttered working desk is like a confusion dispenser. Imagine spending over half of your working hours trying to find crucial documents.

Do you know cluttered or disorganized spaces affect your mental health? That's beside the fact that it affects creativity immensely. 

Need some advice? 

Please clean up your desk and ensure it stays that way. Now it might be difficult to keep it crisp when you have nowhere to keep your documents, pins, and whatnots.

 Here’s why you need an Under-desk drawer.

Under Desk Drawer

The secret to a highly organized desktop is an Under-desk drawer. The rule of thumb is: if it’s not in use, get it out of sight.

Organizing and storing your files and other office equipment in an under-desk drawer saves you a lot of stress. To make it as seamless as possible, you can get a drawer organizer. This helps you categorize your drawers for diverse use. 

Your pens can fit into space without getting all mixed up with pins or something else. Plus, it gives your drawer a spick and span look.

Tag it 

"Where exactly is the printer paper," you ask your tired brain five times a day. That doesn't mean you aren't smart enough to remember. You are probably too worked up trying to figure out where everything is all the time. 

Just label it! You can label your cabinets to make them easy on yourself.  Although your brain registers it after a while, it still helps you maintain sanity in your space. 

If you are worried about labels looking tacky, you can use a color-coding system instead. 

Clip Those Wires!

The sight of many wires littering a desk isn't visually appealing, and your brain doesn't react well to clutter. 

Your laptop, mice, or phone chargers aren't adornments for your desk. So, if your desk doesn't have a slot to hide the messy wires, clip them. You can group them with a binder clip and hide the same to keep your office desk organized.

Plus, it saves you the stress of diving under a desk searching for missing cords or chargers. It's about time you organized the conglomerate of wires in your workspace.

Organize Your Computer Desktop

You probably don’t have a lot to label because most of your documents are on your computer. However, organizing your computer is essential.  

Save all similar documents in a file to make it easy to fish them out when the need arises. 

Another crucial tip to help keep your computer uncluttered is ensuring the homepage is completely free. 

An organized and homy home screen puts you at ease each time you set out to work. 

Additional Tips for Your Home WorkStation 

Natural Lightening

You are probably accustomed to the luminous lightning from artificial bulbs illuminating our workplace. Well, here's interesting news: artificial lightening cuts down your productivity. 

Research shows that exposing your workspace to natural lightening improves your mental clarity.

Full-spectrum lighting also aids your vision remarkably. Believe it or not, your eyes get  super happy under natural illumination. 

So, align your home office strategically to ensure you get a daily dose of daylight illumination while working. 

However, if your office doesn't have a window or any viable access to natural lightening, full-spectrum bulbs can fill the vacuum.

No kidding, this bulb is more expensive than other artificial bulbs, but it's the closest natural lookalike you can get.

Ergonomic Office Chair

A comfortable sitting chair spurs creativity and productivity. So, investing in an ergo chair will help you perform proficiently. 

Slouching or improper positioning of your body can lead to back pain and other harmful health conditions. 

However, the right ergo chairs levels this potential risk. If you work for long hours and intend to boost your productivity, an ergonomic chair is essential.

Personalize Your Space

Your home office primarily built for work, but it also belongs to you. Let the space be an extension of your personality. 

Studies shows that a personalized office space contributes a great deal to an employee’s effectiveness. It also influences how a worker relates with work. 

Well, it’s an opportunity to create a comfortable atmosphere for yourself. Something that makes you calm.

But don’t over do it, because a lousy workspace is counterproductive. Personalize your home office moderately.

Conclusion

Having a home workstation with a tranquil ambience engages your brain positively. The result never comes out wrong. 

The first step to achieving an ideal home workspace is maximizing and organizing it best way you can. 

A cluttered space sends the wrong message to your brain. This makes it near impossible to perform effectively.