How to Teach Your Children to Clean

How to Teach Your Children to Clean

Teaching your children how to be responsible and keep their home clean is an important part of parenting.  Without your instruction, they will be at a disadvantage when they finally get out on their own.  Rather than letting common responsibilities come as a horrible surprise, you can teach responsibilities now, by teaching your children to use the most common household products.

For instance, let your child read the instructions for use on the bottle of dishwashing liquid, and load and fill the dishwasher with the detergent as instructed.  Make it seem like a privilege rather than a chore.  Glass cleaner is another of the most common household products that children can have fun using.  Let your teens use the cleaner on a variety of different surfaces (other than just glass) to find out how well it cleans (it cleans pretty much anything).

You can also teach your kids put away the leftovers after dinner using plastic wrap. Make it into a game to see whose wrap stays 'done up' until the next day, and they will quickly become familiar with the chore. You can also use this as an opportunity to discuss things like wasting food, food preservation and more that will come in handy when your teen gets out on his or her own and has to start budgeting for food.

Another fun game is to aware a weekly prize to whoever has the cleanest bedroom. It need not be a big prize, it could be something as simple as a late night up to watch a favorite TV show. Set a day and time for the weekly 'judging', followed by the awarding of the prize. It could become a fun family tradition (as it was in our household!)

Teaching your kids to be clean early in life is a lesson that will stay with them as they grow up.  You can be assured that their future roommates, and eventually their future families of their own will be grateful to you! 

Window Cleaning Tools and Rubber

How to Best Clean Carpet Stains With Household Products

How to Best Clean Carpet Stains With Household Products

One of the most important household products to have is a good stain-fighting solution for your carpet. However, if you don’t have any products immediately handy, all is not lost. All you have to know is how to deal with a stain right away so that the long term consequences aren’t too expensive.  The following is a simply way to fight carpet stains using standard household products.

Be Prepared Ahead of Time

Seconds can literally make all the difference between whether or not you end up with a permanent carpet stain. This is why it’s important to have a few rags that you don’t mind using to soak up a liquid which has spilled on your carpet. Keep these rags where you can access them quickly, perhaps where your standard cleaning products are.

Press, Don’t Scrub

When you apply your rag to clean up a carpet spill, press on it and apply pressure to soak up the liquid, don’t scrub. If you attempt to scrub out a liquid, you just grind it into the carpet and the stain forms almost instantly. For best results, lay the cloth over the liquid and press down or stand on it to soak up the liquid.

Use Stain Neutralizing Products

You can get simple stain remover products or neutralizer products, and keep these products with your stain cleaning towels. Just remember that as you apply stain remover products, you don’t want to scrub the spot. Use pressure to soak up the liquid, then remove that towel and use a fresh one to apply the stain remover products.

Which Traditional Household Products Can Cause Illness?

Which Traditional Household Products Can Cause Illness?

Keeping your family healthy and safe is more than important, and you likely have cleaners and sanitizers on hand to help with this.  You take your children to the doctor, and you ensure that your home is clean.  However, did you know that common household products might actually be making your family sick?  Illness caused by common products used in your home can be very serious.

What sort of illnesses might these household products cause? Many medical professionals have tied harsh cleansers to a higher incidence of asthma and other lung conditions.  You might also find that fumes from cleaners can cause headaches and allergy-like symptoms, as well.  If you have a child that suffers from eczema, the most likely cause is common household products like soap, or the detergent used to wash their clothing and bedding.

What can you do to combat this problem?  A number of household products are now being made with natural ingredients, or you can opt to replace harsh cleansers and other products with natural solutions.  For instance, rather than using a harsh glass cleaner, you might choose to use a mixture of water and vinegar.  You might choose to use natural soap, rather than man-made products.  You could choose to replace your regular detergent with one specifically formulated to be gentle on sensitive skin, as well.  There are many different products that can be replaced to help alleviate sickness in your family.

Shopping Tips for Buying Household Products and Cleaners in Bulk

Shopping Tips for Buying Household Products and Cleaners in Bulk

If you are like most people, you may be on a budget and looking to save money wherever possible. If this is the case, it can be a good idea to learn which household products you should purchase in bulk.

Buying household products in bulk is not always the best idea if the household products you purchase will expire before you are able to use them, or if the cost per use is not as cheap as it would be if you purchased a regular size, but in most other cases you'll end up saving a great deal of money in the long run. The more you buy, the cheaper things tend to get.

Some of the best household products to buy in bulk are cleaning supplies such as aerosol sprays, dish detergents and tub cleaners. These household products can be quite expensive, particularly if you purchase name brands. Buying these household products in bulk can help you to save money, but keep in mind that this is only true if you clean frequently. If you only use a particular cleaner once every six months or less then it would be impractical to buy that product in bulk.

Another option would be to coordinate buying these household products in bulk with friends so that everyone can share in the expense and the savings.

Always remember to look at the label to see how many uses you can generally expect from that product, and then divide the number of uses into the product price. This will give you the per use price and allow you to comparison shop.

Discover Reusable Household Products for Saving Time and Money

Discover Reusable Household Products for Saving Time and Money

Many people today are looking for ways they can be more environmentally friendly, as well as save time and money. Learning which household products are reusable can help you to accomplish all of those goals. There are actually many different household products that can be considered as reusable.

Foil pans and pie cans are household products that can be used again and again for broiling, baking and reheating food. Simply wash them, dry well, and then reuse them. You can also use these household products as freezer containers. Just fill and then wrap and place in the freezer.

Other household products that can be easily reused include glass jars, such as pasta sauce and jam jars. You can reuse glass jars to give gifts of cookies, candies or jam. Cut a square of greaseproof, patterned paper, wrap it over the jar's open top, and secure with twine for an attractive, home-made gift packaging solution.

Glass jars can also be used for storing bulk cereals, grains, spices or baking supplies. In addition, you can use these household products for storing sauces, canning and salsas.

The plastic trays that commonly come with pastries and cookies are household products that you can reuse when you freeze fresh meat or poultry portions. They make excellent freezer containers because the meat will lie flat and then slip more easily into freezer bags. In addition, the tray will help to contain the meat juices. Plastic trays can also be used in place of paper plates when you are on a picnic, as well. They also work well for placing under plants to catch drips and prevent messes.

Reusing household products can prevent last minutes dashes to the store, saving you both time and money. As an added bonus, you're being eco friendly as well.

The Ultimate Household Products for Every Family

Some household products are simply a good idea that make your life more comfortable, while other products are so important you practically cannot live without them. However, when it comes to essential household products, there is one which is perhaps the most important of all and deserves the most attention to quality when it comes to your purchase decisions.

The Mother of All Household Products

The mother of all household products is the one place where everyone goes first thing in the morning and last thing at night. If you want a message to get to someone else in your household, this product will help you deliver it…and it’s NOT your telephone, it’s your household refrigerator. Just try to imagine your house without a refrigerator….chances are it wouldn’t be occupied for long.

If you’re going to invest money in quality products for your household, you need not be shy when it come to investing in a great refrigerator. A refrigerator is like a conglomerate of other useful household products: ice maker, freezer, water dispenser, and the place where all of those messages and “honey do lists” await to be noticed…and it doesn’t take long does it?

Of course, there are some key household products which deserve honorable mention, including: your shop vac, your television, and your household security system. All of these make your life easier and make your house a more safe and exciting place to hang out. If you’re thinking about investing some extra money into household products, these are the ones which you cannot afford to go cheap on.

Green Cleaning vs. Chemical Cleaning Products

Green Cleaning vs. Chemical Cleaning Products

Many household products these days claim to be green or chemical free. What does this really mean? What’s the difference between cleaning with green products and cleaning with chemical products?

Well, the truth is that all household products for cleaning involve chemicals of some sort. Everything in the world is made from chemicals, so they’re hard to avoid! What people mean when they say chemical free products is that the products are free from harmful, man-made chemicals. Many times, household products that are made from natural ingredients are much healthier and less harmful.

The great part about green cleaning household products is that they are often just as effective as man-made chemical laden products. For instance, you can clean your counter-tops with chemical household products meant to scrub them clean. Another option is to just sprinkle some baking soda on the counter, dip a sponge in vinegar, and wipe the counter down. The second option uses no harmful household products and works just as well!

Air quality is one of the major differences between green cleaning and chemical cleaning. All those chemicals that you use to clean your home end up in the air. These household products can cause respiratory and allergy problems in adults, but especially in children and even pets. Using green, natural household products leaves the air as fresh and clean as possible so that your whole family stays healthy.

Cleaning with green products is easy. You’ll just use lots of solutions that your great-grandmother probably did! Plus, these household products are much safer for your family and better for the environment.

Harmful Household Products and the Health of Your Family

As the person who has the primary responsibility for keeping your house clean and your family healthy, you may be wondering how the household products that you use for cleaning affect the health of you and your children. The truth is that many household products contain chemicals that are harmful for your health. Even some household products that claim to be green contain these chemicals. Your best option is just to make your cleaning supplies yourself!

Many household products that are traditionally used to keep the house clean contain carcinogens. These are compounds that have been shown to cause cancer. Sometimes the proof only goes as far as animal studies, but that’s enough to show us that these chemicals in household products are dangerous for humans, too. Carcinogens can directly affect the air quality in your home, making it a more dangerous place to live.

Phosphates are found in all sorts of household products, including the things you put on your body to get it clean! These can be washed into the water supply. Phosphates are a huge cause of water pollution and the death of aquatic life. They directly affect your health in many ways, too, especially if you come into direct contact with household products that contain them.

Many household products for cleaning also contain Volatile Organic Compounds, or VOCs. VOCs like methane can react with nitrogen and the sun to create ozone and other greenhouse gases. When inhaled, VOCs actually can cause asthma or increase irritation for those who are already struggling with respiratory problems.

All of these chemicals in everyday household products can affect your health and the health of your whole family. It’s best for everyone involved if you clean the green and natural way instead!

Procrastination - "Mechanism for Copying with Anxiety"

Procrastination

"Procrastination refers to the deferment of actions or tasks to a later time. Psychologists often cite such behavior as a mechanism for coping with the anxiety associated with starting and/or completing any task or decision. There are three criteria for a behavior to be classified as procrastination: it must be counterproductive, needless, and delaying.

Procrastination may result in stress, a sense of guilt and crisis, severe loss of personal productivity, as well as disapproval by others for not meeting responsibilities or commitments. These feelings combined may promote further procrastination. While it is regarded as normal for people to procrastinate to some degree, it becomes a problem when it impedes normal functioning. Chronic procrastination may be a sign of an underlying psychological disorder."


So, I have a label I can hide behind now. It's not me to blame for the lack of posts, it's the "psychological disorder" of "chronic procrastination" which I suffer from to blame. I knew all along that it wasn't my fault and wikipedia has proven me right. ;-)

Sorry if I haven't replied to your emails or comments lately, I really have been pretty vacant. I'm back on the horse now and holding tightly to the feisty little filly.

I wonder what has been happening in the world of art..., especially in these issues of "Frinds4Ever". I promise not to let my viewers down again and agaaaaaiiiiinnnn...!