Improving Your Productivity – Spring Cleaning Your Home for Summer
As a part of the spring cleaning media requests that came across my desk, Shelley Levitt of Pfizer.com requested the following:
“For the GetOld editorial portal of Pfizer.com, I’m seeking expert tips on how to spring clean your home with the aim to make it healthier and happier. What to toss, what to tack down, what to create. Our audience is 50 and older.”
No matter what your age or your job is, you’ll be more productive at work if everything is running smoothly at home. So here’s how to do some spring cleaning in the summer and make your abode healthier and happier.
What to toss
Medicines – Look for not only expired medicines but medicines that you no longer use. Having so many bottles around can lead to confusion and possibly taking the wrong medication. If your local pharmacy doesn’t provide medicine collection (usually pharmacies located near hospitals do), the DEA provides a Take Back Day collection event every April and October. See https://takebackday.dea.gov/ for details.
Piles – Stacks of old papers, magazines and newspapers collect dust, which can lead to breathing problems. Certain insects love to feed on paper products, and they love to live in these stacks. The piles are also a tripping hazard. So in order to improve your breathing, prevent insect invasions and save yourself from a life-threatening fall, move those stacks to the recycling bin!
What to fix
Overhead hazards – Have you ever bumped your head while you were tinkering with something around the house or garden? A knock on the head can lead to dizziness and falling. If you haven’t fixed it already, do it now.
Tripping hazards – Let’s move from your head to your feet. Do you stub your toe or trip over the same cord or board or rug? That annoyance could turn into a deadly fall. Tape or screw down or place a mat over all cables and cords. Get carpet tape for any loose rugs. Remove (or at least readjust the position of) furniture that you bump into.
What to add
Empty space – When our eyes see space on tables, chairs, dressers, shelves, and the floor, it relaxes our brains. Subconsciously, we cringe mentally when we look around and can’t find empty space. Your bedroom is the most important room to feel relaxed in since you start and end your days here. Look around. Can you see any parts of your flat surfaces? If not, make it a goal to clear off one furniture piece each week. A flat surface with even just 25% empty space showing will make you feel so much better.
Happy spring cleaning this summer!
