Friday, November 8, 2013

Cleaning Up Projects

One day I cleared out the entire fridge and cupboards of all the containers that were beyond their expiration dates.  Far Guy is allergic to anything that might start to ferment naturally…he begins projectile vomiting and wishes he was dead.  He and I consumed some older expired salsa that the seal was questionable on, I was fine..yup you guessed it… he was in the bathroom all night long.  Have you checked your expiration dates lately?

Another day Far Guy turned the computer chairs upside down and we cleaned off the “stuff” mainly somedogs hair from around the wheels.  The chairs were not gliding along the floor so much anymore..now they glide with the greatest of ease..you can slide the chair across the room with one finger.  We sat at the table and cleared wheels with a tweezers and a scissors.  I won’t say there was a mountain of hair and threads..but it was a big pile.  Do you get hair in your computer chairs wheels?  Have you looked?

Do you carry Lysol Wipes in your car?  We do just incase someone we see looks sick.  Do you disinfect your grocery cart before you load it with groceries?   We do…most stores provide the disinfectant wipes and I use them to wipe down the entire grocery cart. Are we germaphobes?   I have a clean side and a dirty side in my kitchen..never the twain shall meet…and if they do, out come the Lysol Wipes. ( Cross contamination drives me nuts.)  I have a cutting board just for chicken…nothing else gets cut on it…and after it is used I wash it about three times.  I also have a special cutting board for fruit. I keep things on my kitchen counters to a minimum.  I don’t like working around mail or a phone or fru fru on the kitchen counters.

Recently we switched from a dish rag..the nasty germy things to Bounty Duratowels that are supposed to be 3 times cleaner than a dish rag.  Daughter Jen uses a dish brush perhaps one of those is worth a try. 

Now for the big question.  Have you replaced those batteries in your smoke alarms and Carbon Monoxide detectors?   Far Guy bought a new Carbon Monoxide detector for the furnace/laundry room.  He also replaced every battery in all the other alarms and tested them all.  I know the batteries might be good for another six months…but what if they aren’t?  What if they don’t chirp?  What if I am gone from the house for a few days when they have chirped and I miss it?  If I change the batteries at the time change every spring and fall then I can rest assured that they will work if needed:)

Frosty leaves

Frosty leaves November 6 2013

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23 comments:

Pauline Persing said...

I like your photo today, even if it does mean winter is on its way. We've had a few frosts, too.

Primitive Stars said...

Morning, I hear ya, use the Lysol wipes, many wipes I might add........Love the picture to, Blessings Francine.

Unknown said...

I have never thought about the wheels on the computer chairs or any chairs that has wheels..... When I went through chemo and went to the grocery store which was very rare.. My awesome husband did most of it...I noticed how many kids touched everything.... Never saw that before.... Especially the cereal aisle, they touched all the boxes.... I do wipe down the cart....One day I wiped down the cart and this was after chemo.... I put everything in the cart and put everything on the belt....after getting up to the cashier, she was touching everything and she was sick as a dog.... I almost said forget it...I should have.... I was having a hard time putting things away...Thank goodness we never got sick... :Lisa

DJan said...

I took a similar photo the other day. I don't have a dog, but it's worth a look at those wheels. I use the wipes at the grocery store, but I only wipe down the parts I touch. :-)

linda m said...

Those are some really good cleaning tips. Thank you. Have a great weekend.

Muffy's Marks said...

I don't want to be sick either, so its a lot of antibacterial wipes and jell. Stay vigilant on your battle with unseen germs!!! Happy weekend!!

Dreaming said...

I'm not as careful as you are, or as I should be. However, if I've been around someone who is sick I become OCD about handwashing and disinfecting.
Thanks for the reminder about batteries.
Have you watched Breaking Bad? The episode about the fly and contamination cracked me up!

Leah said...

Yes I recently went through the cupboards (lot less in the garbage this time); the last couple of years I have started using the wipes at the store (I need some for my purse for the other times); good ideas for the dishrag although it seems like I do change that out pretty much each day anyways... Ugh germs! As I am suffering with a cold since last Friday - where did I get (not sure) ---

Unknown said...

I am one of those that is not so anxious about "germs". I have read that during the polio epidemics it was found that children of "clean and tidy" middle class households were more likely to contract polio than those children from less advantaged homes. My husband was one of those who got polio - at age 17. His mother and father were well educated and they kept a clean home and fed their children well.
My daughter is of the :"sanitize everything" school of thought and I think she is overdoing it. We have sanitized everything and she and her husband very diligent about throwing things way that are past their "use by" date. I keep telling them that this means use while the food or drink is best tasting but they had a bout of illness from food poisoning from a restaurant and were really spooked by that. I have never gotten sick from my household or cooking practices!
We all are different and have to live according to our own lights. Shirley H.

Muffie said...

I'm not a "Howie Mandel," but I do worry about germs. I carry antibacterial cleaners with me, and I'm concerned about kitchen cleanliness. I make (er, ask) my husband to get rid of things in the refrigerator on a weekly basis. My rolling chair doesn't have the kind of wheels to attract hair/fur, but I still check for that after we puppy sit. The batteries are checked, good, and replaced.

Nancy said...

I have sanitizer in my car and use it sometimes when I encounter a nasty situation, but always wash my hands the minute I get home from shopping, or visiting. Soap and water are the first defense in stopping germs.

Red said...

You have excellent routines for safety. I'm sure many people get sick and don't realize it's caused by a lack of good kitchen cleanliness. I should fallow your advice on batteries.

L. D. said...

My cheap vacuum gets dog hair filled up in the bristle head. I have to flip it over and cut out the hair especially when I can tell it isn't picking up things very well. Dog hair on the rollers isn't as bad but my vacuum is exhausted and needs to be replaced. I am the one who reacts to bad food in this house. I never know for sure if it is food problems or the flu. Both make me lay quietly on the bathroom floor and I wish I were dead.

Henny Penny said...

My husband is the meat manager at grocery store. I hear it constantly, so I am very careful with raw meats, especially chicken. I need to be more careful with grocery carts though! I do keep hand sanitizer in my purse!

Ryker said...

Beautiful frosty leaves photo :)
I am not as clean as you but the kitchen is certainly an important area to focus on. I use a scrub sponge but run it through the dishwasher frequently.

Anonymous said...

I got paranoid about germs and expiration dates etc. when daddy had leukemia and low immunity. We keep alcohol wipes EVERY where and also mouthwash. We don't have any rolling chairs but the carpet floor protectors on the kitchen chairs attract pet hair and we clean them often. My hands stay dry due to washing with hot soapy water many times throughout the day.
Thanks for the reminder about smoke alarms etc.
Wishing you both a good weekend.

Country Gal said...

I have always been careful with raw meats and the packages on the out side as they can be contaminated and always re package them when I get them home and put paper towels under the packages so they do not touch or leak on the counter as I am repackaging them . I always clean and scrub my hands very well after handling raw meats . I label them with the date get the air out and freeze them and throw the original meat packages in the out door garbage .. As for the batteries in our detectors all are fresh and new each fall and spring . I found that people that bubble themselves from germs have week immune systems and get sick to easily like the time a few years ago when everyone was germafobics sanitizer here and there all the time the kids that were still outside playing getting dirty were healthy verses the kids that were always hosed down with disinfectants and bubbled from germs were always sick ! Our bodies have their own germ cleaning fighting antibodies that protect us from lots of germs and the more you rely on chemicals to keep it all germ free the more our internal germ cleaning anti bodies shut down . I have heard that all the sanitizers can be harmful in the long run as the chemical they are made with penetrates into the skin and can cause problems , our bodies aren't made for all this sanitizer stuff ! We rarely get leftovers as it has taken me years to adjust to only cooking for two and not an army lol . The computer room chair wheels don't get our cat or dog hair in them must be the type of wheel ! Good post . Thanks for sharing ! Have a good evening !

Linda Reeder said...

Sorry, but I am in a different camp. While I am careful with raw meat and eggs, I am not a sanitizer person. I think there is danger in over cleaning. Unless you have an immune deficiency issue, you need exposure in order to have any resistance. I grew up in fairly unsanitary conditions, and I have a very good immune system.

LindaG said...

My Mom said I ate sand when I was little, haha. I know I can remember eating grass. If the animals do, why not me?
That was a long time ago. I don't worry about shopping carts. I'm like a couple of your readers. I think you can be too clean.
But if there is a reason, then you should do what is best for you and your hubby.
We are careful about 'older' food in the refrigerator though, as we are both allergic to penicillin.
I do wash with poison ivy soap when I wash though, because I never know where it will be when we're outdoors.
We may get a light frost next week. Stay warm!

Gail said...

You have been busy. I am not as ambitious. I think I'm preparing for hibernation.

Terry and Linda said...

I worry about grocery carts and wipe mine down all the time...I've seen some pretty sick people in the store --just getting juice and my are they every sick.

Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
http://deltacountyhistoricalsociety.wordpress.com

West Side of Straight said...

thanks for the sample of the dura towels, now have bought my own and using. Sitting here hoping the hunters near us get a few deer, to thin out the herd in this area!

Sam I Am...... said...

I use regular wash rags, I don't wash down my carts at the stores but I wash my hands when I get home. I have wooden cutting boards that I use and have all my life and have never gotten sick but I clean them and oil them regularly. I do have a non-wooden one I use for meat. I stopped worrying a while back...I do my best and that's good enough for me...I don't care what anyone else thinks. LOL! I do wash all my fruits and vegetables when I bring them home from the store. With all that being said I'll probably drop dead of a heart attack. Ha! Ha!