18 Ways to Allergy-Proof Your Home

If you or someone else in your house suffers from allergies, you'll want to get the house as allergen free as possible. Whether you are allergic to dust, pets, mold, pollen or all of the above, it can be hard to know where to begin. These 18 ways to combat allergens and create a cleaner, healthier home will get you started.

1. Stick to a regular cleaning schedule. Keeping dust and pet dander at bay is a continual process, and it's especially important to stay on top of cleaning when allergies are a concern. Be sure to wipe surfaces with a damp rag rather than dry dusting, which often just brushes dust back into the air. 

Ideally, members of the household without allergies would take on the dustiest jobs, but if you have bad allergies and must clean, wear a dust mask — or hire a cleaning service if you can.

2. Start a no-shoes policy and beef up doormats. Keep dust, pollen and more from entering your house in the first place by encouraging visitors to slip off their shoes at the door. Provide ample interior and exterior doormats to trap shoe muck and a basketful of slippers for guests. 

3. Upgrade your vacuum cleaner. Get one with a HEPA filter to trap allergens — these filters work wonders. Also be sure to choose a vacuum cleaner with a bag that can be changed easily (that is, without spewing dust everywhere).

4. Swap out heavy drapes. Thick drapes with lots of folds and pleats are masters at trapping dust and other allergens. Instead, choose blinds you can wipe down or machine-washable curtains.

5. Remove carpeting. Traditional wall-to wall carpeting is notoriously difficult to get and keep clean. Whenever possible, go with hard flooring (wood, tile, linoleum, etc) instead. 

6. Steam clean; don't shampoo carpets and area rugs. If you really want carpeting, vacuum it regularly with a vacuum that has a HEPA filter and deep clean with a steam cleaner. Most rented carpet shampooers do not get hot enough to get rid of allergens, so consider making the investment in a real steam cleaner to keep at home.

7. Store all food in airtight containers. Don't tempt bugs and mice — every time you open a package, put the contents inside an airtight container in the cupboard or fridge.

8. Green your cleanup. Harsh chemical cleaners may irritate those with allergies. Luckily, it's quite easy to find safe and effective natural cleaners, so you can cut back on the synthetic stuff.

9. Cover mattresses and pillows. Zip on dust mite covers to protect your sleeping area. If you have kids, be sure to get covers for their mattresses and pillows, too.

10. Keep under the bed free of clutter. Clutter attracts dust bunnies and makes it more difficult to reach the entire space to vacuum. Keep this area clean and clear, and be sure to reach under with a host attachment to vacuum regularly.

11. Streamline kids' spaces. Children's rooms accumulate stuff like nowhere else in the house. But if allergies are a problem, having lots of toys — especially soft toys — everywhere will only make things worse. Try rotating out toys to keep things fresh (and neat), and store extras in an out-of-the-way closet. Washing stuffed animals when possible can also help keep dust at a minimum.

12. Wash linens is hot water. Bedding, towels and kitchen linens should be laundered in hot water -- remember that when you are shopping and choose fabrics that can stand up to the heat. 

13. Store only clean, dry items in closets. Putting away clothes or linens that are still slightly damp can create the perfect environment for mildew and mold to grow, while dirty clothes and blankets attract fabric-eating moths. Keep your closets fresh and bug free by washing and thoroughly drying items before storing them for the season.

14. Clean and ventilate the bathroom regularly. Frequent cleaning and plenty of fresh air should keep mildew and mold at bay. But if you do see mold, be sure to use a cleaner that says it kills mold — not all of them do.

15. Replace filters in fans and heating and cooling systems. This is key for keeping the air in your home clean. Each time you change the filter in your bathroom exhaust system or air conditioning or heating system, mark the next change date on the calendar.

16. Keep pets out of bedrooms, at a minimum. No matter how sweet and cuddly your furry friend is, if he's making you wheeze, it's time to set some boundaries. Keeping pets in a protected outdoor area would probably be ideal, but at the bare minimum enforce a no-pet policy in bedrooms. 

17. Detox your home. Harsh chemicals can aggravate allergies, so do your best to avoid bringing them into your home. Swap out chemical cleaners and air fresheners for natural versions, and air out new furnishings and freshly dry cleaned clothes to give toxins a chance to off-gas.

18. Keep the air fresh. Open the windows to let in fresh air, unless you have seasonal allergies, and consider using an room air filter to clean the air. Avoid using fireplaces and definitely do not allow smoking in the house.


By: Laure Gaskill

Spring Cleaning in 10 Minutes a Day

It's that time of year again -- time for spring cleaning! If you're like me, this annual ritual strikes fear and dread in your heart. Does spring cleaning seem like the Mt. Everest of housekeeping tasks? A challenge only a few have undertaken successfully? Don't worry, spring cleaning doesn’t have to be scary, but it is something we should all do. It's not just about cleaning blinds and sweeping baseboards, though doing these things is great. You can also use spring cleaning as a prompt to schedule household maintenance and service checks that will prevent problems down the line. The tips below are going to help you do all of this in just 10 minutes a day. So have a read and get cleaning!

The first step to successful spring cleaning is to find the time to take care of it and schedule it in. My suggestion is to find a four-week-stretch and block off a convenient time of day or night (before dinner, before bed) to work. If you miss a night, don’t worry, you can always make up the ten minutes the next day. The goal is to get you and your family to commit to cleaning every day for 28 days.

While I'm sure you have a list of what you'd like to get done to prepare for spring, summer and beyond, I want to leave you with 12 tasks to consider adding to your list. Happy Housework!

12 Spring Cleaning Tasks That Take 10 Minutes Each

1. Wash and dry the slipcovers from your pillows, sofas and chairs. Put in the washer and dryer one day. Put back on the furniture the next day.
2. Take 10 minutes and clean the junk drawer in your house. For many people, this drawer is in the kitchen. Toss the junk and use a silverware organizer to manage the chaos going forward.
3. Clean the blades on the ceiling fans.
4. Make today toy clean-up day. Put all the game pieces together in Ziploc bags, throw out broken items and donate toys your kids have outgrown.
5. Clean out your refrigerator. Check expiration dates and toss everything that is old or will not be eaten.
6. Clean out your medicine cabinet and toss old medications (both prescription and over-the-counter). Go to safeguardmymeds.org to find out how to safely dispose of these items.
7. Clean your most cluttered countertop. For many it's the dining room table or kitchen counters. Recycle what you can and shred sensitive materials.
8. Change the batteries in your smoke and CO2 alarms. Why wait for the annoying beeping sound?
9. Clean your blinds. Try using fabric softener sheets (you can show your kids how to do this).
10. Take three days to clean windows. Start with the dirtiest windows and go from there.
11. Wash and dust the baseboards in each room. This is another task the whole family can get in on. Just remember, 10 minutes with five people is almost an hour of cleaning time.
12. Dedicate a day to maintaining and fixing things. Oil a lock, fix a broken toilet paper holder, etc. Just make a punch-list and start checking off items.

Sometime in the next 30 minutes block off 28 days and determine what time each day you'll use to tackle spring cleaning. After all, getting started is the hardest part.

By: Get Buttoned Up

Guide to a Well-Organized Pantry

Spring cleaning is here!! With summertime parties just around the corner, you'll want to clean house to make sure your shindig is the talk of the town! While the space in your home is important, little things like your pantry can be forgotten! What you need is a master plan to get your pantry well-stocked, well-organized and ready for duty.

5 Universal Rules
Whether your pantry is a few shelves in the cupboard, a walk-in closet or three deep drawers, you can make it work. Just stick to these rules:

1. Know what you use. How to know what to keep a stash of? Ask yourself what you eat most. If you love rice, then a 20-lb bag is great (if you’ve got the space). If you’re crackers about crackers, sure, keep a row of them. Avoid the common mistake of filling your pantry with foods you don’t often use, such as a supersize bag of flour or a row of powdered drinks.

2. Shop small. I know, this is contrary to the dogma of rolling up to Costco in your minivan, but you don’t need a pantry that can feed your family through autumn, bomb-shelter style. The idea is to keep all items in your pantry constantly in use, filling the space you have with whatever healthy foods you might need. “People tend to go to warehouse clubs and buy giant family packs, then those huge boxes sit half-used for a year,” says Scott Dolich, chef at Park Kitchen restaurant in Portland, Oregon. Buy in bulk only the stuff you use often.

3. Go canned. “A lot of people think canned goods are not as fresh, but canned vegetables are picked at their peak freshness, so they’re a great way to keep your pantry stocked,” says David Mechlowicz, culinary purchasing manager for Food Network. You can also enhance what you’re serving by adding fresh items to canned products. In other words, when you want to make a stew or soup or spruce up pasta, canned tomatoes are better than no tomatoes. Ditto with artichokes, pineapple, and pretty much every fruit and many nonleafy veggies.

4. Unwrap. “Most people don’t unwrap excess packaging before putting away foods,” says Lorie Marrero, author of The Clutter Diet. “Take paper towels, for instance. Cut off that overwrap that holds the rolls together, and you can fit individual rolls much easier.” Ditto for soda, snack packs and multipacks.

5. Be cool. Pretty much all pantry items do well in cool, dark environments. “Store foods away from your stove,” says Dolich. The biggest threat? Nearby appliances giving off heat. Dampen your hand and feel around your pantry to make sure the fridge or dishwasher isn’t heating it.

What Goes Where?
You want to create a pantry filled with easy-to-see foods in active rotation. Professional organizer Chris McKenry, a board member of the Los Angeles–based National Association of Professional Organizers, tells you how to transform your pantry.

Step 1: Clean it out. Purge. Which in this case means eat. Go through your pantry and pull out absolutely everything. Split your items into two piles: stuff you use and want to keep, and foods you haven’t touched in at least three months (if you haven’t used it by now, you’re probably not going to use it). For the stuff you generally don’t use, decide whether to toss it, donate it to a food pantry or serve it imminently. If it’s shake powder from that diet you did three years ago, toss it. If it’s cereal you just haven’t gotten around to eating, serve it soon. “Free up space so that you have room for what you really need,” says McKenry. And regift those gift baskets that take up half a shelf.

Step 2: Consider relocating. Not you, your stuff. Your pantry probably has more than a few non-food items. Perhaps the DustBuster and mop are in there. Waffle iron? Serving platters? Ask yourself, Is there a better place for these things? Here’s a secret: Doors are the great underutilized spaces in pantries. If your cleaning supplies must stay, at least get them on door hooks. I like the Reisenthel Big Eye Wardrobe Shelf. You’ve probably seen it in someone’s coat room, but its four hooks are perfect for hanging brooms and mops, while the shelf works for paper towels, all-purpose cleaners and the like ($35; Amazon.com). Or try The Grook Holder, a strip of rubber pressure clamps that hold cleaning products, gardening tools and more ($19.99; Casabella.com).

Step 3: Create zones. Group your pantry items by type—grains, drinks, pet food, baking items, canned goods, soups, snack foods, etc. And group similar items within each zone (all the canned pineapple in one cluster, canned peaches in another). The items in each zone (rice, couscous and pasta, or canned fruits and vegetables) tend to be interchangeable, so this way you’re working toward your goal: healthy meals. Each zone gets its own dedicated shelf or drawer. If your shelving doesn’t naturally separate the zones from each other, create separations. Shelf dividers, like the ones used for sweaters, work great ($7 for 2; Organize.com). Large items or jugs that you rarely use go in bottom corners.

Step 4: Label. If it makes sense for you, label the edges of your shelves with what goes there. You and the potentially confused people you live with are pretty likely to put cereal on the shelf labeled cereal.

Step 5: Make it visible. You want to be able to see everything and grab it with one hand. “Builders often design pantries with fixed shelves that are 1 to 2 feet apart,” says Barry Izsak, of the home organizing company Arranging It All in Austin, Texas. “If you use those shelves for cans or boxes of rice and soup mixes and so forth, there’s tons of wasted space, and tons that you can’t see.” For items that are hard to see or blocked by other items, consider these organizing helpers:

Bleachers: These cheap, functional little bleachers turn one shelf into three or four. Ideal for fixed shelves that are far apart. (Stainless Steel 3-Tier Expanding Shelf expands from 14" to 27 ¼" wide; $22 at The Container Store.)

Turntable: Nothing gets lost in the back if you can spin to find it. The OXO Softworks 11" and 16" turntables can hold a couple dozen cans each, and are also great for corraling bottles and jars ($11.99 and $16.99; OXO.com).

ShelfGenie: Want a truly customized kitchen? Consider ShelfGenie, the company that personal organizers have a crush on. A representative will come to your home, measure and install slide-out drawers and shelves throughout your cabinets and pantry, transforming deep cabinets into shallow, easy-to-access hubs ($500 and up; ShelfGenie.com).

Bins: Place them on deep shelves and pull them out drawer-style. Ideal for snack packs. The basic cloth bins from Target are great because they come in three different sizes ($39.99 for set of 3; Target.com).

Pantry or Not?

Bread: You may think it will last much longer in the refrigerator, but that will actually make it go stale faster, according to the Wheat Foods Council. The best way to store bread is to wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and keep it at room temperature.

Peanut butter: Some people like to leave peanut butter on the counter, a remnant of the fact that pantries a half-century ago were chilled. Yours should go in the fridge, along with all opened condiments (except oils).

Garlic, onions, potatoes: These should be kept in a basket or baskets—one for each kind of item—in the pantry, where it’s relatively cool and shielded from heat and light. Stored properly, they can last for up to 4 weeks.

By Arianne Cohen

5 Quick Garage Organizing Tips

From seasonal decorations and old baby clothes to sports equipment and college textbooks, it’s no wonder garages tend to be the catch-all for clutter. But with a garage full of anything-but-the-kitchen-sink, where is a homeowner to start?

Stop tripping over things on your way to the car and give your garage some much-needed TLC with these quick and easy organization tips.

1. DECIDE WHAT TO STORE :Start by devoting one weekend day, preferably on a day the weather cooperates, to "the big sort." Make four piles: store, sell, donate and toss. For the items you're throwing out, consider having a -- you guessed it -- garage sale. This is a great way to earn some extra money to buy items for organizing your garage.
   
2. DESIGNATE ZONES: Try grouping frequently-used items together, placing seasonal items and keepsakes in different zones altogether. You may want to designate a section of your garage for sporting equipment and outdoor items, another area for gardening tools or craft supplies and a different area for automotive supplies.
   
3. USE YOUR WALL SPACE: Shelves, cabinets, racks and hooks keep items off the floor and reduce clutter. The walls of your garage are a great place to configure a storage solution that works for your purposes. It doesn't have to be pricey -- most of the items you would need can be found at your local home improvement store.
   
4. UP AND AWAY:  The ceiling is easily overlooked as an area for garage organization. Shelves can also be built in the rafters and used for storing items that are used infrequently, such as seasonal decorations and travel luggage. The great thing about this type of storage is that clutter is placed up and away, hiding many of the less-glamorous items from view.
   
5. BOX IT UP: Get out the Sharpie and use plastic storage bins or cardboard boxes with clearly-marked labels displaying their contents for a clean, clutter-free look. Instead of letting unused luggage go empty, use it to store those old clothes from when the kids were babies that you just can't part with. Have an old dresser? Put it to good use and consider letting the kids design the newest garage storage system, which, when outfitted with cabinet grip liners, is perfect for those smaller items.

"Considering how often it's used, it makes sense to give your garage some organizing attention," says Lisa Engel, vice president of channel marketing and communications, ClosetMaid.

A well-organized garage not only looks good, but makes your life easier by allowing you to find what you need quickly.


Written by: Suzi Milovanovic