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Spring is almost here and it’s time to declutter and organize your space. Get rid of any dust bunnies you accumulated during the winter season, and turn over a brand new leaf with clean floors and tiles this spring. Below, we’ve rounded up the best products for your spring cleaning routine and some tips and tricks to help you out.
Best spring cleaning tips
1) Start by decluttering your space.
Rubbermaid Minimalist 6-Piece Storage Bins
If you’re like me and have heaps of clothes, accessories or toys for the little ones, a little organization can go a long way – and make your space look a little bigger, in my experience. I like using these Rubbermaid Storage Bins to hold my sweaters and heavy winter coats when not in use. I also have a separate box dedicated to holding my winter boots. I can easily store these boxes stacked on top of each other at the back of my closet to make space. You’ll get six boxes total in one pack, and since these boxes are transparent, you won’t have to worry about labeling them to keep track of what you’ve stored.
2) Deep clean your toilet.
Clorox Original Toilet Cleaning System
Even if you sanitize your toilet regularly, it’s important to give it a thorough deep clean to prevent toilet stains and mold growth. The Clorox Toilet Wand Cleaner comes loaded with Clorox cleaner and can remove 99.9% of germs when used, according to the brand. Use it to scrub the toilet bowl, including under the toilet rim, thanks to its ergonomic design. Pop the used scrub straight in the trash and use one of the 16 replaceable scrubs for your next cleaning.
3) Vacuum your floors, and don’t forget your carpets.
BISSELL Swivel Upright Bagless Vacuum
Vacuuming might already be a part of your cleaning schedule but don’t forget to get the crumbs off your carpets as well. If you’re looking for a good multi-floor vacuum. choose the BISSELL Swivel Upright Vacuum, which can tackle dust, dirt and debris on your carpets, hardwood floors and even itles. It offers edge-to-edge cleaning and is also specially designed to lift pet hair, in case you have a furry friend rubbing around your home. It’s also incredibly affordable, and durable, at just $100.
4) Replace your shower liner (if you use one).
Barossa Design Plastic Shower Liner
Due to grime and mold growth over time, my shower liner is the first product that needs to be disposed of every spring. While you can clean your shower liner, it might be more prudent to replace it with a new one, and you can shop this shower liner in multiple colors below $20. This particular option comes with hooks included, so all you need to do is snap it on. It’s machine washable too, just in case it gets dirty before the year is up.
5) Change your sheets.
Cozy Earth Bamboo Sheet Set
There’s nothing like the feeling of falling asleep on a set of fresh sheets. If you’ve been stuck with the same set of sheets for a while and hate how stained or stretched out they’ve become, we recommend shopping this sheet set from Cozy Earth which is the softest set of sheets I’ve ever owned. They’re available in multiple solid colors and sizes, and have an oversized fit, meaning they can fit your mattress without you having to constantly tug on the sheets or wake up with them undone.
6) Don’t forget to mop.
I’m used to vacuuming my floors with a robot vacuum, but I rarely mop them. Get this Swiffer PowerMop, which is my new favorite cleaning tool in my apartment. Load it up with the included floor cleaning solution and you’re good to go. A convenient button on the handle sprays the solution in front of your new mop and then you can clean over it. It tackles stains, spills and any residual dirt from my space with ease.
7) Check your smoke alarm batteries
Duracell Coppertop AA Batteries
You should test your smoke detectors once a month and replace their batteries at least once a year, according to the U.S. Fire Administraton. Most common smoke detectors uses AA batteries, so stock up on them now in case you’ve run out.
* By clicking on the featured links, visitors will leave Localish.com and be directed to third-party e-commerce sites that operate under different terms and privacy policies. Although we are sharing our personal opinions of these products with you, Localish is not endorsing these products. It has not performed product safety testing on any of these products, did not manufacture them, and is not selling, or distributing them and is not making any representations about the safety or caliber of these products. Prices and availability are subject to change from the date of publication.
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ASIN : B0BZ61YZLM
Publisher : Independently published (March 21, 2023)
Language : English
Paperback : 95 pages
ISBN-13 : 979-8387917028
Item Weight : 10.9 ounces
Dimensions : 8.5 x 0.22 x 11 inches
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Since starting my work at Copper Country Senior Meals two years ago, I have come to better appreciate the aging process and the complexities involved in living independently at home.
Through conversations and friendships that have developed, and as I watch my parents move into their 80s, I have a direct view of the behind the scene struggles our elderly face daily.
For instance, as seniors lose their spouse, siblings, and friends, social isolation becomes the norm. As memory and cognition fade, cooking becomes difficult or lacking altogether. As eyesight and hearing diminish and reflexes slow, driving becomes challenging. As fall turns to winter and the ground goes from ice to snow, a single misstep can shorten one’s life as the body heals and recovers, sometimes unsuccessfully.
The World Health Organization states that by 2030, 1 in 6 people will be over age 60. This statistic represents similar numbers to our area where 1 in 7 people in Houghton County are over 65 years of age and 1 in 6 in Keweenaw County. Further complicating the ability to live at home alone is the fact that 6 in 10 people live with chronic diseases like heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.
Each of these statistics reinforces the importance of the work we do at Copper Country Senior Meals. Through our home-delivered meal program, staff provide a daily check-in and are sometimes the only socialization a senior has that day or week. Staff also provide a nutritious hot meal and for some seniors, this meal is the only one they eat all day. These daily check-ins and meal deliveries are a critical service that helps area seniors live at home longer.
But Senior Meals struggles each year. We struggle financially to meet increasing food and fuel costs. We struggle to reach all of the seniors needing our services and often turn seniors away who desperately need our support.
Our lack of financial capacity to reach all areas in Houghton and Keweenaw Counties is truly heartbreaking, particularly in a rural area where seniors have no other option. Seniors who don’t receive our services struggle to live at home and many are forced to move into assisted living or nursing homes.
These moves are stressful, and expensive for our healthcare systems while also putting a strain on already stretched medical resources.
So how do we address our financial struggles and become better known in the community? Recently, I and others have been connecting with other Meals on Wheels organizations throughout the United States. On a recent spring break trip to Texas, I met with the San Antonio Meals on Wheels organization and saw how philanthropy and donor support enables that organization to serve 3,000 meals a day to seniors in 9 counties. I saw how subtle home improvements like fans, heaters, and microwaves help seniors live more comfortably at home.
Separate conversations with the Sheboygan, WI Meals on Wheels organization highlight the importance of working with local growers to obtain fresh produce donations.
Over the next few years, Senior Meals will be going through some significant changes as we make operational adjustments to produce more meals, reach more seniors, and increase donor support.
We will be increasing our fundraising efforts and expanding our community partnerships, specifically to better understand the links between food, social connections, and dementia. We will be exploring the health advantages and cost savings of providing medically tailored meals.
We are also partnering with the Portage Health Foundation to be part of a community wellness campus. Such a campus would benefit seniors with increased socialization, exercise opportunities, and even cooking classes.
The future is exciting as we look to better serve our seniors and expand our reach. I’m optimistic that Senior Meals will become a household name throughout the Copper Country and a leader in how we, as a community, care for our seniors.
Please consider being part of this journey and supporting us by donating and subscribing to our monthly e-newsletter. We would love to hear from you and work together to create a vision that supports all seniors in living at home with dignity.
Kathleen Harter, Executive Director, Copper Country Senior Meals
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Fitness and wellness pop-up coming to Bentall Centre this spring | Curated Daily Hive
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Jon Taffer shares business advice on making it in today’s economy.
While Americans dive into spring-cleaning their homes each year, you don’t have to limit yourself to your personal space inside. If you are a small business owner, there are numerous ways to spring-clean your business, too.
Consider taking a day, or a portion of a day, and dedicate it to organization.
Here are 10 tips for how to spring-clean your business.
SMALL BUSINESS IS BOOMING. HERE ARE 6 WAYS FOR ENTREPRENEURS TO KEEP THRIVING
Spring-cleaning your small business includes cleaning out your email inbox, taking a look at your goals and physically cleaning up your office space. (iStock / iStock)
- Freshen up your company website
- Give your company’s social media a revamp
- Clean out your email inbox
- Tidy up accounting books
- Take a look through your goals
- Manage subscriptions
- Go through your inventory
- Clean up and change up your space
- Brainstorm new business strategies
- Review employee performance.
1. Freshen up your company website
If your company has an online presence, you’ll want to go through your website and determine ways to create a larger, more well-optimized online presence.
While it may feel like editing or reworking your website will take forever, there are specific things you should work on first. You absolutely must make sure your site is user-friendly, loads quickly for users, provides a great user experience and is well-optimized for search engines.
Make a list of the priority items you’ll need to work through to fix up your site. Walk through your site as a user and determine which aspect aren’t as friendly as others. Make sure pages are loading and avoiding errors like 404s. Include SEO-friendly copy on your site in order to maximize your ranking and visibility opportunities.
If you’ve had the same site for a while, it may be time for an entirely new CMS. No matter what your site may need, springtime is the perfect time to go through your website and make some positive changes.
3 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING A SMALL BUSINESS
Consider updating your company website and social media pages during the spring-cleaning season. (Andia/Universal Images Group via Getty Images / Getty Images)
2. Give your company’s social media a revamp
Similar to a website, your company’s social media pages are another representation of your business. Your social media presence can often times make or break brand awareness and reputation. Since COVID-19, companies have especially grown their online presence greatly. The country shut down and businesses had to readapt their strategies to better reach consumers online.
An impactful, engaging and aesthetically pleasing social media presence is becoming increasingly important. Refresh your social strategies and stand out via social media among your competitors.
3. Clean your email inbox
Email inboxes are often times difficult to manage and can become excessively cluttered if not checked daily. If your inbox is filled with unread emails dated back days, weeks, months or even years, you could be missing important messages or just stressed looking at that growing number of emails in the corner.
Trash any messages you no longer need, catch up on unanswered messages and give yourself a clean inbox to work with.
4. Tidy up your accounting books
Add straightening up your accounting books to your list of spring-cleaning, too.
SPRING CLEANING: WHAT TO DO WITH YOUR OLD STUFF
Getting your financials in order is an important step in the spring-cleaning process. (Dimas Ardian/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Take the time to organize your business’s finances, determine where you’re overspending and catalog receipts and expense reports in one place.
In doing so, you’ll eliminate additional stress when preparing to file your taxes next year.
5. Take a look through your goals
Because there is always potential for growth of a business, you’ll want to establish, rearrange or get working on your goals. Take a moment to write down what your goals are and reflect on them. Are they attainable? Do you have the financial ability to achieve them? If not, you might want to throw out the old and start anew.
Spring-cleaning season is a great time to really evaluate your goals. Put an action plan in place for reaching them. Having a few, very specific goals that you work diligently toward will make them more attainable for you and your business.
6. Manage subscriptions
The world is full of subscriptions today. Whether it be print or digital media, TV, food delivery or any other subscriptions available to you, it is definitely time to reevaluate their importance. You may not even remember you’re paying for some of them.
HOW TO MAKE SOME CASH OFF YOUR SPRING CLEANING
Take a look at all the subscriptions you are paying for (possibly unknowingly) for your business and cancel the services you no longer use. (iStock / iStock)
Go through your subscriptions, figure out which you are paying for and how much you are spending on each. Then, cancel all the unnecessary subscriptions that don’t relate to the success of your business.
7. Go through your inventory
Whether you’re a little bit of a hoarder or unsure how much of what you have is needed, take the time to go through your inventory and toss unnecessary items. Do you have redundant supplies? Are items broken or old?
Sell extras for a low price to pocket some extra cash and regroup with what’s left. Once organized, decide on an inventory management system and use it going forward. Keep track of already ordered and in stock items as well as items you need more of. Document it regularly to avoid future over-ordering.
8. Clean up and change your space
While digital aspects of your business might need a deep clean, don’t forget about your office space as well.
Organize your desk and your office, including the kitchen or coffee areas, remove clutter and toss out causeless paperwork. Moving into the spring and summer seasons with a clean space will help you feel both refreshed and motivated.
Conducting employee reviews can give you a better understanding on how workers are performing. (iStock / iStock)
GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE
9. Brainstorm new business strategies
When diving into your last year of business, analyze your strategize and determine which worked, which didn’t and which you haven’t tried yet. Set up a team meeting or schedule time for yourself to plan for new ideas and strategies for the upcoming year.
Consider social media, digital and print marketing, potential new hires, finances, etc.
10. Review employee performances
No matter when your employee evaluation process takes places, spring-time is a great time to reevaluate. If you recently went through a review cycle, you might want to perform an analysis of how it went for the employees. Did they respond well to it? Did it flow well?
Maybe you’re looking forward to an upcoming evaluation for your team members. Get ahead of it and dive into your process early. In doing so, you can best understand pain points from last year and work to implement changes for this year. Consider raises, promotions and improvements for employees.
If you’re seeing negative performance reviews for some team members, evaluate either a plan for them moving forward or termination of their employment.
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Cleaning ranks pretty low down on our list of favourite things to do. There’s Netflix to watch, friends to see and bottomless brunches to attend, after all. However, from time to time we can admit there is a certain satisfaction in making your space squeaky clean. And when it comes to this time of year, we’re actually quite looking forward to the big annual spring clean.
Spring cleaning is one of those weird traditions where everyone has generally accepted that with the new season, comes the chance to give your home a deep clean. But of course you can do a big clean of your home whenever you choose. As well as giving the home a once over it’s also a chance to do those big cleaning jobs you don’t tend to do every week (read: deep cleaning the oven).
But where do you even start? We spoke to the cleaning experts over at method who gave a full rundown of how to tackle the big spring clean, including their most important tips.
So you can essentially consider this your spring cleaning checklist. Happy cleaning! (If that’s a thing?)
1.Prep, prep and more prep
Before you even begin the cleaning process, get yourself a checklist of all the jobs you need to do and divide them up between each room.
This will make the tasks feel more manageable and you’ll get a bigger sense of achievement when you tick something off your list.
Once you know how much you have to do, you can then see if you’re going to do all the jobs in one day, or split them across multiple days. We’ll definitely be doing the latter.
2. Stock up
Now that you know which jobs you have to do, you can assess your cleaning product situation, and see which products you may need for certain jobs.
Make sure you’ve got a good mop, vacuum, reusable cleaning cloths and cleaning products such as a surface cleaner, polish and floor cleaner before getting started.
Method’s multi-surface concentrate is ideal for tackling multiple jobs at once because you can dilute it with water and use it as a spray, pop it in a mop bucket or apply neat for tackling tough grime.
Our Spring Cleaning Essentials
Shark Anti Hair Wrap Cordless Stick Vacuum Cleaner
Now 15% Off
Cerolopy 6 Pieces Microfibre Reusable Cleaning Cloths
Method Multi-Surface Concentrate
3. De-clutter
It sounds obvious but getting rid of items that no longer serve purpose will reduce the amount of work that needs doing during the spring cleaning and will also free up space – rather than simply letting unwanted items sit gathering dust.
Struggling to get rid of items? We feel you, but there are two hacks we love for when it come to de-cluttering.
The first is the 80-20 insight. The principle is pretty simple and is based on the fact that we only actually use 20 per cent of what we own around 80 per cent of the time. Keep this in mind when clearing out rooms, shelves and cupboards, do you really use all those weird utensils in that forgotten drawer? This will help you prioritise what stays and what doesn’t make the cut.
The other hack is the ski slope’ method, which involves breaking down a room into separate zones which you can glide between one after the other, crisscrossing across the room to reach your end goal. When decluttering, it’s great to have four distinct piles – ‘keep’, ‘dump’, ‘recycle’ or ‘donate’.
4. Start from the top down when it comes to cleaning
When cleaning each room start by cleaning high, then going low. Overhead fixtures that we sometimes forget about, like lighting, are prone to dust build-up and usually don’t get cleaned as often – and when they do, the dirt and grime will sprinkle down to the floor and surfaces below them.
So, avoid creating more work for yourself by starting from the top and cleaning down in each room. We love any hack that saves us some time.
5. Start with the kitchen
Ok, now we can finally begin actually cleaning and let’s start with one of the most important rooms – the kitchen.
Understandably, the kitchen is one of the highest ‘touch’ areas in the house and therefore one we’re more likely to clean regularly – meaning half the work should (hopefully) be done. A nice place to start. Begin by removing all food, products, crockery and other equipment from drawers, cupboards and other surfaces, to give yourself a decluttered, blank slate for the kitchen deep-clean.
Remember the high-before-low rule too, and begin cleaning high fixtures before moving to appliances – making sure to move them away from the wall where possible to clean under and behind them (it’s called a deep clean for a reason!), before finally moving on to counter-tops, drawers and lower cabinets. We’d recommend using the method multi-surface concentrate mixed with water in a spray bottle.
6. Then tackle the bathroom
Again, start high then go low, before moving your attention to blitzing and disinfecting the shower, bath, and toilet. method’s bathroom cleaner is perfect for these tasks, and its eucalyptus mint fragrance will leave the room smelling minty fresh.
Pay special attention to under the rim of the toilet and the back of the toilet bowl, as these can often be forgotten in your more regular cleaning routines. Given it’s a deep clean, repeat the spray-leave-wipe technique several times for optimum results. Once you’ve blitzed the bathroom, finish with an antibacterial spray and wipe all-over just to get rid of any lingering germs.
7. Focus on the rest of the house
When it comes to bedrooms, living rooms, hallways, and the rest of the house, save time and avoid chopping-and-changing between cleaning products and equipment by tackling them task-by-task, as opposed to room-by-room. Don’t forget the overlooked areas too, like door handles and skirting boards.
Skirting boards and door knobs can make or break how clean a room appears. You’ll want to make sure they’re in tip-top condition. So, use your favourite spray cleaner and a cloth to gently damp-dust skirting boards and help prevent any future dust from sticking to the surface.
8. Don’t forget the door knobs
Yes even the door knobs and handles need cleaning!
Where plastic or painted door knobs and handles are easy-peasy to clean, making brass or copper sparkle is a different story.
But fear not, as using a combination of flour, salt and vinegar (one tablespoon of each) on a cloth creates a simple paste that can be painted onto the surface and rinsed off after a couple of minutes with soapy water. Simply buff it with a soft cloth and regularly clean using your favourite spray cleaner to maintain the shine!
9. Finish with the floors
Working from top to bottom, leave the flooring until last. For hard flooring, like wood and tiles, start with a deep vacuum and thorough sweep – ensuring all corners, tight spaces and hard-to-reach areas that you may usually turn a blind eye to are covered.
Finish up with a thorough mopping, ensuring you use a product that’s safe for the type of flooring.method’s Almond Wood Floor Cleaner is perfect for sealed hardwood and laminate floors and will leave flooring looking spick-and-span. These tasks will be much easier to complete without all the furniture and clutter, so take your time and *be thorough*.
To keep your laminate or wood flooring looking pristine – and save yourself from being caught short by the unpredictable sunny spring spells – mop once a week after the deep clean. Just don’t use too much water, as this can cause water spots or warp laminate surfaces. Be mindful to avoid polishing, waxing or doing any abrasive cleaning too, as these all have the potential to scratch the floor and damage the protective finish.
10. Stay on top of regular cleaning tasks, to prepare for the bigger deep clean
It sounds super boring but to save yourself time and energy for the big spring clean, staying on top of your daily, weekly, monthly and even quarterly cleaning regimes really does pay off in the long run.
For example, deep cleaning the fridge should be done every 3-6 months to banish germs – just ensure it’s done before the weekly food shop, when it’s not fully stocked up. Clear all food and other items from the fridge, then remove the shelves and fittings – a key hack here is to wait until they reach room temperature before cleaning to prevent them from cracking.
Next, thoroughly rinse the shelves and salad drawers with warm soapy water. Whilst the fittings are air-drying, get to work on the rest of the fridge!
The same rule applies for every other room, including the bathroom. We all want that dazzling shine on the shower, but it really does come down to regular weekly cleaning.
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ASIN : B0BZ65KRX2
Publication date : March 20, 2023
Language : English
File size : 23578 KB
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Print length : 95 pages
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]]>Shape Spring 2023 Digital Issue: Power Shape Magazine
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Tallahassee CycleBar to open on Market Street in spring 2023 Tallahassee Democrat
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