Extend the Life of Your Jewelry

Jewelry tends to be an investment for many, which is why it is important to care for it in the right way. By doing so, you will be able to extend the life of all of your pieces, ensuring that they stay in top condition for years to come.

Separate Soft Compartments
If you usually keep your jewelry heaped together in a box or a drawer, this is something that needs to change if you want to prolong the life of all of your pieces. Jewelry that is kept cluttered together will only end up scratching and damaging each other, which is why it is best to keep items separately, in soft containers or compartments, when you are not wearing them. You should then store these containers in a dark and dry place, avoiding areas such as your bathroom, as this will expose it to prolonged moisture.

Keep It Dry
Not only should you take your jewelry off when bathing, but you should also ensure that it does not come into contact with salt water or chlorine, as both of these can be really harsh on metal and cause a reaction. Sweat is something else that you should try to avoid, as this can cause discoloration in your jewelry, especially if your sweat is quite acidic, so remove any jewelry before exercising. If you usually put on your jewelry before applying your perfume, it may be worth doing this the other way round, as the chemicals within the average perfume can cause quite the reaction with metal and finishes.

Re-Engraving
Items of jewelry that feature engravings are usually tied to special, meaningful moments, and it can be quite upsetting when the engravings begin to fade. However, many people do not realize that you can actually get these pieces re-engraved, which will give them a whole new breath of life.

Keep it Clean
No matter how much you take care of your jewelry, it is still important to give all of your pieces a clean once in a while. For precious metals, such as silver and gold, a toothbrush with some baking soda on it will really scrub it clean, and can be followed up with a polishing cloth to enhance its shine. Mild soaps are also great, but be sure to use harsh detergents, as the chemicals in these can often end up causing more harm than good. When it comes to pearls, these are slightly more delicate, making them challenging to keep clean, but a damp cloth can be used on each individual pearl. Try not to get the string wet, as this can weaken it and make it more susceptible to breaking. It is important to clean your jewelry quite frequently and regularly, as this prevents dirt from building up, which would otherwise cause more damage.

When purchasing new items of jewelry, you likely want these to last for as long as possible. To ensure that your jewelry does not end up damaged, discolored or faded, give these tips a try.

Practical Ideas for Organizing Your Home Office

While working from home has so many benefits, keeping a home office organized can be quite the challenge in itself. If your home workspace could do with some help, here are a few practical ideas to inspire you.

Start Off Small
When working on organizing just about anything, it always helps to start off small, as tackling the whole office at once may end up overwhelming you to the point of you giving up. Start with one drawer, clearing this out and throwing away anything that you do not need any more, shredding anything that may contain important information. Once you have done this and the drawer is empty, add in some drawer organizers so that all of its contents will have their own place. After tackling one drawer, move on to the next, until all of your drawers are neat and tidy.

Enlarge Your Workspace
If excess clutter is not your problem, and a genuine lack of space is, there are a number of clever ways in which you can actually enlarge your workspace to give yourself some extra space. If you have a large computer monitor, try raising this up, so that all of the space underneath it becomes usable. Add in more vertical storages compartments around the room, and do not forget to utilize the space underneath your desk as well.

Spend 5 Minutes Tidying Every Evening
If you have been hard at work all day, then it is only natural that your workspace may end up quite messy by the evening. However, once this messiness begins to pile up, then that is where your problems will begin, meaning that it is essential that you prevent this from happening as much as possible. A simple way to do this is to spend five or ten minutes every evening straightening everything up, which has the added advantage of giving yourself a clean workspace to work from the next morning.

A Printing Station
If you use your printer quite often, then setting up a printing station may be something that really helps you to keep everything organized. Rather than keeping your printer in the middle of your desk, set up a smaller table to the side for your printer, as well as all of its accessories.

Clear Your Entire Desk For a Week
While clearing everything off of your desk may seem like a frightening prospect, this can really help you to work out exactly what you need, as well as where each item should go. Keep a large cardboard box by your desk and put everything into this. Then, carry on working as normal. Each time you need an item from the box, take it out and place it in the most logical spot on your desk. By the end of the week, everything that you need on a daily basis will be on your desk in an optimum place, and everything that can be stored elsewhere will still be in the box.

Keeping your home office well-organized can really help so much when it comes to productivity. While tackling a messy home office can seem quite daunting, these are all practical tips that are easy to put into action, and will make a huge difference once they have been carried out.

Protecting Your Family from Cleaning Compounds

When it comes to keeping a house clean, most people tend to turn to commercial cleaning products. However, many of these can actually be quite toxic, producing fumes that can irritate the eyes, lungs, and heart. While it is possible to make your own cleaning products, commercial cleaners are sometimes unavoidable, so, if this is the case for you, you need to know how to protect your family from the damaging compounds that are released.

Keep Your Home Ventilated
In order for fumes to be able to leave your home, you need to keep your home well-ventilated. This means keeping all of your windows open and placing fans in strategic positions around your house to optimize the air flow.

Do Not Mix Cleaning Products
While it may be tempting to mix a few different cleaning products together, especially if they are all designed to target different types of dirt, this can be extremely dangerous. The different ingredients in said products can end up reacting with one another, causing fumes that are even more toxic than they would have been.

Spend Some Time in Nature
If you have just given your house a deep clean with commercial cleaning products, then it is likely that your family will have already inhaled these toxic fumes. A great way to clear these from your lungs while giving them a chance to dissipate from your house is by taking a walk in nature, as this enables your lungs to pump in fresh oxygen while pumping out the chemicals. However, make sure that you choose an area that contains plenty of green trees and plants, and spend at least one to two hours there.

Drink Water and Leafy Greens
As you likely already know, water flushes out the system, meaning that you can reduce the toxicity of any chemicals inhaled by drinking extra water to dilute them and wash them out. In addition to water, you should also be juicing leafy greens and drinking those, as these are great for detoxing the system and will help to move any chemicals out of your body.

Vitamin C
In the same way that vitamin C protects the body from colds and the flu and speeds up healing when these illnesses do occur, it is also able to help protect the body from any damaging effects that the cleaning chemical compounds may have. Whether you give your family vitamin C supplements or simply increase their intake of fresh foods that contain vitamin C, this is a great antioxidant to have on your side.

Check the Label
When purchasing cleaning products, always remember to check the label, as this will give you some idea of exactly how toxic the product is. If it states that the product’s vapors are harmful, then try to find an alternative product to use.

Commercial cleaning products can be so dangerous, and the best way to protect your family from them is by using products that are natural and safe. If you cannot find these at your local store, try making some yourself, as effective cleaning ingredients, such as vinegar, baking soda, and lemon juice, are easily available everywhere.