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.

Fun Ways to Bond with Your Family

Spending quality time with your family can often seem like a rarity these days, especially when electronic devices often end up dominating the day. Whether you have energetic toddlers, sullen teenagers, or children that have grown up and have kids of their own, these are some fun ways in which you can truly bond with your family.

The Family Dinner Project
The Family Dinner Project is a grassroots initiative that aims to highlight the importance of family dinners, bringing this back into everyday life. While you may already frequently eat meals with your family, it is unlikely that they are meals in which everyone participates, and this is what The Family Dinner Project hopes to help with. Their website provides plenty of helpful resources, from learning how to get young children to have fun with food prep to listing some unique dinnertime games for adults.

Volunteer Together
Studies have shown that volunteering has a number of different mental and health benefits, from increasing happiness and decreasing depression to helping to extend your life expectancy. In addition to this, you will also be doing something good for others, which sets a great example for everyone else in your family. There are many different organizations that readily welcome new volunteers, so whether you spend some time with children in need, or participate in a beach cleanup, volunteering will bring a healthy dose of positive energy to you and your family.

Learn a New Skill
A great way to bond with your family is by learning a new skill together, throwing yourselves into something that may be out of your comfort zone. While it may take a few tries to find a skill that everybody wants to learn, be it photography, glass blowing, painting or dance, you will end up with a shared hobby and passion that will always bring you back together.

Game Night
Game nights are another great way to get the whole family involved, and to make sure that everybody has a chance to participate. Game nights can be made into a regular event, whether it be every week or every month, with each game night featuring a different game. Whether you set up different board games around your home, head out for some evening mini golf, or get competitive at the bowling alley, game nights will be enjoyed by just about every age group.

Be Entrepreneurial
Being entrepreneurial with your family is especially useful if you have younger children, as it is also a great way to teach them about topics such as money, pricing and planning. There are many different options available to you, from building your own lemonade stand, which in itself is another bonding activity, to hosting a garage sale, each of which will teach your children valuable real-life lessons about business.

Family bonding is extremely important, leaving you with memories that you will cherish for a lifetime. While it may seem like unnecessary hassle rounding up the family for regular bonding sessions, it will do the whole family a world of good, and will help you to appreciate each other like never before.

Happy Mother’s Day

Held each year on the second Sunday of May, Mother’s Day can be traced back to the 1870’s, conceived with the aim of recognizing and honoring all that mothers do. The idea behind Mother’s Day remains unchanged, and with this special day quickly approaching, here are some one-of-a-kind ways in which you can celebrate, ensuring that your mother knows just how much she means to you.

A Special Meal
It can be difficult trying to arrange a meal at a restaurant that is truly extra-special, but booking a chef’s table for a meal guarantees an experience that your mother would never forget. With a table located in the kitchen itself, your mother will be able to witness meal preparations up-close, while learning more about the chef and the food that is produced. While a chef’s table meal will no doubt draw some excited gasps, there are plenty of other ways to plan a special meal. This can easily be done at home, no matter what your cooking skill level may be, with decorations and fun games to make the evening even more memorable.

Bring the Generations Together
A huge family get-together, with all of the different mothers in your extended family, is a great way to celebrate Mother’s Day. If the weather allows, a barbecue is a great way in which to do this, as it is casual enough for everyone to enjoy, and you will not be limited on the number of guests that can attend.

A Video Chat Celebration
If you are not fortunate enough to be able to physically spend Mother’s Day with your mother, then make the most of technology, and digitally celebrate the day with her. Skype, or any other video chatting software, is a great way to do this, and there are many ways that you can make your video chat session a memorable one. Whether you watch a movie “together”, or cook and enjoy the same meal at the same time, your mother will definitely be able to feel your love and presence, even if you may be on the other side of the world.

A Daycation
Mother’s Day is the ideal opportunity to take your mother away for the day, treating her to a one-of-a-kind daycation. The location, and activities, that you choose should be tailored to your mother’s interests. For fun and escapism, head to a nearby beach for the day, where you can either picnic under the sun, or enjoy an invigorating hike through nature. For mothers who love to cook, a tasting tour around a nearby foodie city would always be appreciated, while mothers who have a soft spot for animals may enjoy spending the day at a wildlife refuge.

Mother’s Day is all about showing appreciation to your mother, meaning that it does not need to be focussed on extravagant gifts. Instead, take some time to really think about what your mother would enjoy and appreciate, and try to tailor your celebrations to this, as the effort and thought that you put into the day will mean just as much as the celebrations themselves.