In previous articles, we have covered the household chores that should be done on a daily basis to keep your home clean and running smoothly. And having a clean house is definitely healthier for you and your family. Now, let’s look at those chores that should generally be done about twice a week. You can designate days of the week to do these tasks, or change it up by doing your twice-weekly chores every four days, no matter what day of the week that fourth day falls upon. It is all up to you.
Our twice-weekly list is rather small with only two items that should definitely be done. The first might be a little surprising. That is:
Change your bedding.
Most of us are in the habit of changing our sheets about once a week, or sometimes once every two weeks. After all, how dirty can sheets get, right? Well, apparently, they can get very dirty. I don’t want to make you itchy all over, but recent studies show that there are plenty of dust mites (little bugs that feed on dust and your old skin cells) and bacteria that think your bed is about the best place in the world to be. Health experts recommend that you let no more than three days go by before changing your bedding. And to get you even more “creeped out,” other studies suggest that a ten-year-old mattress is twice as heavy as when it was new, thanks to the weight of all of those nasties. So change your sheets and wash them in hot water.
Vacuum your floors
I’m a little forgiving with this one, so if you really only have time to do it once a week, I understand. This is especially true if you have been taking the extra credit daily chore and vacuuming or dusting your worst room. It takes about six days for a really good dust bunny to develop. But, doing a vacuum twice a week is better for you and your home. Here is why:
Vacuuming carpets twice a week will prevent dirt from getting ground in your carpet fibers. The dirt can mat and break down the fibers over time, so the twice-weekly vacuuming will extend the life of your carpets, keeping them looking beautiful, longer. I wish I would have taken photos of the carpet that we pulled up when we moved into our home. Underneath the carpet was a layer of dirt about an inch thick. This was dirt that over the lifetime for the carpet found its way down through the fibers and onto the floor below.
Next up: The Weekly Chore List!
Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, technology in the Computing Blog, and creating a home in the Home Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here.
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