Spring-ish Cleaning *My first actual blog post
Is it too early for spring cleaning??? NEVER! With December and the hectic holiday season rapidly approaching things might get messy. I like to do my yearly purge before the new year that way i can start fresh and actually be sparkly clean for spring. Heres just a few of the more important things i suggest for spring cleaning, deep cleaning, yearly cleaning whatever you call it! At least half of this is probably geared more to girls. SO sit back and enjoy the LONG post about some much needed cleaning.
1. Makeup & Brushes OH MY If i know girls (and hello i am one) i know that not all of us are too keen on cleaning our makeup brushes and keeping our products sanitary. Well I'm here to tell you that i used to be that girl and trust me i have changed my ways! Studies have found that a women's makeup AND face brushes hold some of the largest amount of bacteria in the bathroom. Thats so gross right? Dirty makeup brushes can cause a variety of issues like breaking you out, causing infections, making makeup streaky and giving you PINK EYE/HERPES/INFECTIONS!!!! Old makeup can also be a breeding ground for bacteria such as ECOLI in those nice dark and cool containers. My mom works for the CDC and is CONSTANTLY reminding me that if I'm not careful with my makeup and brushes I'm putting bacteria directly on my face. Don't believe me? Check out some of these articles... http://www.vogue.com/868403/the-dirty-truth-what-you-always-or-never-wanted-to-know-about-makeup-brush-maintenance/
http://www.thegloss.com/2014/02/19/beauty/dirty-makeup-brushes-bacteria-breakout-acne/
Have i got your attention? Great because now I'm telling you how to combat this!
Brushes- Ideally you want to do a slight clean of your brushes after every use. Now that seems like a lot but its all about conditioning yourself to do it and then you wont even notice the 40 seconds it takes. I have a quick clean spray from Sephora that i use almost once daily. Just spray it on your brush and do some quick swipes on a clean paper towel and VIOLA. For a deep clean you should do weekly or every other week. I have a Bare Essentials brush shampoo i like to use however for any of these you can find good cheap alternative recipes online such as a vinegar and water mixture. When I'm in a pinch say at my boyfriends house and i just need to clean my brushes i use a bit of dawn dish soap and then spritz with some alcohol/water mixture to kill off bacteria (not sure how effective this is but it makes me feel good and clean) MOST IMPORTANT do you leave your brushes out on the sink? Do you flush your toilet with the lid open? yeah this is how you can get pink eye. There are many scientific studies behind it but when you flush your toilet tons of bacteria and toilet water are spewed out around your bathroom. One study i saw they put some glowing chemical in the water turned the lights off used a black light instead and flushed the toilet. You saw little green dots going EVERYWHERE as far as 4 feet from the toilet. It landed on the toothbrush, on the sink the mirror. Worst of all is that with the many bacterias in your toilet the most prominent is Ecoli. Which is a bacteria often found with feces (poop) so your poop bacteria is spraying on your makeup brushes which then go onto your face. I combat this by ALWAYS flushing with my seat closed. I don't even leave my seat open EVER. And for extra measure i keep my brushes as far from he toilet area as possible.
Makeup- My dermatologist always tells me i need to trash old makeup. He says that face makeup should really be kicked to the curb every 12 months MAX, Some people will tell you 6-4 months but thats expensive. This is not only because of bacteria that comes off your face but because of the chemicals in makeup getting old or stale and possibly changing or causing irritations and infections. Eye makeup should be switched out every 4-6 months and lipstick is probably the longest IF you keep it clean. That alcohol at Sephora... its for lipstick so that when you try it on you don't catch the last testers germs. Give your lipstick a light spritz of alcohol and gently GENTLY wipe off with a tissue, germ free! ** Check the car section for another little tidbit on makeup
am i the only one who is a clothes/shoe whore-der? probably not. Every year i go through my closet and get rid of that stuff i KNOW i will not wear. Sometimes its the sweater that i thought was cute but just never actually could match with anything or maybe the dress that i loved but every time i put it on i thought, my boobs look too small or it does not make my figure look good etc. Point is we don't need to take up space in our closet with clothes we wont wear! Especially when fashion trends are always changing and we need more space for more clothes! Give them away to some one who might be more in need! I know Good Will and Salvation Army always takes donations and i believe they give you a tax reduction too. Or you can do an even bigger service and go drop that stuff off at the shelter or a church. Chances are SOMEONE out there needs that sweater you don't want to wear.
undergarments- girls. guys. I know that we have washers for this but some underwear just needs to be put out of its misery. And i know all girls feel me when i say that sometimes our little monthly friend likes to ruin our pretty panties. Heck i have cheapo panties from target/walmart specifically for those monthly times that way i don't ruin my nice VS ones but accidents happen! We can wash and wash and wash but eventually your underwear AND bras are way too stretchy, its falling apart or it has some not so nice stains that you don't want your man friend to see. Iv been with my boyfriend for 2 years now, he's seen me at my worst practically dying from food poisoning. But i still shutter when he so nicely folds my laundry and comes across a pair of "period undies" that my monthly friend ruined and after 3 cycles in the wash with Oxy clean and a concoction of stain removers i still was not able to get it all out.
FOOD GLORIOUS FOOOOOD!- Yes i like to keep food as well, and before you think I'm gross hear me out. I spent a lot of time in Miami Florida (where i am currently finishing my degree) In Miami we get hurricanes. And sometimes that mans losing power for long periods of time meaning grocery stores and other establishments are closed. This in turn means that every last one of us living here keeps some kind of hurricane kit including food, water, flashlights, batteries, water protected stuff... basically a zombie apocalypse kit with regard to a torrential down pour. So I'm kind of conditioned to keep food because hello mom what if one day all the grocery stores in america are closed down and we cant get meat. YOU WILL THANK ME FOR THAT SPAM AND VIENNA SAUSAGES I KEPT! But really not all food is meant to last forever. Even the things with long shelf lives have an end to that shelf life. Go through your pantry and get rid of the expired canned and boxed food. Or get rid of that stuff that you bought but know you will NEVER use. Some of these canned items that aren't expired but that you'll never use can be donated. Clean out your fridge of old leftovers and things just taking up space.
Sponges- these babies are breeding grounds for the nastiest stuff. Think of all the food you clean with a sponge, all the stuff that goes into that sink. Those bathroom sponges you have for wiping down the sink and toilet seat. Yeah those little particles that bury deep in the sponge secretly grow armies of yuckiness. Combat this by throwing your sponge in a dishwasher cycle, or in a sanitary wash laundry cycle (like you would use for towels or like my mom for underwear) or you can soak it in a light bleach and water mixture. IF all this is too much for you then just buy new sponges. My roommates and i like to change out our sponges monthly. That cost a bit more $$ but I'm happy to oblige because they buy the sponges not me!! If it were just me id switch out every 3 months and just do a sponge clean but hey if they offer then i wont turn down!
This is the hardest section to write on cause we all have different kinds of junk in our house. Those random note pads that get sent to you in the mail when some company is asking for donations... those dried out ball point pens that always go missing when you need them but then end up in a drawer somewhere. Yeah we all have that stuff! Every year i go through and dump the junk! Not only just the random junk but my MEDICINE as well. Believe it or not Tylenol expires, as well as cold medicines and EVERYTHING. My lovely boyfriend works at a pharmacy and is studying to become a pharmacist and constantly tells me how expired medicine mostly is no longer effective or sometimes it can cause irritation of your stomach (those old/stale chemicals we talked about in makeup) SO do yourself a favor and get rid of the junk and the useless medicines.
Cleaning out your car should really be done regularly but sometimes you cant find the time. Well this year before the new year MAKE TIME. I make it a point to never leave food or trash in my car to begin with but i am guilty of leaving sweaters, shoes, my book bag just messy stuff. I suggest cleaning food/trash every time you exit your car. As for de clutter that can be done whenever. Getting my carpets and seats shampooed and vacuumed is a must for me at least 2X yearly. Finish it off with a nice bath and body works scent portable and your car is squeaky clean!
DO NOT EVER leave makeup in your car. First off your favorite lipstick melted is a sight to induce tears (maybe thats just me) but it also does not clean well out of things. Not only that but the extreme heat can cause some chemical changes or increase bacteria growth for the little monsters that prefer warm places. If its liquid keep it in your purse. If its powder its not so bad because it wont melt however i still wouldn't suggest ever leaving products in the heat of your car.
Well thats about it for now! Hope you enjoyed my wealth of knowledge and good humor (hopefully). This was my first actual blog post since iv alway just posted pictures i loved. There will be more to come. Il be doing posts like me trying out recipes or maybe a cool place i happened across or even just some little crafties i did. SOOOOO please follow and pass this on to other friends to follow!!
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