Hola everybody and welcome back to the blog! This week is a bit hectic as I am currently in the process of packing to move to Brussels. So, for any of you out there also moving, looking to do a Fall cleaning, or just want to maintain a sense of cleanliness in your day to day, I’ve put together some simple practices you can do each day to ensure that things stay hygienic. 

So, without further ado, here are some of my favorite cleanliness practices:

1. A big clean 2x/ month. By big clean here I mean wiping down the house, cleaning the bathroom (especially the shower and toilet), washing the sheets, and mopping and vacuuming. While everyone has a different way to keep clean and different standards of what that means, I find that doing a thorough clean a couple times a month helps me feel comfortable and relaxed in my space.

If you live with someone, or in a family, try divvying up the household chores based on what each person prefers to do. This may sound a little wacky as many people do not like to clean, but once you make a list of everything that has to be done, I’m sure you’ll find some things that you are more willing to do (cleaning the kitchen for me) than others (I hate mopping). Plus, with more hands on duty you’ll get the job done quicker and can get back to the things you enjoy doing. 

1. Wipe your phone with antibacterial cleaner each night. There have been many studies done on the amount of bacteria that accumulates on the things we use most during the day (i.e. door handles, toilet flush, refrigerator, etc) and our cell phones are one of the biggest culprits. Not only are they laden with bacteria, but we put these devices to our face every time we make a call. That is why I suggest doing this tip every night before bed. Simply take a paper towel, squirt on a bit of antibacterial cleaner and germ be gone! It’ll be nice to wake up with a clean phone the next day and you won’t have to worry about transferring bacteria to your face.

2. Clean your tongue each a.m. I’ve written about this before on the blog and even mentioned this tip in my morning routine video. It’s important to brush your teeth, and your tongue, first thing to clear out the bacteria that has accumulated in your mouth over the night. It’s paramount to do this before you eat or drink anything so as to avoid swallowing all of the bacteria.

3. Change out toothbrush every 4-5 months. Going along with the previous tip, it’s important to make sure that your toothbrush stays clean. I’d recommend changing it out every 4-5 months to avoid brushing your mouth with something that just swirls around more bacteria. In the meantime, I also like to soak my toothbrush in boiling water every week or so just to make sure it stays clean, and the bristles stay firm, until I replace it next.

4. Change sponge/ dish brush out every 2 weeks. The kitchen sink is one of the dirtiest spots in the house, tied probably with the toilet, so it’s important to clean it often and to replace any products that come into contact with it on a regular basis. Whether you use a sponge or a dish brush to clean the dishes, make sure that you’re swapping them out with a new one every 2 weeks or so. Your immune system and dishes will thank you.

5. Exfoliate face and skin at least 1x/ week. I wrote a whole post on exfoliation here on the blog. Whether you live in a city or out in the country, our skin goes through a lot. Between the moisturizers, sunscreen, night oils, city pollution, and stress of day to day life, it’s important to give our dermis a little TLC from time to time. One way I like to do this is to exfoliate once to twice a week. For my face I use tapioca flour mixed with water and let this harden before gently scrubbing it off. For my body I like to use either a dry brush before showering, or a combination of sugar and baby oil as a scrub in the shower.

So what do you all think? Are there any tips that you could see adopting into your daily life? Any that you already practice that you didn’t see here? Let me know down below and let’s start a cleanliness thread :)

Thanks so much for stopping by this week for another post :) I look forward to seeing you all here next week for my first post in Brussels!

Xoxo,

Alexandra