Benefits of using a Steam Mop

There are so many benefits of using a steam mop to clean your floors. We had a Shark Steam Mop for years and it finally wore out.

We didn't buy a new one until recently and I really don't know why because steam mops are so much easier to use.

These are the benefits of using a steam mop: 

• Oh, my aching body, scrubbing the kitchen floor on my hands and knees is really hard work. The older I get the harder it became. Well, I could always have Fran do the floors but that wouldn't be fair.
• Then there are all of those cleaners that you have to buy. So, we are saving money on cleaning supplies.
• All of those cleaners contain chemicals that may not be safe to be breathing in. When we're finished scrubbing the floor we have to dump a dirty bucket of water with those chemicals in them. Is this really good for the environment?  
• A Steam cleaner leaves a nice fresh smell and sanitizes the floor at the same time.
• My favorite is that the floor dries really fast, and I don't have Fran yelling at me to not walk on the floor yet.

What are the Best Steam Mops:

The best steam mop depends on your preference. You can easily type a search for steam mop reviews and become overwhelmed with the choices.

Fran did a lot of research on the best steam mops and came up with the Bissell PowerFresh as our choice. We put this to use as soon as we got it out of the box well, Fran did not me. It was very easy to assemble at least that's what Fran told me.

You can look up all of the features of this Bissell Steam Mop. The one we like the best is the fragrance pads they leave a nice clean smell throughout the house.

Here are some choices of the best steam mops:

Bissell 1940 PowerFresh Steam Mop Hard Floor Steam Cleaner, BlueShark Steam Pocket Mop (S3501)Hoover Steam Mop TwinTank Steam Cleaner WH20200O-Cedar Microfiber Steam MopBissell 1806 Power Fresh Deluxe Steam MopShark Professional Steam Pocket Mop - With Shark Intelligent Steam

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Storage Solutions for your Home

Home Storage Solutions

Do you have coats hanging on chairs?  Are you tripping over shoes on the floor? Is this a familiar site in some parts of your home? 

Well, I think we're not all as bad as the clutter in this picture, but you get the idea.

Clutter in certain areas of your house can certainly be overwhelming at times. Sometimes we just need to come up with some simple home storage solutions to keep the clutter to a minimum.

Our entrance to our basement was a mess, we had coats and shoes all over the place. After taking a look at the area I saw a blank wall so, I thought what perfect space for a coat rack. Then underneath the coat rack, I put a shoe rack, problem solved.

There really are some cheap storage solutions if you think about it.

LIBERTY 165541 Six Scroll Hook Rack Cocoa and SoftBirdRock Home Oval Hook Coat and Hat Rack | 6Liberty 129848 Hook Rail/Coat Rack with 5 Flared Tri Hooks,Sodynee 25 Pairs Shoe Rack Shoe Tower Shelf Storage OrganizerWhitmor 20 Pair Floor Shoe Rack, WhiteSeville Classics 2-Tier Resin Slatted Shoe Rack

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Here are some bedroom storage solutions:

How about some storage for the kids' rooms. We have four grandchildren and I gotta tell you that I've never seen so much stuff. Games, books, toys, clothes, you name it and it's there.

Our daughter picked up a couple of neat wall storage units with cubbies and cloth drawers. They are not very expensive and very easy to assemble.

Tip: If you buy a tall wall unit for storage and have small children I recommend anchoring it to the wall with some "L" brackets.

Tot Tutors Kids' Toy Storage Organizer with 12 Plastic Bins,Cosco Hazel Kids 4 Shelf Bookcase WhiteClosetMaid 8937 Cubeicals 9-Cube Organizer, Espresso

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Then there is the entranceway in your home. Wouldn't it be nice if you had a storage bench to sit on and take off your shoes and still have room to store some things inside? 
I really wish that we had the room in our entranceway for one of these, but we don't.

Linon Home Decor Storage Bench with Short Split Seat Storage,Simpli Home Avalon Rectangular Faux Leather Storage Ottoman Bench, Large,ClosetMaid 1569 Cubeicals 3-Cube Storage Bench, White

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If you need to organize your garage click here for more ideas.

Why do you need Carbon Monoxide Detectors

Do you have carbon monoxide detectors in your home?

Just before the winter season, we had our gas furnace inspected. We wanted to make sure everything was in good working order for the coming cold weather.

During the inspection, the service guy asked if we had carbon monoxide detectors in the house.

Fran and I looked at each other with this blank look on both of our faces because the answer was no we don't.

We've been living in this house for almost five years now and never gave it a thought. I don't know why because we had them in our last home.

What is Carbon Monoxide? Carbon monoxide is orderless, tasteless, colorless, and is not detected easily. It is a product of incomplete combustion of organic matter.

You can learn all you need to know about carbon monoxide here.

You might ask, why do I need carbon monoxide detectors?

 Carbon Monoxide is known as the silent killer. There are more than 150 unintentional deaths every year from carbon monoxide poisoning.

You can find the statistics here. 

When do you need carbon monoxide detectors:

One interesting fact that I found out is that even if your house is totally electric you may still need to have a carbon monoxide detector. If your garage is attached to the house or you have a wood burning fireplace or stove it is recommended that you have a detector.

I also found that there are different kinds of alarms. Plug in with a battery backup, ones that the battery will need to be changed once a year, and the sealed battery types that will last 10 years.

I bought two of the Universal sealed battery types. The instructions will give the recommended carbon monoxide alarm location for your home.

I  placed one in the hallway where our bedrooms are and one in the basement. I got my wife, daughter, and grandsons together and pushed the test button so everybody knows exactly what the alarm sounds like.

Some State Laws require that you have carbon monoxide alarms See States here:

So, if you don't have carbon monoxide alarms in your home please think again.

Kidde KN-COPP-3 Nighthawk Plug-In Carbon Monoxide Alarm with Battery BackupCO Detector NetBoat LCD Portable Security Gas CO Carbon PoisoningFirst Alert CO615 Dual Power Carbon Monoxide Plug-In Alarm withFirst Alert CO400 Battery Powered Carbon Monoxide Alarm, 2-PackCarbon Monoxide Detector, Awakelion Battery-Operated Combo Co Detector/Alarm with VoiceUniversal Security Instruments MC304SB Carbon Monoxide Smart Alarm with 10

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