How clean is clean? Should I wipe that down? Should I wash my hands again?
These are questions I’ve been asking myself for months now and not really finding any answers to; until the other day when I was on a NAPO-LA (National Association of Productivity & Organizing Professionals) zoom chapter meeting. The speaker, Cari Butler went into detail about how to prepare for a disaster and what is needed for protection and sanitizing in our world today.
First off, I’m glad things are finally starting to open up, and as a professional organizer I can go into clients’ homes again, yay! However, having said that, we all want to keep each other safe and know how we can all do our part to contribute. Here is the site that she mentioned about disinfectants and how long it takes for them to work. EPA.gov. If you’re curious to learn about which products are the best and most effective, check it out. I’m thinking I will be carrying around some hydrogen peroxide wipes from now on.
Wash your hands! Ok! Ok! We get it, but is soap good enough? Or should we be using antibacterial soap? Here is an article she shared from the nytimes.com that goes into detail about why regular soap is just fine.
I have to say, when I went to school for Hotel and Restaurant Management one of my classes was on Sanitation. We actually learned the proper way to wash our hands in that class. Of course, it was to prevent cross-contamination e.g., you just touched raw chicken and now you have to prep a salad, you better believe I’m washing my hands for 20 seconds and not forgetting my thumbs. Back then, I wasn’t singing happy birthday in my head I was thinking salmonella and that got me scrubbing! I was working in a catering hall and we used the same bathroom as the quests and a woman was watching me wash my hands and was like “Wow you’re really washing your hands good!” and I remember telling her about my class. Who knew this would be a thing now.
I still get anxiety when I have to go to the store, although, not as bad as it was in back March, but I do feel like a glass of Prosecco does ease the nerves while putting the groceries away. Here is another article she shared that I can relate to uchealth.org about how many things we touch and forget to sanitize. After getting home, I can’t say I haven’t traced my steps back to everything that I touched, and then being obsessed about wiping down my phone, keys, wallet, taking my shoes and hand washing my mask.
To wear a mask or not wear a mask? I’m not going to have that conversation here, but when I can’t properly social distance and have to wear a mask, I do prefer a silk one for the light weight, softness and breathablity during this crazy hot, and humid New York summer. After nine years of living in Los Angeles, I did get spoiled and I won’t even go on about the mosquitoes. My brand of choice for silk masks is lulubdesign.com. If you live in a humid area get one and save the cotton ones for winter. Oh boy, now I’m really thinking about how I was spoiled in LA!
Well, except for the earthquakes and I heard they just had another one. If you need an emergency kit or advice on how to put one together, get in touch with Cari at emergencycafe.com on how to get started. Stay safe out there!