Keeping Fruit Flies and Gnats out of Your Home

It's happened to all of us. You bring home a bunch of overripe bananas or overlooked a weird tomato at the grocery store and a few days later you're finding tiny flies everywhere. You may notice one flying past you as you watch an evening TV show, and then start finding them dead in your bathroom sink. Where are they even coming from?!

Unfortunately, you can't completely avoid them coming into your house altogether. But there are some surprisingly easy steps you can take to get rid of them safely and naturally, with items you probably already have in your home.

Clean Your Home
Make sure you've gotten rid of anything that could have brought the bugs in or could still be attracting them. Throw out old food, put your produce in the fridge, wipe down the counters, mop the floors. Make sure there aren't any food spills on the floor or an old piece of fruit that rolled to the back of your fridge. Take out the garbage when you're done. Any homemade food that would normally be left out (yogurt, pickles, vinegar) should be well sealed, covered or moved to the fridge.

Clean Your House Plants
Fruit flies and gnats are difficult to distinguish from each other because they're so small. Though you might have gnats on your fruit, you'll find that they prefer to nest in the soil of your houseplants. You might not even notice the bugs when you water your plants. Go up to a plant, lift the leaves and give them a shake from the bottom. If bugs come out, you know where they're living.

There are a few options for killing gnats and preventing them from living here. One issue is that you may be overwatering your plants. This is especially common in the winter months. Give the plants a week or two to dry out. Gnats like to nest in moist places. If waiting that long is too much for your breed of plant, you can try spreading a layer of sand or coffee grounds on the top layer of soil to repel the gnats.

The easiest way to get rid of gnats on plants is by getting a spray bottle with about a cup of water and adding a tablespoon of dish soap and a teaspoon of vinegar. Stir to mix, then spray the mixture on the soil of the plants. Repeat once or twice a week for a few weeks as needed. You will continue to see flies around your home for a few days while they search for a new place to nest, but when they can't find one they will eventually die off. Continue to spray your plants after the bugs are dead to make sure any leftover eggs or larvae in the plants are gone.

Make a Trap
Traps are pretty simple and easy to make. Just set out a shallow dish of beer with a teaspoon of dish soap mixed in. The smell of the alcohol will attract the flies, and the soap will make them sink to the bottom of the dish. Leave the trap in places where you commonly find the flies-- in the bathroom, by the kitchen sink, etc.

The traps also work well if you shine a light above them. The light attracts the flies when it's dark, just like moths. A desk lamp or a night light both work well. Just set one up next to the trap before you go to bed.

That's it! With a little time and persistence, your home will be a no-fly zone in no time. Until next time, keep it clean!

Creating Fresh Air Inside Your Home

Did you know that the inside of your house can be more polluted than the outside? With modern innovations and people spending more and more time indoors, it's important to reassess how you keep your home clean to be sure you and your family are as healthy as you can be. There are a few easy and eco-friendly ways to do this. Here's how.

Chemical Cleansers
Cleansers you use on yourself, your countertops and floors can leave traces of harmful inhalants behind, and can even release chemicals into the air when you're not using them. Eliminate the chemicals you use on yourself and in your home. Most cleaning jobs can be completed as well as or better than standard cleaners with castille soap, vinegar and baking soda. If you like nice fresh scents, you can add a few drops of essential oils like eucalyptus, peppermint or lemon balm to the mix. Check out our previous posts on homemade cleansers and recipes for simple cleansers here, here, and here.

Air Purifiers
This is probably the most straightforward way to clean up the air quality in your home. Make sure you use a high quality air filter on your air vents inside your home and change the filter once every 3 months. Air purifiers filter out mold, microbes, dust, dust mites, smoke, pollen and chemicals from the air. Even if you're not using your air conditioner or heater, having the fan on to keep air moving through your house can prevent stale air and moisture buildup which can lead to mold in your home. If you don't have central air in your home, consider getting a tower fan that holds an air filter.

Paints and Plastics
Paints and plastic products like electronics, office supplies, toys, shower curtains and water bottles can release compounds into the air and into your body that are harmful for your health. Try to use natural materials, like plant-based fabrics, wood, ceramic and glass as much as possible. Low-toxicity and low-VOC paints are available at most craft and home improvement stores. Look into BPA's (Bisphenol-A) and VOC's (Volatile Organic Compounds) to learn more.

Moisture Buildup
Whether you cook a lot or just love hot showers, regular condensation in your house can be a real concern for air quality. Germs and insects love damp places, so to prevent too much moisture in at-risk areas of your house like the kitchen or bathroom, be sure to use proper ventilation. Open a window or use your oven hood's fan while cooking and turn on the ventilation fan in the bathroom when you shower. Be sure to check regularly for signs of moisture buildup. If you see discolored spots on your ceiling or walls or sagging plaster, you may want to get your walls checked out by a professional for mold.

Plants
NASA recently released a popular study on houseplants and their effect on indoor air quality. Houseplants are a great way to reduce carbon dioxide, increase oxygen and filter out toxins from your house. Some plants can even absorb and negate the chemicals released from plastics and paints in your home! Check out the list and add a plant to each of your rooms.

Follow these tips and you're on your way to a healthier, allergen-free home! Until next time, keep it clean!

Father Christmas: A History!

     With Christmas nearing in on all of is with only 6 days left, I felt it appropriate to talk about holiday related topics! Today I'd like to talk about Christmas, and everyone's favorite: SANTA CLAUS! Santa Claus, also known as Saint Nickolas, Father Christmas and also "Santa", is a figure with legend, myth, history, and even magical origins! Santa is rumored to bring presents to the homes of all the good children during the late evenings and over night hours of December 24th, also known as Christmas Eve.

     Santa Claus is generally portrayed as a hefty, joyful, white bearded man - sometimes with glasses - wearing a red coat with white collar cuffs, white cuffed red trousers, and a black leather belt and boots. According to tradition, which can be traced to the 1820's, Santa lives at the North Pole, with a large number of elves and nine flying reindeer to pull his sleigh named Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, and with Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer leading the pack!
     Santa has been believed to make a list of children throughout the world categorizing them according to their behavior ranging from naughty to nice. Santa is rumored to deliver presents of toys and candy to the good children of the world, and coal to the naughty children.

     The tradition of Santa Claus entering ones home through the chimney is shared by many European seasonal gift-givers. In the tale of Saint Nicholas, the saint tossed coins through a window, and, in a later version of the tale, down a chimney when he finds the window locked. Santa's entrance into homes on Christmas Eve via the chimney was made part of American tradition through Moore's A Visit from Saint Nicholas where the author described him as an elf. The North American traditions associated with Santa Claus are derived from a number of Christmas traditions from various countries. Some rituals (such as visiting a department store Santa) occur in the weeks and days before Christmas while others, such as preparing snacks for Santa, are specific to Christmas Eve. Some rituals, such as setting out stockings to be filled with gifts, are age-old traditions.

     Santa Claus appears in the weeks before Christmas in department stores or shopping malls, or at parties. The practice of this has been credited to James Edgar, as he started doing this in 1890 in his Brockton, Massachusetts department store. He is played by an actor, usually helped by other actors (often mall employees) dressed as elves or other creatures of folklore associated with Santa. Santa's function is either to promote the store's image by distributing small gifts to children, or to provide a seasonal experience to children by listening to their wishlist while having them sit on his knee. Sometimes a photograph of the child and Santa are taken. Having a Santa set up to take pictures with children is a ritual that dates back at least to 1918. 

    Writing letters to Santa Claus has been a Christmas tradition for children for many years. These letters normally contain a wishlist of toys and assertions of good behavior. Girls generally write longer but more polite lists and express the nature of Christmas more in their letters than in letters written by boys. Girls also more often request gifts for other people.
     Santa isn't the only one who loves Christmas! Here at Azuma we love the holiday season and recognize as many different holidays and traditions as we can! Until next time, keep it clean, and ha-ha-ha-happy holidays!

     

Streamlining Your Workout

We all have high demands on our time during the day, making it difficult to fit in everything we need to do -- much less the things we would like to do for ourselves. Unfortunately, exercise is one of the number one things we put off or put on the back burner because we don't have a free moment to do it. Here's a few tips to make fitting in a workout a little faster.

Workout where you are.
Driving to the gym, packing a gym bag, trying to arrange your keys and water bottle and headphones in your shorts, waiting for a treadmill... Sometimes going to the gym can really sap your day away! You can easily spend an hour preparing for and cleaning up after a 20 minute work out. Try finding places nearby you (a nearby park or just your own neighborhood) that offer the same perks. If you like the stair-stepper, use the nearby high school stadium and run up and down the bleachers, or find a steep hill in your neighborhood. Carry weights to make it more challenging. Running around the block is usually more physically demanding and a better workout than running on a machine. Bonus points: Research shows that spending just 5 minutes a day outside among greenery boosts your willpower and focus throughout the day. So get out there!

Resist the urge to shower every time you sweat.
I know it sounds a little icky, but you can still be clean and fresh (and save an extra 30 minutes in your mornings) without always washing. If you have access to a shower, give your body a quick rinse. If you're not so lucky, go with a French shower and wipe off extra sweat and dirt with a clean wet washcloth. Deodorizing wipes and body sprays can also help freshen you up.

You can still have gorgeous hair without washing it.
Keep mousse, light hairspray or shine enhancing balm (whatever hair finishing product you prefer) on hand. Spritz on a little, work it through your hair and then blow dry it in sections with a round brush to dry out the sweat. Flip your head over and dry underneath, and finish by blowing cool air at the nape of your neck to help you cool off faster. If your hair gets oily, you can sprinkle cornstarch on your scalp, let it sit for a few minutes and then brush it out with a bristly brush over the sink. Voila! No more oil. It's a super cheap dry shampoo that quickly gives your hair life again. This routine takes all of 5 minutes, smells great and no one will be the wiser.

Find training that works multiple areas.

To cut down on time, try multitasking with your body! You can do a cardio circuit without the machines by just varying the speed and intensity of your runs, or by picking hilly terrain. If it's strength training you're interested in, there are literally hundreds of options for working multiple muscle groups. Fitness Magazine, Nike Training Club, and Beachbody are all excellent (and mostly free) resources for short and effective workouts.

Sleep in your gym clothes.
My sweats double as my PJ's. This way I can just roll out of bed, put on my shoes and go. If you work out during your lunch or after you get off work, lay out your stuff the night before. This way if you have other things on your mind as you're getting ready for the day, you won't be distracted by trying to remember where your favorite pants are.

Keep in mind what prevents you from working out.
Everyone's schedules and lives are different. Take a hard look back on the times you've skipped workouts and be honest with yourself. When you start making excuses, be conscious of it and step outside of yourself and say "What is really preventing me from going? Am I really that tired or hungry? Do I really have to clean the kitchen right now? Can I check my emails when I'm back at work, or does work really demand my time right now?" Only you can talk yourself in or out of doing something, and only you know what's at the heart of what's stopping you. The only workout you regret is the one you don't do. So spend less time lying in bed, dragging your feet and debating about what you want to do or should do and just do it!

The less barriers you have, the more likely you are to get things done. Make it easy on yourself to achieve what you want and you'll be more likely to succeed. Until next time, keep it clean!

Pizza Cupcakes!

   I love to experiment and have fun in my kitchen. I also loooove pizza. After perfecting my pizza dough recipe (took a few years to get the proportions just right!), I soon became bored with making the same old pie. So, with a little inspiration, I give to you:

Pizza Cupcakes!

You will need: 

• Pizza dough (homemade or store-bought, though I highly recommend the former - recipe below ;))
• Marinara or pizza sauce (again, homemade or store-bought)
• Mozzarella cheese (regular or vegan, shredded)
• Pepperoni (regular or vegan, diced small)
• Oil (I use coconut oil for this)
• Cupcake pan (or a muffin pan for pizza muffins!)

If making your own dough, you'll also need:

• 2 1/4 teaspoon yeast
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 cup bread flour (or all-purpose flour + 1 tbs vital wheat gluten)
• 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tbs oil (I use grapeseed in mine)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup warm water

   To make the dough, add the yeast and sugar to the cup of warm water. Let sit until bubbles form. Then add the rest of your ingredients. Knead the dough to form a soft ball. Let rise, covered in a bowl, for 30 minutes to an hour, or until doubled in size. Mine usually doesn't  take long to rise at all! Once risen, punch the dough in the center and then knead again briefly. Now your dough is ready to use!

   Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease your cupcake pan using the coconut oil and a paper towel. Then pinch off enough dough to cover the bottom of the cupcake pan. Spread it out and make sure some of the dough is coming up the sides. Now you'll spoon a little marinara on top of the dough and coat evenly. Then sprinkle on the cheese and diced pepperoni. Bake for about 15-20 minutes until the tops are brown and the cheese is melted. Let cool briefly and enjoy your cute mini pizzas! :)

   Thank you for letting me share this recipe with you! It's a hit for both kids and adults and is super easy to make. Have fun in the kitchen and as always, stay clean!!!

Reasons to Go Local!

   Today, I received my first delivery from an online farmer's market here in Austin called Greenling. Greenling is a small company that gathers fresh produce and other products from local farmers and businesses and delivers it directly to your doorstep! The local box is a selection of the best fruits and veggies from the farmer's harvest that week. This week's box included a huge watermelon, blueberries, squash (I got butternut but other varieties were given also), kale, Bibb lettuce, basil, pears, potatoes, and an ear of popcorn! Upon opening my green box full of goodies, I got to thinking just what is so special about buying locally grown and produced food.
   First off, local food looks and tastes better. Conventionally grown produce is picked way before the fruit or vegetable is fully ripe, that way it can be shipped to the stores and sold before going bad. Local food, however, is left to grow until fully ripe before harvesting. That way, your food matures properly and the flavor is at it's peak. Local food is also better nutritionally for you. The less time it takes to get from the farm to your table, the better the nutritional content. Conventionally grown produce is left to sit on trucks and in packing plants, losing vital life force as the days pass by.

   Buying locally also helps the economy in your community. You can put your dollars directly into independently owned businesses instead of the giant corporations. Supporting small, family run farms is so important now more than ever since these farms are slowly becoming extinct and replaced with large industrial agriculture.
   Local farmers are also less likely to use chemicals, pesticides, growth hormones, antibiotics, and genetically modified seeds. You can actually meet the farmer face to face and ask questions about your food too! You can buy your produce from a farmer's market, or if you're lucky, there might be something similar to Greenling in your area! I encourage everyone to support local businesses as much as they can! And as always, stay green and clean!!! :)

The Infinite Uses of Salt

Last time we discussed the amazing cleaning power of vinegar. Another great simple ingredient is salt! Salt sometimes gets a bad rap for being bad for you, but when used properly it has an amazingly broad range of benefits.


Probably the most familiar use for salt is in the kitchen. Salt as a seasoning is great for savory foods, but has tons of applications with a wide variety of ingredients. Small amounts of salt enrich and deepen the flavor of delicate desserts, especially chocolate. If your coffee is too bitter, put a pinch of salt in the pot to get rid of the overcooked flavor. Washing your produce in salt water yields cleaner fruits and veggies and can prevent sliced fruit and vegetables from turning brown. A pinch of salt in your milk will also make it last longer. Use natural sea salt and rock salt when cooking to gain the benefits of micronutrients found in the earth. Remember that if you make most of your food from scratch, you can safely use salt in your cooking when used with discretion without having to worry about harmful effects. Herbivores (that means you, vegetarians!) actually can have more salt added in their diets because they don't get salt from meat. Of course, be sure to check with your nutritionist when judging how much salt you need based on your diet and how often you exercise.

Salt is also excellent for beauty. Put a couple tablespoons of salt into a spray bottle of water and shake it up, then spritz it on your hair and comb through and let it air dry. Salt water helps tame frizziness, and because of the antibacterial qualities it can relieve itchiness and dandruff on your scalp too. Scrubbing your face with a paste made from salt and oil removes dead skin and brightens your complexion. Sprinkling a mixture of table salt and baking soda (also, incidentally, a type of salt) onto your toothbrush and brushing your teeth will whiten your teeth and remove hardened plaque.

As an antibacterial, salt works surprisingly well. Bacteria can cause itchy skin, wound inflammation and bad odors from the waste they create (like stinky armpits). When salted water is introduced to bacteria, the salt causes the bacteria to absorb far more water than their bodies can contain. Eventually the bacteria will absorb so much water that they burst, effectively and naturally killing the bacteria. Pressing salt into minor cuts and scrapes will kill bacteria and help the wound heal. It also relieves bee stings, bug bites and poison ivy. You can swish salt water as an effective alternative to mouthwash, and gargle warm salt water to relieve a sore throat. My favorite antibacterial use for salt, however, is as a deodorant! After you shower, wet a smooth piece of rock salt and rub it in your armpits and you'll be fresh all day. Rock salt is a cheap and easy alternative to deodorants and antiperspirants that lasts a long time. If that's not motivation enough, consider that the majority of waste in the body are eliminated through sweat. Blocking your sweat glands with chemicals and introducing metals such as aluminum (found in most deodorants) to your body has been strongly linked to cancer, especially breast cancer. Sweating is a normal function your body needs to perform to stay healthy, so spare your sweat glands and your precious disease fighting lymph nodes the abuse!

Here at Azuma we love budget-conscious ways to make a happier, healthier and cleaner home. We know you'll enjoy these simple, cheap, eco-friendly and effective alternatives to the store-bought stuff. We have plenty more tips coming, so until next time, keep it clean! :)

Vinegar!

     As I grow older and wiser there are many changes I have decided to make in my life. These start as small as buying generic items, and can be as big as changing my diet! Some of the smaller in-between consist of trying to recycle, conserve water and energy, and even be more organic in my everyday life! When I began trying to cut out all of the harsh chemicals in my life, i began to realized how many options there really are for natural cleaners! I've learned most of them here on this blog from my fellow bloggers. :) Since gaining the interest to make these changes, you wouldn't believe the time that I spend on the computer researching new ways to clean and/or create things for my home. I not only enjoy knowing that I am handling things without the use of chemicals, but I also enjoy expanding my knowledge on the topic! One of the best universal cleaners I have discovered is: Vinegar. It's an amazing little tool that I never thought had the capabilities that it does! Here at AZUMA Leasing we all know our favorite topic is Laundry! So here's a few reasons why you should use this god sent item in your laundry room!

     First, lets talk about your clothes. We all know that wash after wash the colors become dull, and that is something we all dread! Just by adding 1/2 a cup to the rinse cycle, will keep your clothes bright and looking brand new! No more faded jeans! This, my friends, is priority number one in my book! At the same time we're not only brightening our colors, but fabric softener won't be needed!  That's right! Vinegar is a great substitute for softening your fabrics!
      Have you ever forgotten your clothes in the washer because you got busy, or even fell asleep, and when you return they smell gross?! All you need to do is throw a couple cups of vinegar into the washer and run through a rinse cycle - once completed, wash them again with detergent. Your clothes will be fresh like they never sat over night forgotten in your washer! Vinegar also works great to remove perspiration odors AND stains! Spray a little bit of vinegar on the stain or 'smelly location' before throwing the item into the normal wash and you'll be covered. :)
     Any pesky residue from walking around after it rains that sticks around and leaves your shoes looking dull, can be easily removed by wiping them down with an equal part solution of water and vinegar. Not only does it clean the stains from your garments, it is also great for cleaning the washer, itself! Run a load in the washing machine without any clothing, and add a few cups of vinegar with hot water. This will clean out your washing machine and keep it fresh for your clothing! Not only can it clean the washing machine, it is also great for your iron! We all know that starch, and all sorts of funk can build up on the iron over time. In order to clean it and keep it working well, take equal parts vinegar and water and use this mixture in your iron. Fill it up, let it heat up and steam upright for about 5 minutes, then let the iron cool. Once cool, rinse and fill back up with water. This keeps the mineral deposits from building up in the steam vent and spray nozzle! This cleans the inside of the iron, for the outer surfaces, you can use the same mixture with warm water to scrub the residue off of the heat plate itself (when cool, of course)!
     Vinegar is an amazing substitute for bleach! Add 1-2 cups of vinegar to a pot of boiling water, then add your whites to the pot (socks, dingy rags, etc), then let it soak over night, you'll be amazed at the difference! Not only can it whiten those dingy whites, but it also works great as a spot treatment! Take a spray bottle with equal parts water and vinegar and apply mixture to the stain and rub it in. Then throw it in the wash, and watch the stain disappear! Last but not lease, lets talk about our towels. Are your towels not absorbing as much as they used to? Run then through a warm wash with 2-3 cups of vinegar. This strips all of the extras that get absorbed into your towels, causing them not to do their job!

     If this didn't convince you to run out to the store and buy some vinegar for your laundry room, I don't know what will! From your friends at AZUMA Leasing - until next time, keep it clean! :)

Simplifying Your Stuff

A lot of our current culture revolves around the easily accessible, the cheap, the replaceable and the disposable. Even with discount items and big box super stores, all of that stuff adds up and costs money. Today I'd like to challenge you to swap quantity for quality and change your idea of what you "need" to get by.

Disposable Items
There are a lot of disposable, packaged goods that people purchase every week, but mankind thrived for thousands of years before these were invented. Think about each packaged thing you purchase and replace at least one of those each week with something you can keep instead. Do you have allergies and need to blow your nose twice a day? Instead of tissues, try a handkerchief. Having 2 or 3 on hand, one to use while one is in the wash, is usually plenty for most people. Handkerchiefs are sturdier and easier on your face. Save tissues for when you have a terrible case of the flu. Do you use plastic bags and foil to wrap up leftovers? Try glass jars or cheesecloth. There are even companies that make reusable bags that mimic sandwich bags that can be thrown in the dishwasher after a few uses.

Clothes and Fashion
When was the last time you wore that dress, and why do you need 20 pairs of jeans? You shouldn't be hanging on to clothes you might grow into or eventually lose weight and can wear again. And it could be years before you need to reuse those baby clothes. Pare down your closet to what you can wear for a week, plus a couple of seasonal or special occasion items like sweaters, swimsuits or something you'd wear to a fancy gathering. When you have less to choose from, you have less to worry about, less space to fill with stuff, and you get more creative with mixing and matching what you have. Give the extra stuff to those who need and can use it today.

Kitchen Items
There are 3 of you in your house, yet you have enough dishes and place settings for Thanksgiving. You don't have to have all that stuff just for that one day out of the year. Limiting your use to one or two dishes of each kind per person cuts down on dishes to do, provides incentive to keep things clean, and limits clutter.  Think about gadgets, too: a frying pan and a knife work just as well as a grill and a slicer-dicer. Have items that do multiple things and learn to use them instead of specialized items that just do one thing.

Storage and Someday Items
When was the last time you went camping? Do you really need a treadmill, or can you run outside? Are you still hanging on to your 16 year old's tricycle? Remember that what you use daily is often not a lot. Get to know your neighbors, make friends in your community and learn to share. You're not going to mow your lawn or cut down a tree every day, but there are rental programs and free community sharing programs that make it easy to access convenience items when you do need them. You don't need your own personal item for each activity you do a few times a year.


100 Items
There are likely tons of other things in your home that I haven't listed. Hobbies and abandoned crafts, things stuffed under the bed, 4 different shampoos in the shower, 5 different cleaners under the sink. Decluttering your life extends to all sorts of places in your home, and the benefits include more space, less money spent and peace of mind. If there are other items you need to factor in, it helps creative thinking to limit yourself to a number. Often minimalists limit to 100 personal items (5 shirts, one toothbrush, one pen, one pad of paper, etc.). If something breaks and can't be fixed or needs to be replaced, you remove the one thing and replace it with one thing so the number stays constant. The number is arbitrary, your number can be whatever you're comfortable with. But having a number helps to keep focus and control and a mental image of what you can expect to have in your home at any given time.

It may be hard to let go of things that you have, especially if it's something of nostalgic value. But what matters most is not the things themselves but the memories and the people in them and what you share with them. If you let go of a thing, you are not letting go of that person or that experience. If you have less physical items to hang on to, you have less to worry about insuring, replacing, or losing. When you pick and choose what you keep and use, you also give yourself the freedom to worry less about the stuff you have and the stuff you're going to buy and the ability to do more.

Rain!

Lots of rain the last couple of days! For the most part, lots of folks have been stuck indoors. I know I got to do some laundry last night (with my handy-dandy Azuma washer and dryer!!) and watched a movie.
Want a few ideas for things to do when it's raining outside? Give these a whirl"

1. Take some pictures outdoors - I know, not exactly an indoors activity but there are some really beautiful things to take pictures of if you don't mind getting a little soggy.
2. Catch up on some reading.
3. MOVIE MARATHON!!! (One of my personal favorites!).
4. Play board games.
5. Bake something! Nothing like the smell of freshly baked cookies in your home to chase away the blues.
6. Spend time on your hobbies.
7. Clean out your closet or dresser drawers.
   

Those are just a few ideas. See what kind of rainy day fun you can come up with!

Until next time, keep it clean!