Spring Forward
Daylight Savings Time ends Sunday, March 8. In addition to changing clocks, it's a good calendar reminder to pull out a step stool and vacuum cleaner and take care of a few things in the spirit of renewal and spring cleaning:
- Replace smoke/carbon monoxide alarm batteries - it is just me or does the battery always start beeping in the middle of the night? Reminds me of the Friends episode with Phoebe... but I digress. Pop in some fresh batteries and keep your family safe and your slumber uninterrupted. Remember to test the units while you're at it and replace if needed.
- Reverse ceiling fans - I reverse mine in the winter to help push warm air down from the ceiling, and while I'm not quite ready to use the fan for cooling purposes, now's a good time to switch them back. And dust them off too!
- Clean fridge coils - to keep your unit running efficiently, it's commonly advised to vacuum these coils on a regular basis, but I for one tend to forget/get lazy. Roll that fridge out, spend 10 seconds saying "ewwwwwwww!" and vacuum up the dust and dirt accumulation and then pat yourself on the back.
- Clean dryer vents - According to FEMA statistics there are a little under 3000 dryer fires per year and the leading cause is lint build up. While that's not a huge number in the scheme of things, boy would I feel really, really dumb to be 1 of 3000. So grab that vacuum and clean the lint trap area and venting. If you have a flexible hose type vent, it's typically connected to the back of the dryer by a metal clamp/clasp and it's a pretty simple task to disconnect it from the dryer and really get in there.
That's it! Now put your feet up and treat yourself to some more Friends highlights - you earned it.
