Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Tips for keeping your family flu free #lysolcoldandflu

Its getting to be that time again. Fall- which I love, flu season-which I do not love. And with young ones in the house and a new baby...it seems like we are a rescue haven for germs. They love us. They want to live with us forever. And make more baby germs. Eww.

Yuck. I know. So I try to combat and discourage their setttlement in our house and bodies in a myriad of ways. And I have developed a few tried and true methods that seem to work in our house to keep the sickies away from the house of the Dill-io.

Here they are

1. Wash Hands. After everything. Playing outside, pre-eating, playgrounds, soccer practice...etc.(like duh, you say but you would be surprised how much little stinkers like my four year old boy try to put off hand washing) My

2. Sanitize the toys on a monthly basis. In hot water and vinegar or bleach. Let them soak in a tub for a bit and air dry in the tub after the kids go to bed and wah laaa wake up to clean toys! (This tip is mostly reserved for my 2 boys...they tend to be the grossest ones who put toys in places...like a nose or in the mud)

3. Change bed sheets and blankets weekly--this is especially important because of school age children...the germs love coming home with my daughter and trying to plant themselves in her bed while she sits in her school clothes on her bed and does homework. Nope. Not gonna happen in this house.

4. Eat lots of fruits and veggies --eating right and getting the good foods in little bellies and parent bellies always make for healthier happier and less sick kids

5. Sanitize doorknobs and light switches-- I am a tad Obsessive Compulsive about this one. I do it all the time. Like at least once a day. Something outrageous like a bazillion (well not really but A LOT) germs reside on knobs and switches and those germs love to jump from the switch plate to little hands.

6. Wash in hot water. I know this is completely ungreen and not crunchy of me but I do wash sheets, coats and blankets in hot water. Hot water kills germs and bacteria-its a fact. And in my opinion the only good flu germ is a dead flu germ.

7. Stay away from other sick people. (Huge DUH factor here) When I know a family member or friend is sick I immediately put on the brakes with hanging or being around them. No offense to the grandma or friends who read this but if you are sick--know the Dill-io's will not be logging in some hanging time until you are healthy again!!

These are not miracle tips, but I do find that they help us to stay healthy and fight the flu season off with a stick in this house!! I hope they help you out as well!!

What are your good tips to combat flu season??

I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Lysol blogging program, for a gift card worth $40. For more information on how you can participate, click here