If you’ve met me for 2 seconds in real life, you know that I’m a diagnosed germaphobe. It’s somewhat ironic because I work in a hospital 🤷‍♀️ but it’s mostly kids germs that bug me and since I work with sick adults, I somehow rationalize it! Anyways, I’m terrified of my kids getting sick so I follow some ridiculous things to help keep germs at bay. I get a lot of questions about my cleaning routine and how I try to keep germs out of our house so I thought I’d make a list here for you!

`1. Remove shoes at the door, that means EVERYONE. I kindly ask my guests to remove their shoes upon entry to our house. I also keep booties by the front door, for any who cannot or does not wish to remove their shoes. https://amzn.to/2vaHhLG

2. We change our clothes when we come home from being out in the dirty world. My kids strip their clothes in the laundry room when we come home from playing, school and sometimes just errands, especially if they were sitting in a cart or we used the bathroom. I wash most of our clothes on delicate but dryer safe clothes, get a good dry on the sanitize cycle on my dryer.

3. Hand washing! Hand washing should be top on my list because it’s the proven most effective way to help reduce the spread of disease. Hand washing seems simple, but there is a best way to wash your hands.

• Use warm water, but cold water will work if you can’t get warm water. Be sure to wet your ENTIRE HAND, including the back and between your fingers
• RUB your hands together. There are certain germs that are only destroyed with friction, so this is a very important step. 20 seconds is the recommended time to rub your hands together. Some people recommend singing “Happy Birthday” which takes about 20 seconds to sing. Again, make sure you are getting between your fingers and the backs of your hands in addition to your palms.
• Then rinse your hands well
• Dry. I didn’t realize that drying was an important part of hand hygiene but it truly is!

Hand sanitizer is not a replacement for hand washing. We will occasionally use this product when we are in a pinch, but we almost always find sink or use bottled water from the car! https://amzn.to/37Slupl

4. If we are a particularly germ-y place, I will bathe my kids before they sit on my carpet, couches or get in their beds. So they get a bath after bounce house places, trampoline parks, fast food playplaces.

5. General self -care which encompasses a few different things but basically, taking care of ourselves.

• Fruits and veggies. My kids are not always great about getting in fruits and veggies but we TRY! They have to have A fruit or veggie with lunch and dinner. I know there are people who do not agree with this but it works for our family, so that’s what we do!

• Sleep. I’m STRICT about sleep hygiene. About an hour before my kids go bed, I turn the lights down (not off) but use lamps instead of overhead lights. We also have a 45 minute bedtime routine which includes a bath, books, and tuck in. It’s been the same since my oldest was 6 months old and we rarely veer from our routine even on vacation or during the holidays. My kids thrive on routine so having a bedtime routine just makes sense for us. They sleep about 10-11 hours at night. My big kids rarely take a nap but they have quiet time every afternoon.
• Vitamins and Elderberry syrup. Me and my kids take vitamins. My vitamin and supplement regimen is for another day 😂. But my kids regimen is more simple. They take Zarbees gummie vitamins (similar to these https://amzn.to/2vaPteU) and Elderberry gummies https://amzn.to/2w0VN97 . They probably could all use an iron supplement but I don’t keep up with iron cause it upsets my tummy, soooooo i don’t like giving it to them.
• I just starting giving my one year old elderberry syrup. Just ordered a new bottle so stay tuned to see if i like it!
• Here is an article that explains the effectiveness of elderberry for influenza. I do not consider myself a natural momma, I try sometimes but I’m just BUT I am OBSESSED with elderberry syrup. It truly helps our family! https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1756464619300313?via%3Dihub

6. We frequently wash items that leave the house such as shoes, backpacks gloves, snow pants, etc. If it leaves the house, it will usually get washed. I try to wash their school bags every weekend. I usually give our shoes a good spray down once a week or more frequently if we are visiting public restrooms or the doctors office.

I work hard at keeping our bathrooms sanitized and I also wash our sheets and towels at least once a week if not more. I also spray our couch with a product that works on porous surfaces. https://amzn.to/2Pn7JIZ

I hope you find these tips helpful. I am not a medical professional so it’s best that you check with your physician before starting any vitamins or supplements.

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