Ask the Expert: Josh and Becca Vanderberg, of Vanderberg Clean By Nell Musolf
A checklist for spring cleaning
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pring is officially here — and for many people that means it is time to think about doing a spring cleaning. Josh and Becca Vanderberg, owners of Vanderberg Clean, offer some tips on how to get your home sparkling after the long, cold winter. • Because carpet is a home’s biggest air filter, have it professionally cleaned by an Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification-approved contractor every 12-18 months; • Clean windows inside and out, including blinds; • Pull out appliances and clean inside, outside and under; • Go through kitchen cupboards and drawers; • Clean all light fixtures and ceiling fans, replace light bulbs as needed; The Vanderbergs suggest making a list of all the projects a homeowner wants to complete and then make a realistic timeline of getting those projects accomplished. “Take time to clean in stages so that you can feel like you’re accomplishing something,” Josh said. “It can be very overwhelming to do everything at once, and maybe some project won’t get done as well as they should have.” Another suggestion from the husband and wife cleaning team is to keep a running list of projects that need to be done on a weekly and monthly basis. “If you keep on top of those projects, your house will stay clean and you won’t have as much spring cleaning to do,” Josh said. And for that ever-present clutter? “I think the biggest thing is if you bring something into the house, take something out of the house and donate it,” Josh said. “Be very conscious about what you are bringing into your house and also be aware of the items in the house that you no longer need and are just taking up space.”
News to use: A mindful coping skill Find more By Amanda Mascarelli | Special to The Washington Post
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magine this scenario: You come home from work tired and frazzled, and your little kids are running wild. Perhaps this doesn’t require much imagination. People in such situations might find solace in a popular meditative practice called mindfulness. With mindfulness, you train your mind to focus on the present and respond with reason before emotion. It’s about taking a pause and guiding yourself to become “aware enough in the moment so that before you react, you’re aware of how you’re responding to a situation,” says Ronald Epstein, a professor of family medicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York. “That gives you the choice to blow up or not to blow up. You recognize and say, ‘I’m about to lose my temper,’ rather than losing your temper.” In our high-stress culture, the idea has caught on. Mindfulness is being practiced not just by New Age-types, celebrities and executives. Education leaders in many states have received training for how to incorporate mindfulness into K-12 curricula. Most medical schools now offer an elective in mindfulness in medicine, Epstein says. Research shows that being mindful can have tangible benefits, such as alleviating chronic pain and helping to curb depression and anxiety. Various studies have linked mindfulness practice to improvements in attention, eating and sleeping habits, weight management, and recovery from substance abuse. Research also suggests that mindfulness can help people cope better with heart disease, breast cancer, fibromyalgia, asthma and other conditions.
about mindfulness • Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society at the University of Massachusetts Medical School: www.umassmed.edu/cfm/ index.aspx • Mindful Schools: www.mindfulschools.org • Insight Meditation Community of Washington: www.imcw.org • The Mindfulness Training Institute of Washington: www.mindfulnesstraining.org
MANKATO MAGAZINE • April 2014 • 9