| Being a Pack Rat Can Cause Health Issues |
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If you are anything like me, you find it really hard to throw anything out. When I finally make up my mind to give my house a "real" cleaning, I usually end up with a shocking number of piles of papers to go in the garbage and recycling. This extreme cleaning process usually precedes a move - no explanation needed there! I guess we pack rats just have trouble letting go. Keeping thing too long isn't really a health risk in and of itself, but there are certain household items that can cause problems if kept too long without replacing. One of the things I have trouble letting go of is my pillow. I've had it for a while now, and I love how comfortable it is, but apparently, keeping pillows for more than 1 year can lead to odor causing bacteria and dust mites that can trigger allergies! I will definitely be trading in my pillow for a new one soon. Another item that shouldn't be kept too long is your mattress. If you keep your mattress longer than 10 years, your sleep patterns will be interrupted, you won't get as much sleep, and you could suffer from back pain. If you already have back pain and trouble sleeping, you should be replacing your mattress every 5 or 6 years. Again, if you are anything like me, you probably have multi vitamins sitting around for a couple of years, while you forget to take them. However, a new study says that vitamins and supplements only keep their effectiveness up to 3 years. When you consider that they have probably been sitting on the store shelves for about a year, you should replace your supplements every 2 years. Better yet, store them in a place where you'll remember to take them every day so you won't have to worry about throwing them out! If you wear contacts, you should replace the case for them every 3 months, and if your solution does not have backflow device, it should be replaced every 3 months as well. These items are open for bacteria which could be very harmful to your eyes. These kinds of germs can cause infections in your eyes. When your toothbrush starts to become frayed, which usually occurs after about 4 to 6 months, it is time to buy a new one. We keep hearing about tooth health and how to better take care of our oral health, but this is one issue that we don't hear about as much. When your toothbrush is frayed, it can't clean your teeth as well, and should be replaced. How long have you had your mascara? Do you have a few tubes of it lying around? Once opened, your mascara brush is extremely prone to bacteria, and could cause problems with your skin and eye health. The recommended time to keep mascara is 6 months. After that, you really need to replace it. |
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