Ewww….! The older I get the more freaked out I get about everyday household items that missed the Lysol. I can think of three family members that should read this list. In some ways, this list of items stems from my wee bit of OCD tendencies. The tendencies that shifted into a higher gear when my kids left for college. Translation: I had more time to think about bacteria. Here are 5 items to clean more often.

Why only five items? Because I don’t want anyone to feel overwhelmed by this task. Besides, #2 on the list will set you into a cleaning frenzy.

And, if you are a dog owner and read this post you were busy last week.

Grab the bleach wipes!

5 Items to Clean More Often

These are the items that we forget about versus the ones we forget about; I know I need to change the furnace filter, but I fuh-get-about-it.

1.Mattresses:

Think about this- we clean our sheets weekly, but then we put those freshly laundered sheets back on the mattress. On a good day, my mattresses get a swipe of Lysol. But, we share our bed with Chloe (Elliott’s older sister). She sleeps on her brother’s bed during the day. So there’s all that in the mattress.

Solution: If I am short on time the mattresses get Lysol. If I plan ahead I add baking soda to the mattress while the sheets are in the laundry.

I do not drag a vacuum cleaner over the mattress. Because our vacuum has picked up stuff that does not need to be in contact with our bed.

Now, I need to add the vacuum cleaner to this list.

2. Salt & Pepper Shakers:

I know, right? Have you checked the salt & pepper shakers? These salt and peppers shakers are grabbed and shared every day. Eww… if you need a visual just think about where your hands were during an afternoon of errands.

3. Door Handles

One of my kids came home for the holidays with bronchitis. His physician said dorm rooms are breeding grounds for germs. I sent my son Lysol wipes with instructions to wipe down the inside and outside of his dorm room’s door handle. I do the same thing on our most popular doors and entry doors.

4. Handbags

Here is a fun assignment. Grab a damp paper towel or a cleaning wipe and wipe the bottom of your bag. Give it a few passes and see what shows up on the wipe? And, then swipe the handbag’s strap.

5. Steering Wheel, gear shift, lock switches, radio, etc.

I keep a bottle of hand sanitizer in the pocket of the driver and passenger sides of my car. Now, I do believe in building up an immunity to germs (I am the daughter of a nurse) so I use this after leaving places that feel particularly icky.

I should probably take a look at the back seat too! #elliott

This is a great spring cleaning reminder. Here is another list of items that work for soon to be sellers, people thinking about a move or those of us who just need to box up some of the stuff. Make sure to clean the items before you box them!

And, if you want to watch a how to clean a mattress video tutorial, set to a Mad Men music vibe, click here.