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Your Guide for Lifestyle Building

Lifestyle Ideas

Perfect Clean Ltd.

Monthly Archives: August 2012

Let the sunshine in! And how do we stop the dust?

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A fine layer of dust on the furniture, floor and every exposed object is not the best way to ring in a new day. The problem with trying to keep the dust out is that shutting windows will cut natural streams of ventilation, evoking a feeling of suffocation. Besides, most of the essential sunlight is also blocked out, robbing you of the rejuvenating touch of sunlight.

Solar screens are a viable option for letting the sunlight in even as you keep dust particles out. Solar shades are preferred over tinted glass because they provide you with an unobstructed view of the outside world, even as they more effectively keep the heat out. Solar screens allow light to stream in, not the heat associated with it. Also, these solar screens are energy efficient and help keep your homes warm in winter and cool during summers.

The best aspect of solar screens is that they are now flooding the market in versatile avatars. Not only can you regulate the heat entering your home, but you can also keep dust particles out even as you allow natural streams of air to ventilate your living space. New styles of solar screens come with fine nets that, when windows are opened, allow air to enter, but filter out the dust particles.

Another move to reduce the access of dust particles into your home is to opt for window screens made of tightly woven polyester material. The traditional window screens that have been used for generations have gaps too wide to keep out dust even though they effectively block the entry of insects and autumn leaves. With advancements in technology, polyester is being tightly woven to make window screens with gaps that are a tenth of those in aluminum nets. These screens keep dust particles and air borne irritants out, but allow ample sunlight and air to flow in.

Window air filters are also available that serve multiple purposes. Microscreens are used that keep out pollutants of various types. Materials used to create these microscreens are typically repellant in nature, and are not easily clogged thereby reducing the time, money and efforts that would other be need to maintain these screens. These screens keep dust particles out effectively, and demand cleaning annually or biannually as situations prescribe.

The screens are layered, and mated strips prevent any infiltration. Two to three layers of screens and other obstructions are engineered to make the product efficient enough to ease matters for asthma patients and those acutely sensitive to air-borne allergies. Microscreen air filter are also employed to treat sick buildings, keeping dust and even fine fly ash out of the living space.

Factor in environmental influences such as daylight hours, winds and precipitation that your region is accustomed to, and the types of pollutants that infest the air you breathe. Accordingly, you can reach out for a window screen that will keep the dust, pollen and other pollutants out, while allow air and beneficial sunlight to stream in.

 

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Is the Sun your Friend or Enemy?

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The extensive range of sun blocks and sun screens will have you wondering if the Sun is a friend or an enemy. Careful consideration of the issue will show you that the Sun is a friend who can become a foe if there exists any negligence on your part. Sunlight has never caused any person harm – sun strokes are extreme cases that are an exception to the rule. Skin cancer due to skin exposure is a reaction that has been reported only in the recent past, and that has been caused due to human negligence.

It is the improper use of cosmetics that has created these problems among populations. Sun screens, for example, typically barred access to just UVA or UVB rays. Bio-chemistry is such that the UVA and UVB rays in sun’s light combined to form compounds that actually were beneficial to the body. When either of the rays was not available, the reactions caused by the other rays became destructive. Thus, it is essential to use sun screens that block both UVA and UVB rays, or not use any block at all.

Soaking in sunlight is essential to increase the levels of Vitamin D in the body. Osteoporosis, weakening of the immune system and a range of other health problems are created due to Vitamin D deficiency in the body, including a lapsing skeletal system and increased vulnerability to cancers, diabetes and other diseases.

To keep the Sun from being a foe, you must take care of your diet and the products you apply on your skin. Improper diets that do not provide the required nutrition to the body make it weak and incapable of withstanding the energy-draining effects of the Sun.

When skin care is the bone of contention you have with the Sun, you will want to concentrate on replenishing your body at regular intervals with the vitamins it needs to keep skin healthy and robust. Apart from providing your skin with vitamins, iron and other essential elements, you will also want to use effective skin care products that fortify your skin against the effects of sunlight, instead of making it even more vulnerable.

For example, application of sun screens is a process that differs from product to product. For optimum results, some sun screen must be applied half an hour prior to sun exposure, while other call for ten minutes of forethought. While some products are effective for not more than two hours after application, others continue to serve for about ten hours after application. Study the directions for use printed on the product and follow them religiously for best results.

Similarly, the directions for use differ for swimmers and athletes, with perspiration and water altering the life lines of the sun screens used. It is you who determines if the Sun is a friend or a foe, with your treatment of skin care strategies and use of coolants to counter the weakening effect of the Sun by dehydrating your body.

 

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Kids Off School Activities

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Come holidays, parents are faced with the challenge of engaging the unbridled forces that their children are to maintain a state of harmony in the house. It is important to engage the little ones physically and mentally to allow them to grow holistically. Enrolling kids in camps may come across as the easiest solution to the challenge, but kids need to be treated to something more than summer / spring classes to learn as they grow.

There are a number of activities that you could engage in with your kid to ensure that holidays are transformed into bonding times as well. With the hassle of homework and regular assignments out of children’s minds, they are in a better position to appreciate all that you do for them, and become willing participants in a range of activities.

Teach children to nurture and be caring even as they have a ball smothering themselves with dirt all over. Encourage your kids to help you with gardening or allow them to create a small garden in the backyard with potted plants. Teach them to sow seeds, nourish their floral companions and watch both kid and plant develop.

No child complains about a trip to a zoo or an aquarium. These exhibitions of animals are a vast learning experience with children improving their general knowledge of bio-diversity that exists in the world they live in, apart from teaching them about the habitats and survival ways of animals. A day spent in a zoo or an aquarium is a memory that is archived in cherished sections of the mental library.

Play dates are means of improving social skills of a child, and providing them with a healthy environment to learn and grow with other kids. Play dates may not be something you will want to arrange for your kid every weekend, but a fortnightly or monthly play date arrangement, even when school is on track, may be a good way to help your children grow in social environments and learn to communicate from early on.

Treasure hunts are another fun way of engaging your kids’ faculties when they are off from school. Turn your home into ground zero and stash away gifts with educational puzzles being the map for your kids. Club treasure hunting with chores to get yourself the help you need even as you kids enjoy doing their bit. Stow surprises beneath sofas or in cupboards, leaving them to be found by your cleaning helpers. Not only are children taught to be responsible contributors of a family, but even household chores become enjoyable.

Making candles, setting up tents outside the house to stargaze on a clear night, working with basic tools in the garage are all activities that engage kids during their off time. Allow your kids to work their creativity with hand-on experience at arts, crafts and mechanics to find out and nurture what their interests and strengths may be. Summer / spring cleaning and clearing out the attic are other activities that glue together families during off-school time.

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Summer Fairs Across UK

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             With the Sun up and above almost all the time, there is no dearth of events to participate in and places to visit in United Kingdom. Across UK, summer fairs are hosted from all quarters. Folks with students in the family have their days blocked out by summer fairs hosted by various educational institutes, from schools to colleges to universities. Appealing to the consumers flocking UK’s market during the season are fairs of every hue of industry conducted across the country.

Every summer, Notting Hill, London, transforms into a massive stage for two days. This summer, on 26th and 27th August, Notting Hill once again plays host to one the most spectacular carnivals in UK. Creative floats, performers of various arts, and enthusiastic crowds whose spirits seem to never falter together create an atmosphere that is bound to be embedded in your mind for quite some time. With a bank holiday extending the weekend, people from differing ethnic backgrounds all come together onto the streets of Notting Hill to party together.

While major fairs set up in large cities make the loudest noise and grab the spotlight, one travelling across UK will also find themselves encountering smaller summer fairs conducted at community level. That is, a particular community or neighbourhood comes together to set up a summer fair for the members of that community to get together and have a ball. Erdington summer fair is a case in point, where half a day was set aside for the people of the community to set up stalls, offer services like face painting, play raffles and cater to their palates.

Merseyside in Liverpool saw its people an antiques fair set up by Pillbox Vintage Fairs. Thematic fairs are not uncommon, and summer fairs are set up by those who wish to promote their products and services via commercial stalls brought together to form an inviting fair. Apparel for both men and women that speak of ages past and vintage jewellery constituted the bulk of the fair, while other vintage or vintage-inspired artefacts like confectionery, crockery, accessories and more further add to the spirit of the fair.

Summer is just the right time for crafts communities to showcase their wares, and crafts summer fairs are erected all across UK (especially England) during mid August. These fairs are set up at various levels and more often than not include workshops and classes to educate visitors about various crafts. The crafts community of UK is a vibrant one.

Surrey will witness Summer Arts And Crafts Fair on 4 August 2012, while Poole, Dorset, will also play host to Poole Town And County Show on the same day. Hertfordshire and Cheshire are set to have their own fairs on 11 August 2012, with crafts, gifts, antiques and workshops working up enthusiasm among participants and visitors alike.

Summer fairs can be stumbled on in every part of United Kingdom during the season, and these fairs give a tourist an insight of the lives and cultures of the English.

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How Did The Olympic Games Begin?

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The first Olympic Games were chronicled to have occurred in Ancient Greece in 776BC. However, the exact origins of the games continue to be shrouded in mystery due to lack of recorded data. Popular belief credits Heracles and Zeus with the invention of Olympic Games, with the former establishing the tradition of having the games every four years. The Olympic stadium was believed to have been constructed by Heracles after he completed 12 tasks assigned to him.

It has been ascertained that the early Olympic games were held exclusively for men, and women were barred from so much as watching the games. This, however, was due to the fact that the competing athletes were stark naked and it was deemed a tad inappropriate for women to be present at the games. There was no bronze, silver, gold or other glory involved, and the prizes were crowns made of olive leaves. The winners were immortalized in poems and statues, hailed as heroes.

Ancient Olympic Games were held among the various city-states and constituencies of Ancient Greece, and the games were held in such high regard that any and all inter-city conflicts were swept aside for the duration of the games. Tradition games included running, wrestling, javelin throw and boxing, with equestrian competitions like chariot races being introduced later. Pentathlons that tested the endurance and competence of participants with various sports were a part of the games.

When Romans invaded Ancient Greek and gained a stronghold in the region during the 6th and 5th centuries BC, Olympic Games declined. The games had religious significance for the Ancient Greeks, and with Roman powers destroying Greek temples and desecrating Greek Gods, the games were stopped altogether in roughly 393AD. The Olympic Games lay dormant ever since, and were revived only in 19th century AD.

The first noteworthy attempt to revive Olympic Games was made in 1796 in France, with numerous aspects of the ancient Greek games being emulated. However, it was in mid 19th century that interest in Olympic Games was stirred up with poets and philanthropists advocating the cause during the Greek War of Independence. An International Olympics Committee (IOC) was constituted and the first Modern Olympics Games were held in 1896 in Panathenaic Stadium, Athens, Greece. This event brought together 14 nations with more than 200 participants taking part in 43 sporting events.

The most important symbols of Olympic Games are the Olympic Flame and the Olympic Flag. Keeping with tradition, till date the Olympic torch is carried from Greece to the country hosting the games by athletes and runners who cover land holding the torch high. This torch is kept burning throughout its journey, and it is used to light up a massive flame at the main stadium of the Games – the flame is kept alive for the duration of the Games.

The blue, yellow, black, green and red rings on a white background that forms the flag is symbolic of the unity of five continents – Asia, Europe, America, Africa, Oceania – for the Games.