It’s that time of year again. Holiday parties are just around the corner in the Boston area, so if you’re planning on hosting or attending a party, take a moment to make sure you and your family are ready for such an event. Follow the tips listed below to not only make the most of your holiday party, but to also help the people you love to make the most of their own events. It’s the season of giving, after all. So do your best to give, both to yourself and your loved ones. Look Your Best A big part of holiday prep before a party goes into looking good before the event starts. Start getting ready early so that you can take your time. Dry clean your holiday outfits and if you plan to host parties at home, make sure you take your tablecloth and linens to the cleaners, too. With so much cleaning to do, it is best to simply schedule a laundry pickup to save time. While you’re working on looking your best, take a bit of time to make sure your home looks great too. If you’re hosting a holiday party at your home, have cleaners pay your residence a visit so that they can professionally clean your upholstery. Stay Healthy
You will always look your best when you also feel your best. Taking care of yourself is an important part of your life no matter what time it is, but if you want to look great for holiday parties and not miss any fun due to illnesses, focus on staying healthy. Get a flu shot and take your medications (and make sure you have enough on hand so that you’re not rushing to your local pharmacy at the last minute). To prepare yourself early for all the holiday food you’re going to enjoy, stock up on digestive aids. Too Busy Preparing for Holidays? The thought of preparing for a holiday party can be overwhelming for plenty of people, especially those with extremely busy schedules. If the thought of getting a party prepared sounds daunting to you, consider the family members who are hosting this year. It’s probably as difficult to prepare a party for your aging parents as it is for you. Think about sending help their way by hiring an experienced home health aide that can take some of the load off of them, and offer meaningful companionship should your loved one get the holiday blues. Stay Warm The holiday season can be bitterly cold in Boston and the surrounding areas, so do your best to stay warm. Check your home’s heating system and make sure everything is working the way it should. If you use propane, make sure you’re working with a fast, responsive propane provider that will be available to fill your tanks whenever you need. This way, you’re unlikely to experience any sudden emergencies that’ll occur if your propane runs out at an inconvenient time. Consider getting some propane lamps and firepits to add a little warmth to your outdoor spaces during your upcoming holiday party. Happy holidays from us to you. Remember that no matter what you celebrate, we sincerely hope you have a great holiday season. Enjoy safe, memorable holiday parties with the people who mean the most to you. It was back in January last year when the first cases of COVID-19 were reported in the U.S., and in March 2020, the WHO declared the outbreak a pandemic. We are now one full year into the pandemic. It has been a hard year for everyone, but especially for our frontline workers, the elderly and their caregivers. We may be suffering from COVID fatigue but it is important that we remain vigilant and stay safe. I have some tips to share as we find our way through these difficult times.
Plan for Vaccination Make a plan to get your COVID-19 vaccine, and help older adults in your life make a plan to get their vaccine. Find out if you can get vaccinated at your favorite local pharmacy; many are administering vaccines to at-risk individuals. Your local health department is another good resource to find vaccination sites in your area. If you live in Massachusetts like me, you can go on MA DPH website for clinics/sites that are currently accepting patients for vaccinations. In Massachusetts, vaccines go to those who are most at risk first. Your elderly family members who are 75+ may get vaccinated in Phase 1 and those who are 65+ may get vaccinated in Phase 2. If your loved one has an in-home caregiver through a home care agency, they should be vaccinated in Phase 1, too. Keep Your Home Clean Although COVID-19 is different from the common cold and flu, the same cleaning practices that reduce the spread of those illnesses will also reduce the spread of COVID-19. Wash your bedding and comforters often, and wipe down surfaces daily. If your dry cleaners offer germ-free laundry services, take advantage of them — and consider using a laundry pickup and delivery service to minimize interpersonal contact. Take Care of Senior Loved Ones If you have older loved ones, do their grocery shopping for them so they don’t have to risk catching COVID-19 in public. Pick up their mail, bring them takeout, and run other errands so they can stay home, where they’re safer. Remember to support seniors’ mental health, too. Chat with them on the phone, play games together, or find a new TV show to enjoy together. If you’re feeling burned out caring for a loved one, consider signing up for senior respite care service. Stay Informed Dwelling on the news can be stressful, but you should check the news two or three days a week. This will ensure you stay informed about vaccine plans and safety protocols in your area. Laundry is one of those chores that can be resource intensive and a significant polluter, but it doesn’t have to be. Yes, you can go green and get your laundry clean. There are a few simple things you can do to make wash day more eco-friendly. Do Full LoadsA full load uses less energy and water than two half loads. Save water, energy, and time. Use Eco-Friendly DetergentChoose a laundry detergent without added dyes, fragrances, and petroleum-based chemical compounds. Some dry cleaners offer eco-friendly wash, dry, fold service that uses custom detergent, formulated to be eco-friendly and boost cleaning power. Use Less DetergentPay attention to the amount of detergent you use, too. Read and follow the directions on the detergent box. Too much detergent not only dumps more soap into the water, but also reduces the washer’s efficiency. Use Non-Chlorine BleachChlorine has many damaging effects on the environment, and you don’t really need it to get your laundry white. Try lemon juice or a “free and clear” bleach. To help save the environment, we should try to use only chlorine-free laundry products. Use the Right Dryer SettingsMatch the drying time to the load. For example, nylon dries faster than denim. Use lower heat to save energy. I dry all clothes in low/medium heat. Upgrade Your Washing MachineCommercial washers are already more efficient than home washers. The newest generation of high-efficiency washers is designed to use even less energy and less water. This new technology is available in home washers now too. Reduce, Reuse, RecycleTry a concentrated eco-friendly detergent to get the same amount of wash from a smaller package. Recycle plastic detergent bottles. Reuse laundry bags, hangers, containers, and anything else you can think of – be creative. Some eco-friendly dry cleaners use reusable laundry bags for laundry pickup and delivery service, too. Spend Time With Your Family, Not Your LaundryI prefer to take my laundry to the dry cleaner near me, or use their free laundry pickup service. That way, the hours and energy that I spend on laundry are better spent on playing with my kids and watching TV with my family. Wouldn’t you do the same?
With everything going on in the world right now, prepping for a holiday celebration is a welcome distraction. Memorial Day is coming up, and although we may have to tweak our traditions a bit, it’s still entirely possible to have a good old’ fashioned American BBQ. Here are some things to consider as you’re preparing for Memorial Day. Get Those Flags ReadyI know you don’t need a reason to proudly display your American flag, but Memorial Day is a perfect reason to freshen it up a bit. Did you know that some dry cleaners will clean flags for free? Call your local dry cleaners and ask about their flag policies. An old crumpled flag can accumulate a lot of grime and even mold, so getting it cleaned once a year is a good idea. Prep the Picnic LinensWhether you’re planning a social distancing gathering with the neighbors, or a family backyard barbecue, it’s still important to make sure your table linens are ready to go. Most linens can be machine washed in cold water on a gentle cycle. However, sending your linens to a local dry cleaner with laundry delivery service will not only ensure they’re washed properly, but also save a lot of time and effort. For anyone attending your gatherings that may want some extra protection, consider washing some bandanas or small cloth squares that can be used as face masks. Prepare for Outdoor GatheringsWe’ve all been cooped up inside for months, so it’s easy to forget about the necessary outside preparations. Your local pharmacy will have everything you need to stock up on like allergy meds for high pollen counts, insect spray for those pesky mosquitos and even last-minute paper products like napkins and paper cups.
Once you’ve made these simple Memorial Day preparations, you’re ready to enjoy the start of the summer with your family! Enjoy! Photo by Michael Skok on Unsplash We usually celebrate Mother’s Day with flowers and gifts for mom, taking her out to dinner and may be a shopping spree or a trip to the spa or salon. While our city is still in lockdown, with restaurants, salons and shops closed, how are you celebrating Mother’s Day? Mother's Day GiftsFor the most part, we can order gifts online and get them ready by Mother’s Day. If you cannot get a gift delivered in time, don’t forget that your local drugstore is still open and carries a variety of health and beauty products that your mom would love – from age-defying skin care, hair coloring and styling to perfumes and manicure products. Your community pharmacy may provide curbside service so you can stay safe. Take a load offMom is always busy caring for her family. The list of household chores is never ending. During the quarantine, the amount of cleaning and disinfecting has probably quadrupled. So a great gift would be to take over some of her work. How about letting the local dry cleaner nearby do the laundry? Schedule a laundry pickup before Mother’s Day, so that she is relaxed and not worried about doing the laundry. If mom’s work includes caring for grandpa and or grandma, which is not unusual in this age of the “Caregiving Crunch,” you can take a load off her by hiring respite care providers from the local home care agency. A home health aide can provide respectful professional care and companionship for a senior loved one while the family caregiver takes a break. Fun activity togetherDo something fun with your mom at home, such as watch a movie on TV, take a trip down memory lane by viewing old photos together, make handicrafts or artwork, give mom a manicure, and so on. Mother's Day dinnerIf your mother is living in the same house, you can perhaps cook a nice dinner or if you are not a good cook, you can order a big meal online and get it delivered to the house. But if your mother is not under the same roof, you can try sharing a virtual dinner on Zoom. That way, you can still see and chat with each other during dinner.
With a little creativity and preparation, we can still give mom a memorable Mother’s Day during these unprecedented times. Stay safe and have fun with your mom on Mother’s Day! Photo by Karolina Bobek ✌ on Unsplash Everyday household tasks can become a source of anxiety in these times. Do you start worrying about how to get the basics done while keeping yourself and loved ones safe and healthy? Simple hygiene measures can help. Personal HygieneA piece of advice that is repeatedly stated by the authorities as a top precaution is to wash our hands frequently with soap and water or use hand sanitizer. Make sure the soap or sanitizer fully covers your hands, then rub hands together for 20-30 seconds. For hand sanitizers, use those that contain at least 60 per cent alcohol. Having trouble finding hand sanitizers in the grocery store? Try your community pharmacy. If they have the ability to provide compounded medications, they may be able to produce sanitizers themselves. Remember to avoid touching your face because the virus is spread through droplets that may cling to surfaces that you touched. Cleaning ClothesThere’s no research as yet on how long the COVID-19 virus can survive on clothes or other fabrics, but it’s still a good idea to change and wash your clothes regularly — especially if you’ve just come home from the grocery store (or the office if you aren’t working from home). If you are doing the laundry at home, wash your clothes using the warmest appropriate water setting in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions. Make sure you dry the items completely. Consider using a laundry delivery service instead of making trips to the laundromat to avoid too much people contact and save time for other chores. Dry cleaning can help to disinfect clothing and other household items like towels and bedding because it uses high heat. Some Boston dry cleaners provide germ-free laundry services, too. When handling dirty laundry from a person who has symptoms, wear disposable gloves. If you are using a drycleaning pickup service, you should tell the dry cleaner that the laundry may be infected. HousecleaningIt is also important to clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces or objects including tables, doorknobs, light switches, countertops, desks, phones, keyboards, sinks, and faucets at least daily. Clean dirty surfaces with a regular household detergent first, then disinfect with any EPA-registered household disinfectant.
Let’s all stay safe and healthy during these unusual times! Photo by Irina Ba on Unsplash Newton has the fifth largest senior population in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and older people are known to be at higher risk from COVID-19. Although the city is working to make sure seniors are safe, you may be wondering if your parent or senior loved one who lives alone needs extra support during this pandemic. The best thing you can do is encourage them to stay home and practice social distancing to avoid exposure. Here are a few things to make staying home easier. Before you talk with your loved one about the need for COVID-19 precautions, get up to speed on facts and information from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) or from the state or local health department. This will help you be better able to correct any misinformation they may have. If there is a home health aide, some precautions are needed. Discuss with the home care agency what protocols they have in place to reduce risk. In addition to helping with activities of daily living, the home caregiver can help your loved one follow the CDC’s risk-reducing recommendations and also monitor for symptoms so they can alert you. To make sure they have enough of the daily essentials like food and medicine, you may want to stock a couple of weeks’ worth of groceries including food, pet supplies, cleaning supplies, etc. and to gather a one to three month supply of medications. Use a prescription pharmacy in Newton that provides prescription delivery service and/or curbside pickup to keep up with the medications. For groceries, remember to check the availability of time slots for delivery. Laundry pickup service can help avoid trips to the nearest dry cleaner in Newton or laundromat where social distancing is hard to maintain.
Check in frequently by phone, FaceTime, or Zoom to stay connected. Companionship and social relationships are important to the mental health of an aging adult. Social distancing makes it difficult for us to communicate effectively and intimately with our senior loved ones, but digital communications can help quite a bit during these unprecedented times. photo credit: Image by Sabine van Erp from Pixabay With the COVID-19 outbreak surging in Boston, we are all concerned with keeping our home and family safe from germs, bacteria and viruses, especially when you have seniors living at home. You know how to keep your floors and surfaces disinfected, but what about your clothes and linens? When someone in the household becomes ill, it’s even more important to disinfect laundry to keep the rest of the family safe. Here are some easy ways to disinfect your laundry. Tips for Easy Disinfecting LaundryWhen someone in your home is sick, try to have them use 100% cotton sheets and clothes in light colors. This makes them easier to disinfectant in the washing machine using the strongest possible disinfectants. Wash all contaminated items separately from other laundry and wear gloves while handling it if possible. Wash your hands after and avoid touching your face. Safe Laundry Disinfectants to Use at HomeAlthough it’s great for regular stains and soiling, regular laundry detergent isn’t strong enough to kill bacteria and viruses. Fortunately, there are several easy to find add-ins you can add to your washer to disinfect laundry.
In addition, innovative green dry cleaners such as Utopia Cleaners in Boston use a special environmentally-friendly soap to remove germs from your laundry. This germ-free laundry service is a good alternative to trying to disinfecting your own laundry at home Disinfect Your Washing MachineAfter washing contaminated laundry, it’s important to disinfect your washing machine as well. Run an empty cycle with hot water and 1/2 cup bleach to kill any lingering germs and bacteria.
If you’re concerned about keeping your family safe and healthy, remember you can always take your laundry to the dry cleaners nearby to be disinfected as well. Use separate bags for contaminated items and wash or dispose of afterwards. Be sure to tell your local dry cleaner what items need disinfected and be specific about stains and damage. During this unprecedented time, it is best to use a laundry pickup service. We heard from Governor Charlie Baker yesterday that the number of COVID-19 cases in Massachusetts will begin to surge sometime between April 7 and 17. With the stay-at-home advisory and social distancing guidance still in place until April 30, we’ll need to find new ways to manage our daily lives. Fortunately, we have the Internet, various online tools to help us work remotely and entertain ourselves. And for the physical stuff, we can take advantage of delivery service. Laundry DeliveryCleanliness is key during this time. Other than washing our hands and disinfecting frequently used surfaces, we need to keep our clothing and bed linens clean. Using a germ-free laundry service can be extra beneficial. If you usually take your laundry to a dry cleaner or a laundromat, this would be a good time to switch to a free laundry delivery service. Even though dry cleaners are considered an essential service by the state, they usually reduce hours and avoid having you in the store as much as possible. Prescription DeliveryMedical supplies are critical too, especially prescriptions. Pharmacies are also an essential service and will stay open, but they, too, may reduce hours. In the suburbs, curbside service is often available – you drive up to the curb, call the store and they will bring the prescriptions or other medical supplies to you. Many drugstores also offer prescription delivery service within their neighborhoods. You should call your local drugstore to find out if they offer this service. Food and Grocery DeliveryWe all need food. While all the restaurants have closed, we can still order food online and then either pickup or get it delivered. Many supermarkets also offer grocery delivery service and even meals to go. These days, we may find empty shelves for certain food items. Rather than making several trips to get all the food items that you need, it is better to stay safe and order online instead.
When taking advantage of delivery service, make sure that it is contactless. Ask the driver to leave the delivery items on your doorstep and then pick them up after they left. Let’s all be careful and stay healthy! Canadian stand-up comedian, Russell Peters, once joked that everyone in Boston thinks they are Irish. Indeed, St Paddy’s Day Parade is a major event in the city of Boston, which is often called the capital of Irish America. The parade has been running since 1901 in South Boston, the most Irish neighborhood in Boston. It features marching bands and pipe bands from throughout North America, as well as colorful floats, music and plenty of Irish good cheer. The parade begins at the Broadway 'T' Station and ends at Farragut Road, South Boston. Stake out a spot somewhere on Broadway for a good view. Whether you are Irish or not, it’s certainly worth sharing in the fun. Clearly, you need to dress the part – in green, preferably with Irish luck motifs like shamrock, or a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. You can even go all the way by dressing as a leprechaun, with green tall hat, red beard and even green hair! Be careful when you dye your hair and use other hair products. They can cause color loss to your clothing. When that happens, even your dry cleaner may not be able to save it. Kids often paint their faces, such as shamrocks on the cheeks, or a full-face Irish flag in green, white and orange. How about Irish food? You will see these advertised on local supermarket flyers – cabbage, corned beef, soda bread and potatoes. Hop into an Irish bar for more festive beer and spirits, along with Irish music and dance! It’s easy to overeat or get drunk in big parties. If you do, you might need antacids, or gas relief and heartburn relief digestive aids from your local drug store. It’s better to control your appetite and save yourself the agony. Food spills are nearly unavoidable in parties, too. Don’t waste time trying to remove the stains yourself. Call the laundry delivery service and save your time for the more important things in your life!
|
Archives
March 2023
|