Fixing the Key Situation for Good

On Monday, I talked about the problem with keys and how you should handle them in a House That Cleans Itself. Today I'd love to share with you some really fun options for key holders to use in your home. Enjoy!

Key Holders for Hook People

Keeping track of keys got your goose? Then give this one a try!

This handy key-hook unit holds a lot of other stuff as well.

Can't resist these cuties!

Key Holders for Non-Hook People

Hooks don't work for you? How about a pretty wooden bowl like this one instead?

Or this one?

Or maybe a nice basket or a brass tray.

Cat lovers rejoice!

This hippo would make a great key holder—and a fun addition to anyone's front hall.

The Perfect Compromise

If your household has a mix of hook people and non-hook people, maybe you should give a combo like this a shot.

Are keys a problem in your household? If so, I'd love to hear about it—or how you've decided to solve the issue—in the comments below!

Please note that this post contains affiliate links. That means when you make a purchase I earn a small commission, which helps offset the costs of this blog. 

The Key to the Key Problem

Where do you keep your keys? Do you always know where they are? Or do you waste way too much time each day trying to hunt them down?

If keys are a problem in your home, don't feel bad. A LOT of housekeeping-impaired people share this particular issue! Here's what I have to say about the key situation in The House That Cleans Itself...

Do you have hooks on which to hang keys, but no one is using them? If so, you may be surprised at the reason. Believe it or not, in this world there are hook people and there are nonhook people. If the key hooks are not getting used, chances are it’s because the nonhook people in the house subconsciously think it’s too much trouble. (Nonhook people have to focus and think in order to use a hook, which distracts and confuses them for a moment, causing them to lose momentum. Over time they stop seeing hooks so they won’t have to pause and think about using them.) 

Replacing the hooks with a small basket might solve the problem. If there’s no tabletop on which to place the basket, try using the kind of basket that hangs from the wall. Just make sure it’s only big enough to hold keys and nothing else, or people might begin to use it for other things as well. You may be surprised at how a simple change—like switching from a hook to a basket—can eliminate the keys-piled-on-the-counter problem entirely.

Of course, there are a lot of cool choices when it comes to the key-holders you use in your house. Be sure to check back on Thursday when I'll share some links to some really fun options.

Don't Forget It's National Library Week

 

FREE Coloring Page

Let's take a break from household matters this week. :) Instead, here's a free coloring page, in honor of National Library Week, for you to download, print, and use. Enjoy!

A Fix That Does The Work For You

Do you have central air conditioning and/or heating? If so, make sure you're changing your filter(s) regularly. A clean filter can prevent the spread of dust and improve the air quality in your home. It can also prolong the life of your machine.

How often should you do it? That depends. Most manufacturers recommend changing your filter every 3 months or so, but I say that advice should be a bit conditional. 

Change your filter(s) once a month if you…

• Have pets.
• Have four or more people living in your home.
• Have someone who smokes in your home.
• Run the unit most of the time.
• Have been generating more dust and/or grime than usual, for example through renovations.
• Live in a dusty, dry climate.
• Live in an area with poor air quality (such as in a large city.)
• Live in an area where wildfires have been occurring.
• Have an HVAC unit that is old and/or problematic.
• Use cheap filters.

Change your filter every 3 months if you…

• Have no pets.
• Have three people or less living in your home.
• Run the unit less often (for example only at night, or only when it's really hot outside.)
• Have a unit that's relatively new.
• Use pleated and/or higher quality filters.

Change your filter every 6-9 months if you…

• Don't live in the home full time (for example, you're only there on weekends.)

Do you need to buy expensive filters, or will the cheap ones suffice?

Depends on your goal. If you just want to protect your unit from dust and debris, you should be able to get away with using the cheapest version as long as you change it often enough. 

But if you also want to improve the air quality inside your home—which is the goal in a House That Cleans Itself—go with a somewhat higher quality filter.

On the other hand, you probably don't need the highest quality, most expensive filters unless…

• Someone in your home suffers from environmental allergies like dust or pollen.
• You have multiple pets.
• You have an infant in the home.

Learn more here about filter rating systems and how you can decide what's best for your house and how you live.

The Most Important Step

It has been my observation that the main reason people procrastinate when it comes to changing filters is simply that they can't remember what size they're supposed to buy. Check your manufacturer's instructions, then record that size (usually expressed in inches, such as "24 x 24 x 1") somewhere that the information can be easily accessed, such as in a memo in your smartphone. Better yet, subscribe to a repeating delivery for the desired time interval of the correct size filters for your home. Whenever they show up, that means it's time to make a change. And it doesn't get much easier than that!