This is how you keep it as fresh as possible at home without air conditioning or other devices | Cleaning Tips

Normally Marja bites into dirt and stains, but in this warm week she likes to take a trip. “What I always try with my cleaning tips is to make people feel comfortable in a fresh house – so that they feel at home. Now I have lived in Saudi Arabia and I know better than anyone what heat can do to a house and to your own body. Sometimes it was so hot that the inside of your nostrils burned. I have learned a lot and therefore have some tips for a fresh house – without immediately filling the house with fans or air conditioning.”

,,It actually starts with the clothes,’ muses Marja. “When the sun shines here, everyone wears something short and those stark white bodies sometimes seem to radiate neon light. Arabs wear long robes to protect the skin. Just wait and see. The further south you go in Europe, the more skin is covered in summer. That’s called dressing according to the environment. Wear natural fabrics such as cotton or linen. And if you already have short sleeves, make sure to apply yourself well when you go outside.”

,,I also get up at half past six if it is going to be a hot day. Then I open all the windows and doors against each other. Then I take a shower, then the duvet has already been opened so that the bed can air, and after an hour I close all windows and doors again. The house has filled with nice cool oxygen-rich air.

What you do next, or well, that’s how I do it and it works, then I close the curtains. The idea is that you keep the warm air and the sun’s rays outside and the coolness inside. Of course you can also take air conditioning, but I don’t have to have it. Why not? Then you go outside and you walk into a kind of oven. The idea is that your body will get used to the heat a bit. I also don’t eat ice cream when it’s hot, but I drink tea. Saves me a lot of stomach pain and the sugar in ice cream just makes you tired.”

“Take an old sheet that used to be around your mattress, for example, but is worn out, and put it in the bath or shower. Then you put cold water on it and wring it out so that it doesn’t drip anymore. Hang it in the room where you are staying and you will see that it dries very slowly and that way keeps the room a bit cooler.

What you can still do is run some cold water down your wrists if you’re really hot. That immediately feels nice and fresh. Next, make sure that when you perspire, that you not only drink a little more to get enough fluids, but also eat some salt. You also lose salt in your body through sweat, which can make you a bit drowsy. Always have salty liquorice or something similar in the car when you leave.”

All in all, Marja thinks we should also take a step back. ,,Don’t worry, because stress certainly doesn’t help when you’re hot. Keep calm, they have also sometimes understood that a little better in southern countries.”

Do you want to ask Marja Middeldorp a question? Send an e-mail to this address ([email protected]) with your name. Check out more cleaning tips below: