At Home With Valerie

  (Family Features) Gathering for Easter means bright decor and flavorful food with those you hold nearest and adding some extra “egg-citement” to the holiday can come easy. Let your inner kid shine through with games and activities everyone can enjoy whether it’s at the kitchen table, in the backyard or gathered around for story time. Hunt for Easter Eggs Likely the most popular Easter activity of all, hiding plastic eggs full of candy and goodies for kiddos to “hunt” brings plenty of smiles and giddiness. Whether your gatherings typically take place in a family member’s backyard or a local park, it’s an exciting way to get youngsters outdoors for a friendly (yet probably competitive) game. Bake Desserts Every holiday comes with its own flavorful traditions and Easter is no exception. From sweet, fresh, fruity desserts to chocolatey delights, baking your family’s favorites is a fun way to bring everyone together in the kitchen. Assigning specialized roles in an easy soluti...

  (Family Features) If you’re like most Americans, health is an important aspect of your resolutions when each new year rolls around. While factors like diet and exercise are keys to healthy living, so are the ways you care for your home and belongings. Your home living environment plays a major role in your health and comfort, so incorporating some new habits like these from the cleaning experts at Swash Laundry Detergent can help you establish a healthier lifestyle. Control Air Quality Especially during the winter months when your home tends to be closed tight, air can grow stale. Do your best to keep air quality strong by opening windows on mild days to circulate fresh air, using an air purifier to remove irritants and pollutants, frequently vacuuming and sweeping to keep floor dust and debris under control and regularly cleaning textiles that can trap allergens and other particles. Scale Back Detergent Use Using too much laundry detergent isn’t just risking buildup a...

(Family Features) With many people preparing for health and wellness resolutions in the new year, understanding the state of access to care and other patients’ booking choices may give a sense of optimism for 2023. To examine the outlook for 2023, Zocdoc, a free platform where people can find and book in-person or virtual health care appointments across more than 200 specialties and 12,000 insurance plans, analyzed appointment booking trends and conducted a provider survey. The results are reflected in the report, “ Healthcare Hope For the Holidays: 2022 ,” which provided three key insights. Happier Providers, Happier Patients Provider and health care staff burnout can have a negative effect on patient experience, and 52% of providers surveyed indicated they agreed or strongly agreed practices will face increased financial challenges in 2023. However, savvy providers and support staff are taking steps to run more efficient practices, including using technology. This saves provid...

(BPT) - You've probably smelled it: Clothes from yesterday's workout, your kids' ball games, the contents of your spouse's gym bag. Few things are tougher to tackle than the stink from these kinds of clothes. Why is that? According to the Cleveland Clinic, when bacteria that naturally occurs on your skin comes in contact with sweat, that mix can cause unpleasant odors. And that odor-causing bacteria grows in damp, warm conditions - so the longer the clothes sit at the bottom of a hamper or inside a duffel bag, the worse the smell gets. Here are some expert tips to get even your family's stinkiest loads smelling fresh. 1. Wash the stinkiest clothes as soon as you can. The longer that odor-causing bacteria sits in the clothing, the more time it will have to grow - and smell even worse. 2. Give them some air. Especially if you can't wash workout clothes or athletic gear right away, air the items out in your laundry room instead of leaving stinky items in a damp, wa...

(BPT) - While home maintenance may seem pricey, being proactive about home upkeep can save more money by preventing expensive repair or replacement costs in the future - not to mention safeguarding against damage to your home. The hard part is knowing how often and what type of maintenance to do, and where to start. According to State Farm, fall is the perfect time to take care of many jobs, whether by yourself or by hiring professionals. Here are some top maintenance tasks to help protect the largest investment you have - your home. 1. Check your smoke detectors  According to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), 96% of homes are now installed with smoke detectors. However, nearly 20% of them have non-working smoke alarms. The NIST estimates that if every home had working smoke alarms, deaths from U.S. residential fires could drop 36%. Why aren't these smoke detectors working? Primarily missing or dead batteries. Smoke detector batteries need to be replaced at...