Father’s Day s a day honoring fathers and celebrating fatherhood, paternal bonds, and the influence of fathers in society. It is celebrated on the third Sunday of June in 52 countries around the world.
The first observance of Father’s day is believed to have been established on June 19, 1910. After listening to a church sermon about the newly recognized Mother’s Day, Sona Smart Dodd of Spokane Washington felt fatherhood needed recognition too.
Father’s day was slow to catch on compared to the very popular Mother’s day until it became recognized as a national holiday in 1972 when Richard Nixon signed it into law.
I have no idea how the tradition of giving ugly ties started!
HOW TO ALLEVIATE SUMMER ALLERGIES
Summer weather seems to have arrived out of nowhere, and with this weather brings seasonal allergies.
Approximately 36 million Americans suffer from seasonal allergies. This year will be especially tough because of unseasonably high amounts of rain and humidity.
Although we can’t control Mother Nature, there’s plenty you can do to make your home more comfortable by reducing allergens and irritants.
Recognizing the importance of indoor air quality is imperative. Allergies, asthma, eczema, headaches, dizziness, fatigue, sinusitis, and bronchial problems are all medical conditions that have been linked to poor indoor air quality. Indoor air can be 5 times more polluted than the air outside. The EPA ranks indoor air as one of the top 5 environmental risks to public health.
Here are some simple steps to make the air your family breathes cleaner and healthier:
- Controlling the temperature in your home is a great way to control allergens. If you have a programmable thermostat (see wide selection of quality thermotats at Amazon.com), set the temperature to 70 during the day and 65 during the night. Make sure to keep an eye on the humidity level also, no lower than 40 or 50.
- Change your filters and have your air duct cleaned. Dust, pests and mold can collect in filters and ducts if they are not cleaned regularly.
- Vacuum rugs often and have your rugs cleaned. Be sure to check cleaning ingredients, as some cleaners have strong odors that can trigger allergies.
- I know pets are like members of the family, but if you’re suffering with allergies, try to keep the family cat or dog off furniture that can trap pet hair and dander. For example, any place where you rest your head, like a fabric sofa or on the bed, should be kept free of pet hair.
- Wash you bed sheets often. You can also purchase pillow and mattress covers that provide a special barrier against dust mites.
- Keep your bathroom clean. Mold grows in damp environments and is a major cause of severe allergies.
- Keep your refrigerator clean. Food that sits beyond its expiration date begins to grow mold. You don’t want that sitting near food you are going to eat.
- Donate or pack up old books. I hang on to those books from college thinking I may need to refer back to them one day. But old books sitting around on shelves are huge collectors of dust, which increase allergens.
- Be sure to wash your hands often, as this is the fastest way to spread allergens.
- Install a Lux Clean Cycle thermostat (see wide selection of quality thermotats at Amazon.com). The CAG1500 is a fully programmable thermostat that ensures the heating and air conditioning fan runs at set intervals to circulate the air in your home. It also indicates when filters need to be cleaned. A programmable thermostat that improves the quality of your air and saves you money. Now that’s a much better Father’s Day present than an ugly tie!