Healthy Reminder: Do You Work at a Desk? Then, Take 5 Minutes Today and Do This!

Good morning, my dears! Let's start this week off right with a little tip that will make your office space a bit healthier ...

When's the last time you cleaned your desk? I'm not referring to a lengthy organizational project (who has time for that, right?). Rather, when's the last time you took everything off the surface of your desk and wiped it down with a good disinfecting cleaner, or just good old fashioned soap and warm water?

I've interviewed so many germ experts for articles over the years that one important piece of information has practically become engraved in my conscious, and that is this: Desk surfaces are among the dirtiest places you will ever encounter. Shockingly, research has found that they may be even more contaminated than toilet seats. Yowza.

Here's why: Unlike toilet bowls, which are usually scoured often, desks get hit with a lot of ick. Think: you eat there, you touch your hands to the surface, and your hands sweat, you exchange papers and other office supplies with co-workers, and all of this happens for months and months without a single wipe-down. Gals, that's a recipe for breeding bacteria and viruses!

So, your challenge for today: Take 5 minutes and clear your desk and spray your desk down, hopefully with a good surface cleaner (check your office break room and see what lies beneath the sink), then give it a good wipe! Bonus points if you make this a weekly practice.

When's the last time you cleaned your desk's surface?

P.S. Researchers say you spend 19 hours a week worrying about this. And, the surprising thing that could be making you fat. Plus, a little inspiration for a Monday: 4 ways to find your life's purpose ...