Don't take the unclean pallet inside your home. Use a garden house or power washer to give the whole pallet an initial rinse. This should wash away any debris. Allow the pallet to dry. Reclaimed wood may contain insects, for example, that you wouldn't want indoors. Try using a hammer, pry bar and cat's paw to take apart the pallet without breaking it. If a pry bar doesn't finish the job, a nail punch or drill can drive the nails out. Alternatively, you can cut through exposed nails with an oscillating tool, or cut through the planks themselves. Disassemble the pallet if you want to use the planks instead of the whole pallet in one piece. Place the pallet or planks between sawhorses. Rub the wood's surface with the grain, starting with a coarse sandpaper and moving up to a fine grade. Sand the entire pallet so that it is smooth to the touch and won't create splinter. Make sure to sand your pallet outdoors, wearing safety goggles and a respirator to avoid dust issues. If you opt not to sand the pallet, only use it somewhere that family and guests won't touch it, since rough wood can cause splinter. In a bucket, combine five parts water to one part dish detergent. Alternatively, you can use a solution of one part detergent, ten parts bleach and twenty parts water. Use a scrub brush to scrub all of the wood with the solution. Scrub notches and grooves vigorously. Wear old clothes and rubber gloves. If you're using bleach, you should also wear safety goggles and a face mask. You may want to use bleach if you have a reason to suspect mold or mildew. Don't combine bleach with any products that contain ammonia. Use a garden hose or power washer to rinse all the solution from the wood. Use the solution and your scrub brush to clean the wood a second time. Rinse the pallet a final time, then leave it in the sun until it's dry.

Summary: Hose the pallet outdoors. Disassemble the pallet, if desired. Sand the wood. Scrub the wood with a soap solution. Rinse the wood and scrub it again.

Dentists say that brushing your teeth should only take two minutes, but that doesn't mean that you have to be stationary while you do it! You can turn on the coffee maker, take out the trash, or do something else while you are brushing your teeth. Carry around a paper cup with water, so you can rinse your mouth if you are walking a pet outside or taking your things to the car. Eating breakfast increases alertness, which will allow you to get to where you need to go faster. Luckily there are a lot of different varieties of breakfast foods that you can eat on the go like granola and protein bars or different varieties of fruit. It might be tempting to skip breakfast altogether, but eating in the morning will give you more focus and will help you throughout the day. Try eating something healthy or filled with protein so that you have the energy to get to your destination quicker. If you have things to prepare for where you need to be, like a briefcase, backpack, or bag, make sure that while you're packing up your car you're also getting your morning drink. You don't have time to sit down and relax, you need to be somewhere on time. If taking your bags to the car is the last thing you do before you leave, put your morning beverage in a to go container so you can drink it on your way there. If checking your email is part of your job, there's a likelihood that you can't ignore them in the morning. If you absolutely must check them, you can do it while walking your dog or feeding your cat. Tending to a pet in the morning is a huge time waster, so try to combine it with something productive. If you only use your email for personal reasons, you can drink your morning cup of coffee or eat your breakfast while you tend to your pet.

Summary: Brush your teeth while you do something else. Eat something on the go. Take your bags to the car while you drink your water or coffee. Tend to pets while you check your emails.

People who have abused you in the past are more likely to abuse you again. For this reason, you should avoid contact with anyone who has abused you in the past. If avoiding contact with this person is not possible, then avoid spending time alone with the person. Ask a friend or family member to accompany you whenever you have to spend time around the abuser. Stay away from anyone who has threatened you with abuse. Threatened abuse is likely to lead to actual abuse at some point, so you should also avoid contact with anyone who has threatened you. People who display violent behavior are also more likely to become abusers. You may feel like you have to walk on eggshells around the person to avoid making him or her angry. Try to avoid having contact with people who display their anger in violent or forceful ways. Some examples of this type of behavior might include: throwing things breaking items punching walls or kicking furniture grabbing your arm or physically restraining you in other ways People who seem to need to control everyone and everything are also more likely to be abusive. If your significant other is often jealous for no reason or wants to know every detail about where you have been or are going, then he or she may turn to abuse at some point. Some examples of jealousy and controlling behavior might include: constantly checking up on you giving you the 3rd degree if you are late calling you a "liar" telling you how to dress or act pressuring you to make an immediate commitment Abusive people often use isolation as a way to control people. This may be subtle at first, such as requesting that you do not spend as much time with certain people. However, an abusive person may soon be forbidding you from seeing certain people, even if they are your close friends or family members. An abuser may accuse certain friends or family members of being "trouble makers" or "nosy." In a heterosexual relationship with a male abuser, he may also accuse you of being a "whore" for spending time with male friends or of being a "lesbian" for spending time with female friends. Abusive people tend to find ways to excuse their behavior and they often blame other people, including those who they abuse. Think about what the person says after he or she has done something abusive. Does the person tend to blame you or other people for his violent behavior? If so, then do what you can to get away from this person. It is likely that he or she is going to continue to justify violent behavior towards you. Some abusive people may also accuse those who they abuse of being "too sensitive." If someone often makes you feel bad about yourself, but then dismisses your feelings, then this person may be abusing you. Abusive people may be cruel to animals and children. Pay attention to how the person behaves around animals and children to get hints about how he or she might treat you. For example, does the person ever kick the dog out of frustration? Or has the person ever said something nasty to a child because he or she was in a bad mood? These behaviors can indicate that someone may become abusive towards you in the future. Some abusive people will engage in violent acts during consensual sex. For example, the person might try to restrain you during sex, hit you, or continue doing something even though you have expressed your dislike of it. Watch for these types of signs. Do not stay with someone who makes sex painful or uncomfortable for you.
Summary: Watch out for anyone who has abused you in the past. Look for violent behavior. Pay attention to jealousy and controlling behavior. Notice if the person tries to isolate you. Listen to how the person justifies abusive behavior. Consider how the person treats animals and children. Think about the person's sexual behavior.