Beds and beyond

   I have been working in the cleaning world for a long time. Yes I have mostly worked in homes, but the one area I would never go back to is hotel cleaning. Even though it was for a very short 3-4 months of my life it was one of the hardest jobs I have ever done. They want you to clean as many rooms as they can fit on your list. Which gives you a max 20 minutes  max per room.  Which -I am sorry- to do all of the bedding and clean the bathroom properly you would need more time! I enjoy going to stay at B&B's myself for reasons you can guess. 

   The one skill that really sunk in for me was the bed making as you do this all day! Pulling and tucking the ends in tight. I now can make a bed in no time at all. Good luck getting in;)

   I have found this is one area I now find second nature and forget that the girls I hire are not always as practiced in this area as I am. I do teach them but I really stress the scrubbing and shining over bedding. So it is an area I am coming back to. They can polish and scrub with great efficiency, so now we need to look at the other details of our job.

QUICK AND EASY!

 Tags always go on the bottom. With king sheets, the tags are on the left. With queen sheets, they're on the right. Marking the inside seams with a fabric marker to denote right or left corners can make life easier.

1.  Pull mattress cover tight over all corners. Spread fitted sheet out over bed.  Fit corners over mattress and smooth any lumps away.

2.  Take your flat sheet and spread  it over the bed with the fancy embroidery facing down.  The top of the sheet should be even with the top of the mattress, the sides should be hanging down equally, you will want  plenty of extra at the bottom to tuck into the mattress. 

 3. Pull tight and tuck sheet into end of the bed then fold and tuck bottom corners of flat sheet into bottom of mattress making triangles at the sides.

4. Spread blanket over flat sheet, checking to make sure it hangs equally on both sides. Tuck blanket into bottom of mattress or let it hand depending on frame.

5. Fold top of blanket and flat sheet over about 12-14”. Tuck the extra under mattress to keep flat.

6. Shake and fluff  pillows and place at head of bed. (I find this the hardest part depending on how many pillows I am given. I know I have no creativity in this area)

You got it! TTYL!

Tools of the trade-Cleaning your house?Whats on your feet?

I am turning 26 this February. 

Feeling way older than that, I should be like a spring chicken but I am more of an old duck. Oh dear, is that even a saying.......lol?

Anyways I am writing about footwear.  I was wearing  cute little flats for almost 5 years straight, they went so well with everything, and I could walk in them forever.  A few years later now, and I won't even go out for walks after work because my feet are so sore. I started wearing running shoes after work, but that just wasn't cutting it; I still needed to have a bath and put my feet up after work. I realized in the last couple years that I am going to be walking on these things for the rest of my life: there are no replacement pairs, and I can't keep treating them like they are disposable. Really, your feet are something you will need until the day you die, Hopefully for the most of us that will be a while!

I went on the search for the best pair of shoes I could find that wouldn't break the bank. I knew I would have to replace them once a year or so. First I tried out nursing shoes, I liked them for the most part. They have a very very thick heel, this is important as you don't want your feet taking the impact of the hard floor all day. They also had good arch support, I think this is great, as you need that structure for the long work day ahead - you don't want to lose that arch -  my biggest problem with the nursing shoe was they had no flex. As a cleaner, I am squatting down for a lot of the day and I have to  lean forward onto the the balls of my feet; so because these shoes have so much structure, they would not bend with me. I ended up with the top of my foot being sore. The shoes were pushing down on the tops of my toes and I was not liking it!

I also have tried the Skechers memory foam; I was hoping these would be perfect. They were light weight, and they did work for awhile; but they made my feet stink so bad! Socks never helped and I couldn't fix the problem. I even tried leaving coffee grounds in the shoes over night to kill the smell, but they were still stinky in the morning.

Finally, I was randomly shopping in Penticton (I believe the store was called City Shoes) and I  found a pair of shoes named Bernie Mev. They are made out of a handwoven elasticized material, they come in great colors, they are also washable, and have a very thick memory-foam cushioned sole. I do own two pairs of Bernie Mev shoes and first pair wore out in the sole; but I simple got replacement insoles and they were fine. These are by far the most comfortable shoes I have ever worn! XOXO to Bernie Mev!

These are my work shoes, the shoes on the left are older and you may be able to see how worn out they are in the heel. I have taken the insole out so you could see. For wearing them every day for a year they are in great condition!

So take care of your feet. Of course try out a few shoes and find which shoes work for you. But I would try out Bernie Mev's. (and do not try the lame Skechers version of them; they are in no way as good!)

Thanks for reading! TTYL!

Tools of the trade-Home cleaning cloths and costs

I am a germaphobe  for my clients. I want to treat their home's like I would hope someone would treat mine.  This is the reason I use color coded cloths.  Green and blue cleaning cloths are for the bathroom and yellow cleaning cloths are for house hold area's. At the end of the day they all go into the wash together. But the point is I do not want them to get mixed up while using them. I don't want to see anyone wiping down the bathtub and then wipe down my kitchen counters with the same cloth! EW! I would want to smack the person doing that in my house. So color coded it is!  It has really helped!

 You have no idea how hard it can be to find good cloths, the same colors and quality. If you go to one of those cleaning supply stores  they may try to sell you a microfiber cloth for $1.50 per cloth,sometimes even more.  If you like to spend the most money possible please go ahead! Anyways, I have found Costco supplies yellow microfiber cloths in the detailing section for cars. I believe they are a pack for 35 for $18. Not a bad price for the bunch. They are slightly fluffier that is why we use those in the house hold area's.  I am happy to tell you there is an even better price at Home Depot. I get my green microfiber cleaning cloths 30 for $14.88 and the quality  is amazing!

Give these a try! 

**Good find** If you like to use mirror cloths. Take a look in the car detail sections, they normally take a few dollars off compared to the cleaning isle. I go to Canadian tire for mine. They are bright orange and they work great all over your house from windows to glass.

I am living in Kelowna but I am sure it is the same else where.

Thank you! TTYL!

Tools of the trade-Cleaning house with TeaTree oil

Oils are all the rage right now. But to be honest, I am not sure if all of them are that useful. I know they cost me a large amount of money every month and they also smell pretty. Other than that I have never taken the time to look into how I am supposed to use them.

At the moment my go to oil is Tea-tree. I have used it for years and started using it as a teenager when I lived in Haiti in 2007 for 6 months with my boyfriend's family while they were waiting to adopt 2 girls. Long story short we lost our place to live and ended up helping  out at a few different orphanages. Don't worry, I knew the situation before we left Canada. I also new with lots of children came the possibility of lice.. AAAH!!!! I've had it twice as a child and I never want to go through that again!   I also figured that hot places may have bugs and the mosquitoes that can give you malaria.  So again AAHH!!! 

I bought a large bottle of this Tea tree oil and dumped it into my shampoo, conditioner, bug lotion, sunscreen, and even used it as my daily perfume. It worked like a charm and all the bugs left me alone- including the lice! I have used it year after year when I know I will be helping out at camps or any type of large group activity. I even packed it camping a few times when I forgot my bug spray. I got a little sun burnt from the oil, but received no bites! I do not always enjoy the strong smell of this oil but I figure it is way better than any of the other options.

We now use it while we are cleaning. 

I just learned from a friend that this oil is a great a anti-fungal,  meaning; it can help  fight the mold or mildew in your bathrooms and showers. If I were you I would spray my tile shower down with this every day.

I take 10 drops of oils and fill the rest of the small bottle with water. Wash the tile shower, dry it out, then spray the areas that need a little extra help with the oils.  So far so good!

Give it a try, See what you think!?

THANKS! TTYL!

Tools of the trade-Cleaning house with stinky vinegar

Okay lets get right down to it. 

I am not a fan of the vinegar smell. However it is a great natural cleaner for your home. It can take hard water off of taps and glass like no one's business. 

When I am making all of my house hold cleaners, I make one called Vin+Oils. Really its half vinegar, half water, and 3-4 drops of a nice smelling essential oil. (I like the grapefruit or Orange for this as it blends well with the sour smell)

We use this product while cleaning your home. It is a deodorizer and a disinfectant and in my mind it is more of a bathroom cleaner, as I would rather not smell it all over the house, I think of this cleaner as my final touch. I wash down everything in the bathroom with either my Heavy Solution or my Mothers Choice.  When I go to polish I spray it down with the Vin+oils and dry it off to get that gleaming look- as it is all about first impressions!  If you have a tap that has thick hard water stains that have been on there for a long time, soak a cloth down with full strength vinegar, place it on the tap, and let it soak while you are cleaning the other areas. When you finish come and give the tap a scrub. If it's not easy let it soak for another 30 minutes and try again.  It's the best product to deal with those annoying hard water spots.

I am also a big fan of cleaning my floors with vinegar. Yes I know how I just went on about not liking the smell and how it is a bathroom cleaner Bla Bla Bla........ But I only use about 5 sprays into my mop and add a good amount of water and you can not smell the vinegar. Really, when cleaning your home you want things to be cleaned, but also sanitary, and I am not going to kill those germs with crazy chemicals so this is my best option. I still enjoy the 10 sec dropping food rule and if I have just used hot water who knows what came across the floor and when.

 ****CAREFUL**** When you are using vinegar you want to be careful as it is an acid based product. It can strip away the top coat off of any surface if it is not diluted. Wood and other surfaces have a finishing layer on them. You want it to stay that way! Do not forget to DILUTE the vinegar!

Random Tip: When cooking curry or a strong smelling food on the stove top. Try boiling a pot of water and a cap-full of  vinegar beside it. It absorbs in the odor while you are cooking and helps keep your house smelling like a home instead of a spice factory.

Okay, that is all I want to write about vinegar. Really, at the end of the day you can clean the whole house with just vinegar. It works well- just don't forget the oil and the water.

Best of luck! TTYL!

Tools of the trade- Cleaning house with mothers

Hello Kelowna!

So ...back to cleaning your home, our favorite hobby!

 You know, not many people like to hear about my day. All I am doing is cleaning and listening to hours of podcasts.  So I guess I found my new outlet. I feel like I am writing a diary about cleaning. To myself of course, but about things I already know.! Hahaha..I guess it is good practice for my horrible grammar and spelling! How I love to read, but the details  just go out the window when I start writing! :)

Okay back to the main topic "TOOLS OF THE TRADE"

Today we are going with my favorite natural cleaner of all time! My Mothers Choice! No really it is called Mothers Choice. In the end Mothers Choice is just Pink Solution, but on steroids. It is something like 10x the strength of Pink Solution. It is in a small container,  a thick grey paste that contains small pumice throughout. All it needs to be of use is a little water. ***CAREFUL*** because of the small pumice. I avoid using it on anything that can scratch! Mostly I use it on showers or bathtubs. Makes the job quick. In all honesty we use one of those netted dish cloths.

This is the cloth and cleaner.  I like the net as it doesn't scratch things while I am cleaning. Bristle brushes do not work as well. You lose way more cleaning product. Also they do not cover the whole surface area. The bristles can spread apart while scrubbing and can miss big areas. 

Soak it down and rub the cloth around in the paste.  Once you have a small amount in the cloth continue to lather it. Bubble's always feel like they will help. So its a good sign if you have made a lather. With the now wet and lathering cloth start washing down the bath or shower.  I have found I shouldn't have to go over then same area for long. The cleaner does most of the work for me. once the area is all scrubbed and bubbles, run your hands over the area you have just cleaned.  You are checking for soap scum. If there is none left, your hand should glide across the area without feeling any gritty areas. Rinse well! As this natural cleaner does have a slight grey color. You don't want any grey residue left over.  Not to worry it is safe to bath in. I just don't like the grey color in my bathwater. Now start to polish and dry. Wipe all the walls down. Then use a dry cloth and polish the taps and shine the handles.  

P.S. If you have hard water marks on the glass or taps and have already cleaned it once with Mothers Choice. Take some diluted vinegar and spay and polish using that. It is helpful as it is an acid base and takes off a lot of hard water marks.

The best tip I can give you when using this natural cleaner Mothers Choice is  a little goes a long way. The small container cost's $10. It can last a very long time. I hate to just rinse it down the drain. In Kelowna I buy these cleaners at London Drugs. You can order them online as well.

Well thanks again! Hope this can help with every day house cleaning.

TTYL!

House Cleaning-The tools of the trade

My Husband Jonathan and I in Fiji 2014 

The photo doesn't suite the blog. But I thought you may want to see who I am, just for kicks. :) 

House Cleaning. 

Yawn ...right?.......Well I do it for a living. All day every day, I clean people's homes. I am a residential house cleaner or Cleaning Lady..... and I love it!  I love walking into a new home and seeing how other people live. Some homes look like a Frat Boys party gone wrong,  stampeded by a herd of cows, and then little children ran through that home covered in pasta sauce and chocolate, hand painting as they go.  (Yes that bad. Not a joke!)  Others you walk into a museum that has been cleaned every day and bless their heart they still apologize for the horrifying state of the home they live in. While I walk around they are tucking away small pieces of paper and moving the one pillow back into place. Don't get me wrong I love seeing a clean home. After all the is my job. But OH, do I love a good challenge! 

This is where we get to the tools of the trade. As you may know we work with only Organic Cleaning Products. You can call them what you like, Green, Natural, Organic. But at the end of the day the important thing is that they do not contain any chemicals and they are SAFE!! One product we use is called Pink Solution.  It's not what I started off using but now that I have tried it I am hooked! On our web page we do talk about the cleaners and have a link to the Pink Solutions web page. I love this product because it is safe for me to use, it is colorless, and odorless.  This cleaner does take a small amount of prep. You need to get a 4 liter bottle. Fill it with hot water from the tap.  You can make two solutions out of the paste Light and Heavy. You need to melt the amount specified on the container and pour it into a labeled 4 liter bottle. Make one Light solution cleaner and one Heavy solution cleaner. Shake and pour into labeled spray bottles. Now you are ready to clean your home.

As you can see I use my old Vinegar bottles to mix my solutions in. Look around your home and see if you have any 4 liter bottles laying around. Why not re-use instead of buying a new one. 

I am not fancy so I hand label my LIGHT and HEAVY onto the bottles. Tape it down well so it can get wet. I know you can make them look 100% better, but they just sit in my garage or the back of my car. I am not great at the whole Pinterest cuteness thing so I figure this is the best it's ever going to look. 

 When I train anyone to use these house hold cleaners I tell them " the light solution is a streak free, easy clean, polisher." " The Heavy is for heavy grime and soaking. ***CAREFUL!!** be careful with the Heavy solution in any type of bath tub. It works so well that if you spray it on the tub and let it drip, the drip can leave a very clean streak ,it can be hard to match by sheer arm power."   Bath tubs  and showers use "Mothers Choice" (We will get to that another time)

Light Solution

My favorite Use:

This natural cleaner is great on stainless steel!

 Take a clean microfiber cloth and spray your light solution cleaner in the middle. You want it slightly damp. Then add a few drops of your favorite scented essential oils (mine is Sweet Orange).  Place 3-4 drops of oil in the same area as the Light Solution. Take the cloth and rub it together, this helps spread the oil out evenly. You can just use the light solution but I think the oils add more shine to the stainless steel. Make sure you fold the corners of the cloth inwards and use only the soft seamless area to polish. You don't want to leave any marks. Wipe down the area and use a circular motion. If you are leaving a lot of water marks it is to damp. Keep going until you see your appliance sparkling clean.

(*I also love this natural cleaner for wiping down granite counter tops. You won't see a streak on them.)

Heavy Solution

My favorite use:

This natural cleaner makes it soooooo easy to clean a microwave!

When you clean a house, you have to pick an area to start in. For me that area is the kitchen. First thing I do when I start is spray down the microwave with my Heavy solution. If it is one of those Frat-boy/stampede/finger-painted baked on messes. I grab a coffee cup fill it with water and turn the microwave on for two minute. Then let it steam! It will be the easiest thing just to wipe out after that. No elbow grease for you!

This is my first blog post! Thank you for reading! Hope it wasn't to much of a "Yawn"....!  Enjoy using these cleaners at home or at work. They make my life so much easier! Thank you Pink Solution!