The Cleaning Biz Blog

8 time saving cooking tips Part 1

Even the smallest of time saving factors can help in the busy family life and can end up shaving hours off the time you spend working to keep your family happy. When it comes to meal times, preparing and cooking food to fill the hungry mouths of your family can seem endless, here are some tips to help you get the most out of your time.

You can save yourself a lot of time and money when it comes to planning meals for the week. By thinking ahead and planning what you will have for each meal every day you can make use of left over. For example if you have a roast on a Sunday and there are slices left over then you can have these cold with a salad the day after or use the left over to make sandwiches for school and work.

If you know that you are going to be too busy to cook one or two nights in the week then prepare and cook two meals when you have times and freeze one for when you are busy, all you have to do then is take it out of the freezer and reheat.

If you are preparing a meal that requires you to chop onions or grate cheese for example then while you are doing this do twice as much and put some in a container in the fridge for using with another meal.

While you are working in the kitchen make sure that you clean up after yourself, this way when you have finished preparing and cooking there won’t be as much cleaning left to do.

Boarding – finding the right kennel for your pet

While we love our pets, we also love to take a break away and this can cause problems if our pets cannot travel with us and have to be left behind. If we have a reliable neighbour or our family can look after our pet then it isn’t so bad leaving your beloved companion behind, if not then you have to choose a boarding kennel.

Boarding kennels have improved greatly over the last few years and most now are similar to a top 5 star hotel that we stay at. However choosing the right kennel is essential for your peace of mind and for the safety of your pet. Here are some tips to help you choose.

Take your times and visit a few kennels, it is better to go looking when you have plenty of time and when you aren’t feeling anxious. Boarding kennels vary greatly just as hotels do for people, so shop around to find one that you are going to be comfortable leaving your pet in, while being in your budget.

If you have a pampered pet that is very choosy with their diet and requirements then you will have to make sure that the kennel can cater for our needs.

For your peace of mind you should enquire as to whether the kennel has their vet on hand or if not how far away is the vet and the practice or rules they have in force when it comes to getting attention for the animals in their care.

Above all you should feel comfortable with the people who are going to take care of your pet and the surroundings in which your pet will live while you are apart.

8 delegation tips to blast through barriers – Part 2

Here are some more tips to help you get the most from the workforce and encourage a better working environment.

When delegating your workload always make sure that the person you have delegated the project to knows the boundaries of which they can go. For example make sure you outline how much the person can spend on the project or whether they can take aboard others help on the project.

If you don’t feel comfortable delegating the entire project then delegate in smaller sizes, once they have succeeded in completing the given project then delegate more to them. This way they won’t feel overwhelmed and you won’t be worried that they won’t be able to complete the project.

If the person you have delegated a task to makes a mistake and things don’t go as planned then don’t be too hard on them. We all make mistakes and as long as we learn from them, then all isn’t lost.

Above all show that you have faith in others and encourage them to strive towards bettering themselves in the work that they do, don’t overwhelm them but don’t give them too easy a task to complete as this could come across as you not having enough trust in them

8 delegation tips to blast through barriers – Part 1

Delegating tasks in the workplace is essential; it not only gives the leader a break but also brings fresh minds to a project. It can also boost self-esteem among the workforce and bring out enthusiasm. Here are some top tips to help you when delegating to blast through the barriers in the workplace.

By delegating tasks to employees you are able to focus on higher priority projects while also boosting the self –esteem and allows subordinates to grow.

Getting to know your people makes delegating tasks easier and more efficient and makes for a better atmosphere in the workplace and among the workforce.

Always give the person a little more than you think they can comfortably handle, by delegating them a little more, this will encourage them to strive ahead. Have faith in them and let them see you have faith; it can be surprising what they can achieve and are capable of.

Always make it quite clear what you expect the outcome to be, however don’t put in down in black and white how to reach the outcome, let those you have delegated the task to work out how to get there.

5 time saving cleaning tips

A clean home is a happy home and while no one particularly enjoys going through their home keeping it spotless to keep it in tip-top condition, it is something which must be done on a regular basis. Here are top 5 tips to help you save time while keeping your home spotless.

Once you have eaten, then scrape off any remaining food from the plates, this will not only stop the remaining food from hardening and sticking to the plate, making washing twice as long but it will also get rid of the odour associated with left over food.

Set yourself certain tasks to do on certain days, such as window washing, vacuuming, and polishing your knick-knacks e.t.c. by getting into a routine and spreading out the laborious tasks you will find that you are able to save time by doing jobs much quicker.

Get a container and keep all of your cleaning supplies together, this way you know where they are and don’t have to go rummaging for them and you can carry them round the home easier.

When working on cleaning an area of your home then work from the top downwards, this will save you from disturbing dirt higher up and having to clean lower down all over again.

Never use a duster when cleaning, dusters do nothing but throw the dust around the room which causes you to have to work even harder. A far better method for cleaning and removing dust quickly and efficiently is to use a damp cloth or one of the newer types of duster which attracts dust to stick to it.

Are you looking for a Cleaner or Cleaning Lady? Then why not check out our Directory of Cleaners

Don’t let all your mail become junk mail

We all have junk mail to deal with but don’t let all your mail become junk mail which clutters up your home. An essential tool when it comes to de-cluttering your mail is the paper shredder. Of course, any mail which is “junk” mail can go straight into the recycle bin or wastebasket, but never be tempted to open a letter and then leave it lying on the counter top, desk or table. 

While we all have the best intentions of perhaps answering the letter later or thinking of applying for that “special offer”, very few of us actually do and we end up with piles of clutter. Unless you intend answering the mail straight away then shred or bin it, of course as much as we are tempted to shred bills please keep these in a letter rack or drawer desk and deal with them as soon as possible.

If you have mail that holds important documents such as insurance policies and bank statements then remove these and store them in an appropriate place and remember to continue filing them as soon as they pop through the door.

By having a system and organising your mail on a daily basis, you stay on top of clutter by not letting all your mail become junk mail.

Spring clean your Home

Most of us live with clutter to some extent without even realising it, over time, we bring new items into our home yet very rarely get rid of anything and gradually it all builds up until before you know it, you cannot move.

This is the time when you should give your home a spring clean, go through it systematically one room at a time and ask yourself “Do I really need this?” It can come as a huge shock to realise just how much junk we do actually store up and accumulate simply because we never really thought about it.

Spring is the time when things start “springing” to life and this is the ideal time when you should make a new start yourself, it gives you excellent opportunity to reorganise and de-clutter, start afresh.

De-cluttering not only makes your home look neater and tidier, it will leave you feeling better, it is a well known fact that having clutter around you can depress you while clearing it seems to clear or un-clutter the mind, leaving it a lot lighter.

Focus on dealing with one room at a time, for example the living area and gradually work your way up to the bedrooms, clutter gathers everywhere and all rooms can benefit from having a through spring clean. Once you have become more aware of clutter it is much easier to keep on top of it by regularly checking and de-cluttering before it builds back up.   

Removing Red Wine Stains

Quick Tips for Cleaning Red Wine Spills

It’s one thing to not cry over spilled milk, but it’s an entirely different thing to hold back tears when a full glass of red wine leaves its mark on your white carpet! What can you do to remove red wine stains from your carpet or area rugs?

The First Response

When red wine is spilled onto your carpet, white wine can be your true companion. White wine will neutralize red wine and will make it easier to lift the color off of your carpet. Simply pour white wine over the stained area and very gently blot the liquid up with a thick towel (be very careful not to rub as this will force the stain into the carpet fibers). Once you have the majority of the spill blotted up, take your favorite carpet shampoo and clean as you would if the wine stain were a bit of dirt on the carpet.

A Host of Tried and True Stain Removers

A few other red wine stain removers include: Club Soda, Salt, Scotchgard’s Oxy Carpet Cleaner and a must-have product called “Wine Away.”

Club Soda

Club soda can be poured on the stain and the carbonation will help to lift the stain from the carpet fibers while the salt acts as a buffer to keep the stain from setting.

Oxy Carpet Cleaner

Scotchgard’s Oxy Carpet Cleaner works well to lift stains and provide a stain protector to the area of the carpet it was used to clean. It is available at places like Asda for about £3 - £4.

Salt

Salt can be poured on the spill to keep the wine from setting until you figure out which method of clean up you would like to go with.

Wine Away - Stain Remover

Wine Away has been tested and recommended by the Good Housekeeping Institute and is even endorsed by Gourmet magazine. It is truly a wine world wonder that every red wine lover should have stowed in their cleaning cabinet.

Finally, whatever you do don’t let the spill sit for long before taking action, the longer it sits the more difficult it will be to lift the stain from your carpet.

Tips for using common substances to help you clean glass and silverware

Put a piece of aluminium foil into a container large enough to hold the silverware item you wish to clean and add hot water and a small amount of salt. Put the silverware into the solution for a few minutes and it will begin to sparkle and shine.

Use the juice taken from a lemon when cleaning silverware and buff to a shine with a clean soft cloth. You should dip cotton buds into lemon juice to get into all the nooks and crannies of hard to clean areas and store silverware in airtight plastic containers.

Air freshener sprayed and wiped on a mirror will leave it clean and sparkling as well as smelling nice.

Dry glass with old newspapers, this not only leaves them smear free but if you put a little bit of furniture polish on it, it stops mirrors steaming up in bathrooms.

If you want to save money when cleaning your windows buy a cheap brand used for car windscreens and pour it into a spray bottle, it works the same as top window cleaning brands but costs a lot less.

Mix a 1/3 cup of white vinegar, 1/3 cup of rubbing alcohol and 1/3 cup of no-suds ammonia in a spray bottle and top up with water. Use this mixture for any type of glass including mirrors.

Organising your life using the Internet

There are some fantastic tools available online to help manage your life and to allow you to be more productive at home and work.

One of the ones we stumbled onto recently is ToDoist, which can be found at www.todoist.com

ToDoist is a FREE online to do list creator and manager. It allows you to group items it to projects and being online could be used by a group of users.

It is also hosted online so you can check your to do list anywhere on the planet!  You can also allow your partner access to it so they can add things to your list too! Be careful of that one though!