Friday, August 27, 2010

More on Cleaning Schedule
 
     Many thanks Foxyenglishcrafter for your story on what happened to your life when you abandoned your cleaning schedule. My thoughts are with you as you re-establish that balance you once knew. It is amazing how quickly other areas of your life begin to slide when just one area is allowed to become lax. I too have struggled with lapses in both my professional and personal life. And I found a tremendous peace and power when I regathered and returned to balance. Please Foxyenglishcrafter keep us posted on your progress. 
 
     If you have not read her story, go to "Comments" on the right side of my blog and read her story and let it catapult you into writing down then working your own schedule. Post your story, your successes and your problem areas. I want this blog to be a community of sharing, where we support each other through encouragement, trust, ideas, laughter and camaraderie.
 
     Have you started writing a cleaning schedule yet? Well why are you sitting there reading this post? Get busy then share with us. 
 
This article may only be copied by giving full credit to Mary Moppins and her website at www.goclean.com copyright@2010. All rights reserved worldwide.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Five Free Ways to Reduce Carbon Footprints
 
      My sustainable living seminar attendees frequently comment that the information on reducing carbon footprints is confusing and they have all but given up trying to make changes. They complain that the suggestions they read are expensive and ask for free if not low cost ways to help our Earth. I agree installing solar panels and even replacing all your light bulbs with LED lights can be costly. Here are some cost free suggestions that reduce carbon footprints and will save you money! As you reap the savings perhaps switch your light bulbs to LED lights in one room per month.  
 
1) Each time you place an order to be shipped to you, ask the shipper to tuck your packing slip inside the box and not in a pouch on the outside of the box. Those pouches take years to biodegrade. There are over a million packages shipped each day. Eliminating these pouches is a huge overall reduction of paper and plastic. This one small step also reduces the precious energy used to manufacture the pouches as well as the fuel to ship them from the factory to the store. 
 
2) Stop using Styrofoam plates and cups. They do not biodegrade and are one of the biggest contributors to toxins in our landfills. Forgo using paper plates or plastic eating utensils as well. Although it is a bit of a hassle, take washable plates, silverware and cups to picnics or get togethers. Use only washable eating plates, glasses and utinsils  when you entertain at home. The holiday season is not far off and millions of people buy paper plates, plastic utinsils and paper cups to entertain as Mother Earth sheds another tear over the waste. Perhaps hire a high school student the night of your party and have her wash dishes as guests bring them to the kitchen. Whatever it takes but invest in reuseable dinnerware. You will save money down the road.     
 
3)  Use washable glasses in the bathroom and save the money buying paper cups. Plus they save landfill space, the energy used for manufacturing them, the paper used to box them and fuel for shipping. If even one million people stop tossing bathroom cups in the landfills each day, it reduces waste by a staggering 360 million cups per year. Now extend that by the 300 million residents of the United State for a total yearly savings of around 100 billion bathroom cups each year. Takes your breath away doesn't it?  Ten years from now it has saved over 10 trillion cups from finding their way to the landfill.
 
4)  Rather than spending money on paper napkins, buy washable cloth napkins. See the above numbers for the number of napkins kept out of the landfills if each person would switch to cloth napkins. Likewise invest in a few washable, reuseable towels like the Mary Moppins Swifter towels. Use them in place of paper towels in the kitchen. It saves you over $30 a year buying paper towels, reduces landfill waste, the fuel used for shipping them and energy used to manufacture them plus the plastic used to wrap them.  
 
5) Buy concentrated cleaners. On my website http://www.goclean.com/greenregister.php you can read the astonishing waste racked up by "ready to use" cleaners and how they affect the entire eco-system. Sign up to be a Mary Moppins Greener Cleaner and you will also receive a copy of my practical guide to convert your home into a healthy place to live - free of toxins.   
 
You have now walked far more gently on Mother Earth and saved a nice chuck of money doing it. Going green feels great doesn't it? Gee even the air smells fresher with less toxins being emited from the paper manufacturing plants and all for making just a few small changes.
 
Can one person make a difference? You bet you can especially when you share this with others. It takes each of us making small contributions to make a huge impact on the future of our lives and the life of Mother Earth.
 
This article may only be copied giving proper credit to Mary Findley and her website Mary Moppins www.goclean.com. copyright @2010 all rights reserved world wide.
 
 

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Cleaning Schedule part 3
 
     Okay it's time for truth or dare. I dare to email me and tell me you did go through each room of your home and started working on your cleaning schedule. How far did you get? Yes I understand how little time you have. I'm hanging by a thread most of the time too. If you can't manage your whole home at one time aim for canvasing one room a week. I do recommend doing the entire home so you don't do one room and put off the rest. I am notorious for getting a project started and 3 years later it is still at the "start" stage. Trust me once you take the time to sort through the clutter in a room or just re-organize and write down how often you need to clean what in that room, you will love the time you save cleaning.  
 
     A set cleaning schedule also prevents damage to surfaces. I cannot tell you the number of cleaning gurus who say if a surface isn't dirty don't clean it. That is the #1 way to ruin a finish because that surface gets ignored far too long. For instance, wood dries and cracks because you don't remember the last time you applied a wood conditioner like our Wood Care. With the economy in the tank, it's more important than ever to take extra care of your things. Replacement is expensive and many of us cannot afford the luxury of replacing floors, cabinets or furniture. Knowing exactly when they need extra maintainenance prevents them from being damaged. Leather, vinyl and ultra leather furniture is the same. Schedule cleaning leather or vinyl regularly using our Leather Care to prevent drying and cracking.  
 
     Have you noticed I'm nagging you to get disciplined with your cleaning? Well I'm beat at the end of day too. But I know the weekend is coming and when I look at my schedule and can cross out a short chore, it leaves me a bit more "free" time on my weekend. Plus if you have children at home, they see your discipline and will follow your example. What a great way to teach a child to set priorities than for them to see you do the same.  
 
     If you have children at home, set up a cleaning schedule for them too. As you do a chore in the evening, they do one too. Kids love to help so encourage this at a young age. Any child who is walking can put away toys.
 
This article may only be copied giving full credit to Mary Findley and her website at www.goclean.com. Copyright @2010 All rights reserved world wide.

Monday, August 09, 2010

Cleaning Schedule Step 2
 
      Cleaning schedules can be overwhelming until you understand the system behind this madness. So grab a tablet and pen and start a walk through your home. Write down each room and don't do this by memory. It really is time to take a serious look at your home. Maybe you have things you haven't used in years. Can you part with them? Your goal is not only to figure out a schedule but perhaps to weed out "things" that you really don't need and are slowing you down when you clean. 
 
     As you walk through your home jot down how often the room is used. Once a week? Once a month? Several times a day like the bedrooms, bathrooms and kitchen? Are there items in that room that you could put in a garage sale and really not miss? Could any of your knicknacks be put behind a glass curio cabinet where they don't need to be dusted so often?
 
     Then jot down things in the room that need extra cleaning like brass lamps that must be polished or glass shower doors that attract water spots. By the way my book "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Green Cleaning" gives you wonderful tips to prevent many of these issues. Next write down how often those items need extra attention. Is it weekly, twice a month, monthly every 4 months or once a year?  Make columns across the top of your tablet. Write down the time frames I just mentioned. Then as you come to each room write down all items that needs cleaning under the appropriate time. 
 
     Don't overlook things like baseboards, blinds, windows, cobwebs, lights, cabinets, appliances etc. Anything and everything in that room needs cleaning. It's up to you to decide how often. Also note how often the room needs cleaning. Spare bedrooms or formal dining rooms may only need dusting and vacuuming once a month. On the weeks you don't clean that room, you have extra time to dust baseboards or clean the refrigerator. 
 
     As you go through your home keep in mind your living conditions. Are you in a humid or rainy area where mold or mildew is an issue where you need to treat moldy areas? Are you on a country road or in an area of high dust that requires frequent dusting? What about pets, small children? All of these factors make a difference in your cleaning schedule. 
 
This article may only be reprinted giving full credit to Mary Findley and her website at www.goclean.com. All rights reserved worldwide.