Hello! We’re back with another article! Today, we’ll discuss how to safely store and handle cleaning products.
We all know how important it is to use cleaning products in our home. They help us keep our household hygienic and comfortable.
Besides knowing how to use them, it’s also important to store and handle cleaning products safely. If you have kids or pets, this is even more important.
In this article, we will give you some tips to safely store and handle all your cleaning products. You will save time, avoid accidents and preserve their effectiveness for a long time.
Before we start, remember that Dallas Maids of Frisco offers a professional cleaning service in the Frisco area. Our cleaning service will help you keep your home spotless and you will never have to worry about a dirty home again!
Without further ado, let’s start with our cleaning tips!
When in Doubt, Read the Labels
Always read the label on the cleaning product to understand its proper use and, of course, how to store them and discard them. Follow the directions carefully and, when in doubt, always call the company first.
The labels will tell you what the product is for, how to use it, what not to do, and the safety measures.
The instructions are there to help you! It’s ok to read them as many times as you need to properly understand what you need to do and, most importantly, ensure you won’t get run any risk in the process.
Sometimes, labels will fall off. In that case, always have at hand a permanent marker, sticky notes and some scotch tape. As soon as you notice the label is going to fall off, copy the name, ingredients and expiry date and stick that post-it into the bottle.
Keep Cleaning Products Out of Reach
As we all know, we have to keep cleaning products out of reach of children and pets. Here are some options:
If you have absolutely no storage and you are into DIY projects, you can install a small shelf using floating shelves (which are around $5 a piece). They are also super easy to install! Make sure you have a small edge to prevent them from falling.
If you like buying gallon-sized cleaning products, these probably won’t work for you because they might be too weak. Instead, you might want to use upper kitchen cabinets.
As far as handling your cleaning products, make sure you are careful with transporting them. You can use a cleaning caddy or a small utility cart to transport them safely.
When it’s time for the actual cleaning, the most important thing to keep in mind is to avoid mixing cleaning products.
Many cleaning products are perfectly safe to use by themselves. However, they can produce explosive reactions or toxic fumes if mixed with other chemicals.
For example, even though vinegar is quite safe to use on many surfaces, you should never mix it with bleach, as it produces chlorine gas. This can irritate your lungs and eyes and cause breathing difficulties.
Even mixing vinegar with hydrogen peroxide will create something called peracetic acid. This chemical reaction can be dangerous to your skin, eyes and respiratory system.
If you want to read more about the potentially dangerous cleaning products in your home, check this guide from Emily’s Maids.
Separate Incompatible Cleaning Products
As we were mentioning earlier, commercial cleaning products are not meant to be mixed together. When you are going to store cleaning products, you need to separate incompatible products to avoid mixing them by accident.
For example, bleach is a product that does not get along with other common cleaning products (white vinegar, ammonia, rubbing alcohol). These products can create toxic fumes, and you never know when they are going to spill or get mixed by mistake.
You can use your bathroom and your kitchen sink as two separate areas to store your cleaning products.
If you live in Frisco, you will have noticed by now that you have big temperature and moisture changes throughout the year.
Temperature and moisture changes can weaken the effectiveness of a cleaning product, and extreme heat conditions can even make them useless.
This is because some products need to be stable in order for their properties to stay active. This is especially true for items such as soaps, which need to be in a solid state in order to work.
Therefore, try to make sure that your cleaning products pantry is as cool and dry as possible.
Cleaning products can also emit fumes that spread to other areas of your home through your HVAC vents. Avoid storing them in areas like basements, garages, or near furnaces or water heaters.
If you don’t have a cleaning pantry or available cabinets in your kitchen or bathroom, you can get yourself a 3-tier utility cart.
This will be perfect to store all your cleaning products while keeping them separate according to the type of product. Utility carts are compact and designed to fit everywhere!
A small cleaning caddy works just as nicely, especially for smaller bottles and cleaning items.
Wear Protective Gear and Proper Safety Measures
Even if they are mostly harmless, it’s always good to use the proper safety measures.
First of all, ventilate the area by opening up a window or a door. It’s not safe to stay in a closed space when using abrasive cleaners like bleach. Turn on fans, if you have them.
It’s important to let fresh air circulate and disperse any fumes that may be building up in the room.
Next, you have protective gear, which is usually safety gloves, masks, and goggles. You should also wear aprons or long sleeves to avoid spilling products on your arms or hands.
There it is! Our guide to safely storing and handling cleaning products. Speaking about handling cleaning products, there’s no one better to do that than cleaning professionals.
Remember to check Dallas Maids of Frisco if you need maid services in the Frisco area. You can forget worrying about your bleach spilling all over your cabinets or breathing toxic fumes from oven cleaners. Don’t stress! We’ll handle your mess.
Bob is my dad’s cousin. He lives in Brownsville, Texas in a humble house, furnished with furniture from the early 80s – original from when he moved in. The house, itself, has never been updated since then either. Bob owns a beach house on South Padre Island. I have fond memories of fun, family vacations staying at Bob’s beach house since the 80’s. And if you visit today, stepping in the house is like traveling back in time to the late 70’s because Bob has not made a single update. Bob shops at Walmart, wears modest clothes, rarely eats out, and just does not like to spend money. He calls it the “frugal gene” on that side of my family. But we all know he is just dirt cheap.
And that is why he is filthy rich.
He does not spend money.
Many years ago I recall riding in the backseat of the car with him in the passenger seat as my dad drove. Peaking over Bob’s shoulder, I inadvertently glimpse a piece of paper he was studying. It was just for a moment before he quickly pushed it deep into his front pants pocket, but I recall seeing the summary at the top. It was the monthly profit he took home from one of the apartment properties he owns.
I was stunned.
He made more in a month than I in a year.
The Self-Made Millionaires Do Not Spend
Since Bob did not spend money while young, he had been able to save money to invest in his construction business. The building industry goes through cycles, rotating between boom and bust. During dry times which lasted for years, he did not make a cent. Being frugal helped Bob survive the times of zero income.
Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon had used the same old table for his desk years after Amazon became a billion-dollar company. His frugal mindset was essential for bootstrapping his startup to success.
Same with the famous billionaire investor Warren Buffet who is renowned for his cheapness. In his book, The Snowball, he portrays an overly frugal life, still living in the same modest house (like Bob) he bought years ago. For years he wore the same, ill-fitting suit to Berkshire-Hathaway’s annual shareholder meetings.
Warren Buffet said he did not like spending because he knew the future value of the dollar. So, if a new suit cost him $100, and he knew he could turn that $100 into $10,000 by investing it in the stock market, then he did not see himself spending $100 for a suit – he saw that suit costing him $10,000!
Self-made millionaires have this frugal mindset.
So, for yourself, do not spend more than you have. Do not rack up credit card debt or buy a nice car – both are detrimental for future wealth! Yes, you may see me, the owner, driving nice car now. Though, it was not always like that. Talk to the ladies that have been here for 8 or more years. They will tell you about the old, beat-up Lexas I drove which I bought for around $7000. Before that I had an old, ugly green Lexas with hail damage when I had bought it for $4000 – ask Delfina.
When younger, while my friends were buying nice cars, my cars were humbler. Why pay that money in a depreciating asset when I could add it in my retirement fund and let it grow? Indeed, if had not been frugal, I would not have had the money to make Dallas Maids a success through those first few, tough years when I was losing buckets of money keeping it afloat.
How to Retire a Comfortably
The average stock market return is about 10% per year for nearly the last century. What does this mean? It means your money doubles about every 7 years if you buy large, well-established companies that you can be confident will still be here 40, 60, or 80 years from now. I will tell you how to pick the right stocks later. What you need to know now is that your money doubles every 7 years. This is called the miracle of compound interest. This is how you can retire comfortably.
How comfortably?
Let’s do the math.
The average age for our Dallas Maids’ staff is 35, give or take a few years. So, let us say you are 35 and start investing in stocks through a Roth IRA (IRA stands for Individual Retirement Account), depositing $6,500 a year, the maximum allowed by a Roth IRA, for only 10 years.
Ok. Ok. You may be thinking “$6,500?! How can I save that much. I have kids to put through school, groceries to buy, lights to keep on”. Bear with me for a minute and let’s do some quick math…
Most of the cleaning staff at Dallas Maids make an average of $25 in tips per work day. So if you save only your tips for retirement, that is $25 times 5 days a week, times 52 weeks a year:
$117,059.33 after 10 years of socking away $6500 in your Roth IRA. Not bad. But it gets much better.
Using the same calculator above, let us see what happens when you stop adding $6500 annually and just let compound interest do its thing for 22 more years until the retirement age of 67:
$1,046,875.03
Nice!
I know some of you are paying for your children’s higher education and that makes me profoundly proud of you! It is my hope you pass this info down to your kids so their financial future is more secure, too. After all, once their studies are complete they will have a chance to get a high paying job making it even more easy to save and invest for their retirement.
So, please pass this information on to them. Especially since your kids have a chance to invest early. This means they will make more money since most of the wealth is created during the latter years of compounding. For example, if your kid does the exact same thing at the age of 25 instead of 35, then they have an additional 10 years for a total of 42 years instead of 32 years:
$2,833,934.14 – nearly 3 times the amount!
That is the miracle of compound interest. That is how to retire comfortably.
Now, let us look at some more modest numbers for your Roth IRA. Most of you can save $270 a month. That would be $3,240 a year. If you deposited $3,240 annually until retirement, you would have:
$718,137.69
Now, if you deposited $270 monthly instead of $3,240 annually, you would retire with:
$751,984.01
Those more frequent deposits made you an additional $33,846.32. Not bad.
And if you stopped depositing money after 10 years instead of saving until retirement:
$494,627.05
As you can see, the more you can invest earlier, allowing compound interest to work its magic, you will have more later. And if you can $250 per paycheck for 10 years, that equals the $6500.00 a year you need to retire with $1,046,875.03.
If you withdraw $65,000.00 a year and increase the amount by 3% to keep up with inflation, then you should have enough money for 31 years, or until you reach the age of 98.
What if you live past 98? Lowering the starting amount to $60,000.00 should last you just past the golden age of 105.
How to Pick Stocks
Let us rewind a bit and talk about how to pick the right stocks. First, you will need a platform to easily set up a Roth IRA and buy stocks. I use eTrade.com for my Roth IRA. Its free to set up, free to buy stocks, and easy to use. You can click on https://refer.etrade.net/0wwccm to set up yours. Now, on to how to pick your stocks.
1) Buy What You Know
Before I began investing in stocks, I armed myself with knowledge reading books on how to invest. Some of the best advice I have ever read was in the book, “You Have More Than You Think” by David & Tom Gardner of The Motley Fool https://www.amazon.com/Motley-Fool-Foolish-Personal-Finance/dp/0743201744 and it was this: Buy what you know.
Look around in your bathroom. You may find some Johnson & Johnson products. Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) is a good stock. What phone is in your purse? iPhone? Android? Both Apple (APPL) and Google (GOOGL) are amazing stocks to own. Where do you buy your clothes? Ross? Ross (ROST) is yet another great stock that has done well long-term. Just look at this:
All the products and services you use every day tend to come from large, well-establish companies that will most likely still be around in 40 or 60 years while growing at a steady rate.
2) Copy the Big boys
Warren Buffet. Ray Dalio. George Soros. These are some of the big-name investors whose portfolios I occasionally peek at. They have done the research. They have billions of dollars invested. They make good stock picks – their livelihood depends upon it! So, copy the big boys.
In 2010 I notice many of these big boys were betting on clean energy. After doing some research for myself, I saw they were right; clean energy will be more prevalent as oil disappears. Oil is a finite resource we know is running out. But I did not buy clean energy stocks. Rather, I thought to myself, “What industries would benefit from the demise of oil and the advent of clean energy?”
Electric vehicles!
And that is what led me to buy Tesla Motors (TSLA) in 2011 at a stock-adjusted price of $1.60. As of this writing, it is at 161.43 – that’s 150x returns in 12 years!
So, watch what the big boys are doing to make good stock decisions.
3) Diversify
Finally, whatever stocks you pick, make sure they are spread across different industries. You have heard of the old saying, “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” Same with your investments. This is called diversification and it protects you by managing risk. If one stock’s industry experiences a crippling downturn, your stocks in other industries will better survive. So, avoid buying too many stocks in the same industry.
Bitcoin
I recently read Ray Dalio’s book, Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order: Why Nations Succeed and Fail. https://www.amazon.com/Changing-World-Order-Nations-Succeed/dp/1982160276 You can view his summary of the book in a video posted further down in this article. In his book, he predicts an economic calamity caused by where the United States is in an economic cycle he uncovered by studying history. He expects the stock market to crash along with intense political division and chaos that may very well foster a violent revolution in America. It does not bode well for us. Armageddon aside, he recommends buying gold and bitcoin along with other real assets such as real estate. Both keep their value in face of economic downturns and are untouchable y the government. I suggest buying bitcoin.
Cathie Wood is the founder, CEO and CIO of Ark Invest says it best: “Bitcoin is the first global private, meaning no government oversight, digital rules-based monetary system.” She means this is money not isolated to any one nation. The world can and is using it. No country can control it. There will only be 21 million Bitcoin. So, no government can print more of it, saving us from the devaluation of currency (The U.S. dollar has lost 95% of its value since its inception). Bitcoin has the potential, and probably will replace the dollar as the world’s reserve currency one day. Bitcoin is a new asset class. An investment like this does not come around often, if ever in a lifetime.
Add invaluable diversification to your investments.
Buy some Bitcoin now!
Ten years ago, I knew Tesla (TSLA) was going to disrupt the automotive industry. I felt strongly in its future potential and a prime stock to invest. Fortunately, I was right. Now I feel the same of bitcoin. Even more so. Remember my advice; Buy What You Know. So, before you buy, learn about Bitcoin. Educate yourself on its potential, then invest.
I will conclude this bit about bitcoin with a question:
Will bitcoin replace the dollar as the next reserve currency?
I don’t know with 100% certainty. No one does. Though I suspect the chances are higher than most realize. Two of the world’s most successful investors, Ray Dalio, co-chief investment officer of the world’s largest hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates and Charlie Munger, vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, have spelled doom for the U.S. dollar due to the massive amount of money being printed and debt being accrued by the United State government. I will leave you with what they both have said in the following videos:
May This Help Secure Your Future
I hope you found this information useful. It is my sincere hope you begin saving for yourself and teach your kids a little about investing. They have an amazing opportunity because they have a chance to invest early, allowing compound interest to safeguard their financial future. And I especially hope you take advantage of Bitcoin’s disruption of the financial system. It has the potential to make you filthy rich like Bob.
Hello! We’re back with more cleaning tips! In this article, we’ll let you know everything research has shown about the connection between a clean home and mental health.
This is one of our favorite topics because we believe that cleaning is so much more than having your home look nicer.
The state of our home environment has a deep impact on our mental health. We all know that a messy space makes our brain feel ‘crowded’, especially if we are already stressed out or going through a hard time.
The same goes the other way around: a clean, tidy home is a good symptom of our lives being somewhat organized and on the right path.
Before we start, remember to check Dallas Maids if you need a professional cleaning service in the Dallas area.
Not Having a Clean Home Will Affect Your Mental Health
A cluttered home leads to a cluttered mind. Or is it the other way around?
When we live surrounded by mess and chaos everywhere, it’s difficult to focus and stay consistent with work. You have probably noticed that, whenever you see clutter around your home, your stress and anxiety increases.
Research has shown that women who describe their homes using the words ‘cluttered’ or ‘messy’ have higher levels of stress, when compared to those who describe their homes using words such as ‘restful’ or ‘restorative’.
Other studies have shown that people working around messy environments tend to make more errors. Therefore, a messy home impacts on your productivity as well. This is particularly important if you work from home and, as we all know, working from home increased a lot since the Covid-19 pandemic.
Furthermore, we all know that a messy home is a constant source of arguing between family members.
We’ve all heard complaints in our homes about cleaning. There’s a saying that goes like “A housekeeper is cheaper than a divorce” and there’s a reason why!
“The dishes are still dirty”, “no one vacuumed the floors”, or “when are you going to clean the bathroom?” probably sound familiar to you. If you don’t fix these small issues, you can have serious marital and/or family problems.
As you can see, a clean home (or lack of) has a significant impact on mental health.
If you think about it, most (if not all) people you know who are truly happy and proud of their homes, are usually organized and tidy around their household.
This doesn’t mean your home has to be immaculate all the time. You just need to take the right steps to keep your home at least somewhat tidy and clean.
How Can We Keep a Clean Home (And Good Mental Health)?
This is the heart of the problem! Now that you know all the different ways a clean home will impact on your mental health, we’re going to discuss how to get to this point.
Cleaning is certainly a daunting task at first. It’s a repetitive set of tasks and a house is too big to do them all at once. Besides the physical demand, you have to choose your cleaning tasks and work your way around your home. And that is overwhelming sometimes!
So, what can we do to create a clean and organized living space? Here are some tips for you to try:
Declutter regularly:
Decluttering is, to some degree, the essential part of a clean home. According to research, between five million and 14 million people in the U.S. are compulsive hoarders. That’s half the entire population in Texas!
And that’s only actual compulsive hoarders, now imagine how many people with low to mid hoarding tendencies are.
This is why it’s important to declutter our home regularly and get rid of things we don’t want or need anymore.
Create a Cleaning Schedule
As we were mentioning earlier, there are a lot of cleaning tasks that you should do in a year. However, they are way too many for you to do at once, and some of them are more urgent than others.
This is why you need to come up with your own cleaning schedule/routine for cleaning your home. A schedule helps you keep your home clean and organized in a consistent way.
It never hurts to clean your home without planning beforehand. It’s certainly better than not cleaning at all! However, if you do it with a plan, it will be easier to keep your home tidy on a regular basis and not just once in a while.
This is one of the most direct links between a clean home and your mental health. And it’s especially important if you have several members in your household (roommates, family).
If you know exactly who should be doing what cleaning task today, you remove a lot of the mental burden of cleaning.
Organizing Is Important for Your Mental Health Too. Develop a System for It
Besides a cleaning system, you need to have an organizing system.
Knowing exactly where every item in your home should be makes your organizing and cleaning faster. Also, finding that object is much easier afterward.
It’s always a good idea to come up with an organizing system shortly after you’ve decluttered. All your items will be fresh in your mind.
With the momentum you created from decluttering, it will be easier to organize them.
Make Cleaning Fun!
Cleaning doesn’t necessarily have to be boring or a dread task. In many ways, it’s like exercise: it’s tiresome but with a little creativity, you could turn it into something fun!
Put on your favorite music or podcast. Create a challenge with goals and give yourself a reward if you’ve accomplished what you had in mind.
It’s important to give ourselves a pat on the back when we’re doing things right.
Get Help If You Need To. And Even if You Don’t Need To!
We all know sometimes we’re at a point in our lives where cleaning is the last thing in our priority list. And that’s ok!
If you’re busy with work, family, or whatever ‘lemons’ life is giving you at the moment, then you should consider hiring a house cleaning service and/or a professional organizer.
There are dozens of maid services in the Dallas area (or wherever you are currently!). By removing cleaning from the equation, you will have much more time during the week to focus on what’s really important for you at the moment.
You don’t even need to be overwhelmed or unavailable. Maybe you do have the time and energy to clean, but you actively decide to leave that in the hands of professionals. And that’s perfectly acceptable!
We all pay someone else to fix problems for us. Every day when we go to the coffee shop, we’re leaving that task in the hands of someone else. It’s exactly the same with cleaning!
Hello! Welcome back to another cleaning article! Today we want to talk about DIY natural air fresheners for your home.
First of all, we all love a house with a nice fragrance. It has the power of making us feel better right away! It improves our mood and we automatically think that a house that smells good must be clean and tidy as well, even if it isn’t.
Many people enjoy using commercial air fresheners. And we can’t blame them: they smell nice and they are easy to use and affordable. However, you might find that they’re not as safe as you think and that their effect is not long-lasting.
There are many DIY natural air fresheners you can use at home. In this article, we will talk about some of them and give you ideas for you to try your own combinations.
As always, feel free to check our main page if you need a cleaning service in Dallas. We promise you, your home will smell amazing after our cleaning service!
DIY Natural Air Freshener #1: Essential Oils
The first DIY natural air freshener e can suggest are essential oils.
Many essential oils that come from plants or fruits are particularly nice to smell. Some great examples are lavender, peppermint and eucalyptus. Tea tree oil, for example, also have natural antibacterial properties.
Essential oils can be used in many ways. You can add a few drops directly into a water bottle, along with other cleaning agents (e.g. white vinegar or all-purpose soap). This works great for many surfaces such as floors and countertops.
Our fellas from Emily’s Maids created a two-part blog section with the cleaning benefits of using essential oils. Check Part I and Part II if you want to read more about essential oils!
If you have pets, make sure you do some research first and check with your vet if it is safe to use essential oils around your household. Dogs and cats (among other pets) can react negatively to some essential oils, so keep that in mind before buying them or trying any DIY natural air freshener.
Last but not least, keep in mind that some surfaces do not react well with essential oils. They are concentrated, acidic liquids that can cause stains or color fading, especially on sensitive surfaces such as granite or hardwood. Always test in a small, hidden area first.
Beeswax candles are great natural air fresheners as well. This is because they release negative ions. They help neutralize pollutants and allergens in the air.
However, make sure you choose candles made with natural beeswax and essential oils. Synthetic beeswax mimic the properties of natural beeswax but it’s just not the same.
Even if you don’t have candles, you can create your own DIY beeswax air freshener.
You can start by melting beeswax and soy wax combined, or just beeswax. Pour 1 cup soy wax, 1/2 cup beeswax, 1 tablespoon essential oils and a double boiler. You can throw some dried herbs as well.
Place the soywax and beeswax in your double boiler (medium heat) until you melt the wax.
Remove from the heat and allow the wax to cool off. Add the essential oils and herbs and stir.
Pour into a silicone mold and let cool. Remove them slowly once they have completely cooled down. There you have it!
You can quickly modify this mix and create a candle instead. Replace soy wax with 1/2 cup of coconut oil because it will burn slower.
Just add a candle wick and a bamboo skewer to hold in place. You are going to need small jason jars instead of a silicone mold as well.
We have always known that plants are great air purifiers. The snake plant, the spider plant and the bamboo palm are some examples.
Besides removing carbon dioxide and giving out oxygen instead, they also remove other toxins. Remember that the air is filled with dust and microorganisms that can cause allergic reactions or give you a cold, for example.
Some plants such as lavender and gardenias also bright a pleasant fragrance to your home.
Place your plants in areas where air circulates poorly, such as corners or laundry rooms. If you live Dallas, you already know air quality is not the best, so you might want to place plants near windows to absorb pollutants.
You can use essential oils on your plants too! Just add a few drops of essential oils to water and spritz the solution onto the leaves of your plants. Some of them can stop fungi from growing in your plants and they will release a pleasant fragrance too.
Of course, remember to bring indoor plants into your home if you have the time and energy to take care of them!
If you love cooking, you can create a herb garden! Herbs like rosemary, lavender, thyme, and mint smell great and can be used for cooking or baking.
And they are also natural air fresheners! It’s a win-win scenario.
Homemade Potpourri is One of Our Favorites Air Fresheners
One of the most well-known recipes to create a DIY natural air freshener is to make a homemade potpourri.
You just need to combine dried herbs and flowers. As we were mentioning earlier, plants are great natural air fresheners. And you can use dried flowers and herbs to create a homemade potpourri!
Popular options include lavender, rose petals and cinnamon sticks. You can use dried-out orange peels or drops of essential oils as well. Place them in a bowl or jar and near a well-ventilated area in your home.
Conclusion
Air fresheners help you keep your home smelling wonderful. We hope these DIY natural air fresheners work for you and, as always, you can create your very own mixes! Just as long as it works for you, it will be ok.
Remember that your home needs to be cleaned first if you want your favorite fragrances to stay in the air more time and not get mixed with the smell of your carpet floors or your furniture.
As always, visit Dallas Maids if you need a cleaning service to help you deep clean your home and bring a new vibe into your household.
Hi and welcome back to Dallas Maids! The 4th of July is right around the corner, so let’s read some house cleaning tips to make your home look nice and shiny!
The Fourth of July is a great chance to invite your friends and family and celebrate this day.
And we all love to receive guests with a clean, tidy home. So you have two options: first, you can hire our cleaning and maid service in Dallas.
Or, you can take this into your own hands and try to clean your home in just 2 days!
Preparing Your Home for the 4th of July Celebration
The most important step before cleaning your house for the 4th of July is to start early. We usually suggest our customers to clean one week prior to important events.
However, there’s only one day left until the 4th of July, so let’s try to adapt our schedule to this short timeframe.
The next step would be to delegate tasks. Other family members can help you! Just assign tasks based on their age, energy, and time availability. You will finish faster and you won’t be as exhausted afterward.
Last but not least, remember to take breaks. It’s about working smarter, not harder. This is because you need to recharge batteries while you’re cleaning and it also helps you keep motivated.
If possible, set a checklist with tasks for each household member to keep everyone on the same page.
Here are some areas that require your attention before the 4th of July: your kitchen, your bathroom, your patio or backyard and your living room.
How to Clean Your Kitchen Before the 4th of July
The kitchen is the heart of the home. Now, how can we clean our kitchen faster and more efficiently?
First of all, grab your cleaning supplies. Try to get all-purpose degreasers and cleaners, as well as several microfiber cloths.
You want supplies that you can use safely on many different surfaces, in order to scrub, rinse, and wipe dry.
If you don’t have any all-purpose cleaner at home, try mixing equal parts of white vinegar and water and pour it into a spray bottle.
The first appliance to clean should be your fridge. You must be planning on preparing some delicious meals for the 4th of July, so you need to make some room!
If you have enough time, take out your fridge shelves and drawers and quickly clean them using hot, soapy water. If not, just spray your vinegar and water mix and wipe with a microfiber cloth.
Next, clean your countertops. If you have natural stone countertops, it’s best to use warm water with a few drops of mild dish soap. If you have laminate countertops, you can use your vinegar and water mix.
Your bathroom is a must-have cleaning area. Start by cleaning your bathtub or shower and your toilet with a bathroom cleaner or a mixture of water and vinegar.
If you’re running short on time, try to clean at least your toilet and your sink.
To clean your toilet, add 1/2 cup of vinegar and let sit for an hour. Brush and flush, and that’s it!
If possible, add 1/2 cup of borax beforehand and let sit overnight to remove stains.
If you want to check a more thorough cleaning checklist for your bathroom, you can visit the Bathroom Cleaning List from our friends at Emily’s Maids.
Get Your Living Room Clean and Tidy Before the 4th of July
Your living room is (most likely) the place where your guests will hang out.
To tidy and clean your living room, start by dusting and vacuuming your furniture. Dust your TV stand, your coffee table and any side tables.
If possible, vacuum bookshelves, plants, or any other additional pieces.
Arrange books, magazines and other items neatly. Remove any unnecessary clutter as well.
Here’s a pro tip: stand in the corner of your living room and “scan” until you notice elements out of place. Put them where they belong and start again until it looks neat.
If you have the time, clean windows and mirrors as well. This will enhance natural light and your room will feel brighter and also bigger.
Last but not least, if you’re planning on entertaining your guests in your backyard or patio, make sure you give it a good rundown.
We are in the middle of the summer right now in Dallas. This makes it perfect for you to clean your deck and outdoor furniture, because they will dry quickly and snow or humidity won’t become an issue.
First, wipe down tables, chairs and cushions with a damp cloth. You can use hot, soapy water created with a mild soap solution.
Remove any fallen leaves, debris or branches from your backyard. If possible, sweep and clean your patios and decks with a hose or pressure washer.
If you are using any of these tools, remember not to point the washer directly toward the floor to avoid water streaks or damaging any coating.
Remember to Vacuum Your Floors Before the 4th of July!
We are leaving floors for last. This is because all the dust and grime from other elements (countertops, furniture, walls) will end up on your floors, and you don’t want to clean them twice.
Depending on the type, you might need to vacuum and then mop.
This task could easily take you one to two hours, so make sure you leave enough time to successfully vacuum and/or mop your floors.
Hi and welcome back to Dallas Maids! First of all, happy father’s day!
We hope you enjoy your special day spending some quality time with your family.
By now, you are probably having fun with a family activity. But what about your home?
You can surprise your dad by planning a fun family cleaning!
We know you might not have enough time or energy at this point to do some heavy cleaning. And, if you didn’t have the time this week to read a deep cleaning checklist that you could use for father’s day, that’s ok.
This is why we wanted to give you some quick but effective cleanig tips to make your home look nice and tidy for father’s day and start next week on the right foot.
As always, make sure to check Dallas Maids of Frisco. A cleaning service always comes in handy and not only for special events.
Let’s get started!
Choose Your Cleaning Tasks Wisely for Father’s Day
For Father’s Day, try to tackle areas that you wouldn’t normally clean on a regular cleaning day. For example, your garage is often overlooked, so you might as well want to start there. If you have the time, start by organizing your cabinets and removing everything from the shelves to give them a good dusting.
Save your floors for last because that is where all the dust is going to fall.
For a quick cleaning to be effective, you need to work smarter and not harder. Set a timer for each cleaning task or area, and, more importantly, a 5-minute or 10-minute rest.
You want to rest from time to time without losing momentum.
You can try the 20/10 cleaning method from our fellow cleaner experts from Emily’s Maids.
Create a Checklist With Cleaning Tasks Instead of Cleaning Areas
A strategy you might find helpful in such short time is to tackle a single cleaning task in your whole home. For example, maybe it’s a good idea to brush and mop all floors for father’s day.
Or, you can vacuum all carpets floors, rugs and furniture. You can also dedicate this time to clean all fixtures, baseboards, and shine your stainless steel appliances.
This is a great chance to enjoy some quality time with father-son or father-daugher activities.
Again, try to think of cleaning tasks that you have been avoiding and that would be helpful to do in a few hours or in the next week.
Ran Out of Options? Call Dallas Maids of Frisco!
If you haven’t had the time to clean and tidy your home for Father’s day, it’s ok!
Check our cleaning service in the Dallas and the Frisco areas for next week.
You can never be too late for cleaning!
We hope you had the best Father’s Day and we’ll be back soon with more cleaning tips!
Hello! We’re back with another article! This time, we wanted to give you some tips for using the perfect amount of laundry detergent.
Believe it or not, this is one of the most common issues that we heard from customers. They always ask how to know exactly how much to use.
As always, make sure you check Dallas Maids of Frisco main page. We’re a professional cleaning service in the Frisco area. And we certainly know all the secrets to wash your clothes if you need us to!
Now, here are 7 tips if you want to use the perfect amount of laundry detergent.
Check the Label and Follow Instructions
This step is overlooked often and it’s one of the keys to use the perfect amount. Most people don’t read the instructions to know the exact amount they need to use. Many brands even suggest different amounts depending on the type of laundry (e.g., color, heavy-duty, etc.).
Many times it’s because you’re in a hurry or you just don’t pay mind to it. Other times it’s because you don’t have a measuring scoop or cup at hand.
Check your load size and try not to overload your washing machine with too many clothes, because you will need more detergent and your clothes might not get washed properly.
Besides, too much detergent can cause excessive sudsing, which can reduce the effectiveness of your washing machine and even damage your clothes.
One of the best ways to keep track of how much detergent you’re using is by buying a plastic detergent container. A transparent container, of course.
If you have laundry detergent powder, you can use a container with measurement marks.
For liquid laundry detergent, you can use many bottles as dispensers which is perfect to use the perfect amount of laundry detergent.
Whether that’s a faucet dispenser or a pump dispenser, they are perfect because you know they are using a consistent amount of detergent.
Use a Laundry Detergent Scoop
Laundry detergent scoops are one of the best solutions. Besides a detergent container, we recommend you have a measuring scoop with the suggested amount for each load of laundry.
Keep a specific scoop for your detergent because a) you don’t want to mix that with your kitchen utensils, and b) you will have your scoop always at hand and you won’t forget to use it.
A detergent scoop helps you make sure you are using the recommended amount of detergent according to the manufacturer’s instructions. As we were mentioning earlier, this helps you save detergent and ensure your clothes are properly cleaned without using excessive detergent.
This is a question that we get frequently asked as well. Just like some detergent brands suggest different amounts depending on your type of load, they also suggest increasing the amount of detergent if you have hard water.
If you live in Frisco, you probably have hard water, which means that your tap water contains high levels of minerals such as calcium and magnesium.
Also, these minerals can react with the surfactants in laundry detergents and reduce their efficacy.
By using laundry detergent, you will counteract the effects of these minerals and your clothes will come out clean. The additional detergent will be able to prevent the buildup of mineral deposits on your clothes as well.
As we mentioned earlier, always follow the recommended dosage on the detergent packaging, and you can do some research first if they do not suggest any other dosages for hard water.
Choose Laundry Detergent Pods
You also have the choice of using detergent pods. These pods are sometimes a bit pricier (although you can get some great discounts here and there!).
However, you can save some money in the long run if you tend to use too much detergent powder or liquid. This is because detergent pods are formulated to be able to wash a large load of laundry, Detergent pods are easier to use because they are pre-measured, which means you won’t have to use measuring cups or messy spills.
Pods are also compact and lightweight, which means they are perfect to transport. If you don’t have a washing machine at home and you need to go somewhere else, they could be a good choice.
They are often concentrated because they are quite compact and able to dissolve quickly and thoroughly.
Last but not least, many of them are eco-friendly because they use less packaging, and reduce the amount of water needed for laundry.
Laundry detergent sheets work just as effectively as detergent pods. However, unlike pods, you can split sheets in half.
Detergent sheets are often plastic-free, which makes them a fantastic option if you are trying to become (or already are!) eco-friendly. They are also lightweight and compact, just like detergent pods.
Many of them come from eco-friendly brands, which means they are also vegan, free of dyes and artificial brighteners.
Plus, sheets are often fragrance-free as well, so you can leave your clothes smelling fresh and clean without strong fragrances (if that is your preference).
If you have high-efficiency washing machines, you can find laundry sheet brands that work with this type of washing machine.
Create Your DIY Laundry Detergent Pods
Last but not least, we have a DIY detergent pods solution to share! It’s perfect to save time as well because next time you only have to grab one of your pods and toss it in the washer.
Here are the steps to create your own DIY laundry detergent pods:
You will need:
1 cup washing soda
1 cup baking soda
1 cup grated castile soap
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup coarse salt
Additionally, you can add 10 to 15 drops of your favorite essential oils (this is optional).
In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients except for the vinegar and the essential oils. Now, slowly add the white vinegar to the mixture, and stir until it is evenly distributed.
This will create a small chemical reaction where you will see bubbles. That’s completely ok and harmless!
Just wait until this reaction is completed and the mixture will start to clump together.
Pack the mixture into a silicone mold or ice cube tray. Make sure the mix is tightly packed by pressing down firmly with your fingers or the back of a spoon.
Let the pods dry for 24 hours until they are nice and dry.
Pop them out of the mold after 24 hours and store them in an airtight container. You can use mason jars with airtight lids.
There you have it! Every time you need to do laundry, just take one or two pods (for towels or weighted blankets) and let the pods do their job.
Conclusion
If you’ve made it this far, congratulations! Now you know how to use the perfect amount of laundry detergent.
Don’t forget to check our blog for more cleaning tips. And, as always, check our main page if you need a professional cleaning service in Frisco.
Hello! We’re back with another article! This time, we wanted to give you 2 recipes to create your own dish soap.
Making your own dish soap is quite easy! And it comes with many advantages. Today we want to talk about why should you make your own dish soap, along with some quick and easy recipes.
By the way, if you are looking for maid services in Dallas, we’d love to invite you to check Dallas Maids. We’re a house cleaning service with over two decades of experience. We love to make our customers’ lives easier and happier with our cleaning service (and with our free cleaning tips!)
Now, without further ado, let’s talk about dish soap!
Why Should You Make Your Own Dish Soap?
Making your own dish soap comes with many advantages.
First of all, you know exactly what ingredients you are including in your soap. Commercial cleaning and personal care products are filled with many, many chemicals.
Some of them contain active cleaning agents, others are stabilizers, and you also find added colors or fragrances. Many chemicals are potentially dangerous, even if you use them the way you’re supposed to.
Second, you can customize your dish soap! Perhaps you are allergic to one of the common components of dish soap, and you prefer to avoid it. Or, if you want an unscented version, you can skip adding essential oils or any other added fragrances.
Third, DIY dish soap recipes are often eco-friendly. All the ‘strong’ chemicals are often harmful to the environment, especially to the oceans. Besides, you won’t have to purchase plastic bottles, which are extremely contaminating as well.
Did you know many types of soaps have animal ingredients? For example, if you see sodium tallowate as one of the ingredients, you are, in fact, using tallow (animal fat).
Cleaning products are often tested on animals as well. For obvious reasons, with a DIY dish soap you are free to choose eco-friendly and animal-friendly products.
Last but not least, we know commercial dish soaps are extremely cheap (around $10 a gallon or even less). Creating your own dish soap can be slightly more expensive, but it is cheap nonetheless.
You can buy your ingredients in bulk, which makes it cheaper in the long run. Besides, you skip the cost of bottles and the water required for creating commercial dish soap (yes, cleaning industries are charging you for the water they use!).
Did we convince you to try and create your own dish soap? We hope so! Here are some recipes for you to try.
Let’s start with the basics! This is a simple and easy recipe. You are going to need sal suds, white vinegar and water, as well as salt and essential oils.
Sal suds is a type of biodegradable cleaner made with plant-based surfactants. You need surfactants to remove grease and soap from surfaces.
White vinegar, as you know, is a fantastic deodorizer and cleaner. It’s extremely safe to use on many different surfaces, including dishes, utensils and cookware.
And last but not least, we’re going to use salt for thickening, and essential oils for fragrance (this is optional).
Before you start, remember to use gloves, safety goggles and a mask. Work in a well-ventilated space.
To create this basic liquid dish soap, you will need equal parts of warm filtered water, white vinegar and sal suds. (1/2 cup of each is more than enough).
You will also need 1 tablespoon kosher or sea salt, and 10 – 15 drops of essential oil (lemon, tea tree or lavender are great choices).
To start this mix, combine warm water and salt until the salt is dissolved. Next, combine sal suds and vinegar until fully combined.
Mix both solutions and voila! Make sure you stir until everything is fully combined. Add essential oils (if using) and store in an amber glass spray bottle.
For the next recipe, we’re going to add a few more products, but you’re going to love the results! You’re only going to need a castile bar soap (or whichever natural soap you prefer), borax, and essential oils (again, optional).
Borax is a powdery white substance called sodium borate. It has been used as a cleaning product for many decades. Castile soap is a plant-based surfactant made out of coconut oil or palm oil and caustic soda (don’t worry, it’s safe to use as long as you follow the safety measures).
Heat 1 3/4 cups of water to boiling.
Grate your bar soap until you have around 1 tablespoon. Combine with 1 tbsp of borax and mix.
Pour hot water over the mixture and whisk until the soap is completely melted.
Wait 6 – 8 hours and stir occasionally. Again, transfer to a glass spray bottle, shake well before using, and that’s it!
Conclusion
We hope you enjoyed these recipes! It never hurts to try a new DIY cleaning trick and if you don’t like the results, you can go back to your preferred dish soap.
Don’t forget to bookmark our blog if you want to keep up with our cleaning tips.
Hello and welcome back to Dallas Maids! We know that Easter has finally arrived, so let’s get your home clean to celebrate!
Like any other event, easter is always an opportunity for a fresh start. As you prepare for easter, it’s important to take some time to deep clean your home. A clean home looks and smells fresh and, most importantly, it also keeps you and your family healthy.
In this article, we’ll give you some tips to clean your home for easter. If you’re in a hurry, these will come in handy if you need to clean your home quickly and effectively.
Before we start, remember to check Dallas Maids of North Dallas if you need a professional cleaning service in the North Dallas area. We know many people like celebrating easter with many fun activities planned out.
You can count on us if you need extra help to get your home deep-cleaned and impress your guests!
Without further ado, let’s read some tips to clean your home for easter!
Plan Ahead Before You Clean Your Home for Easter
We always recommend planning ahead for any spring cleaning you want to do, even if it’s a short one.
Make a list of all the areas in your home that need some cleaning. This includes windows, floors, carpets, and walls. Create a schedule that allocates time for each task. This way, you won’t get overwhelmed or underestimate the time it takes.
We always recommend getting help from your family members or friends. Even kids can help! Just make sure you assign them age-appropriate tasks.
Declutter Your Home Before Easter
Declutter is one of the most important steps before cleaning. If you have the time, this can benefit you in the long run because you will have less stuff to clean.
If you didn’t declutter your home before spring, now is the perfect time!
As we were mentioning earlier, only do this if you have enough time. Try to assign a time block that is reasonable so you can leave most of your time for the actual cleaning.
Sort items into piles to donate, sell, or discard.
We all get attached to our belongings, and sometimes they are no longer useful or cherished items at all. Get rid of anything you haven’t used in the past six months, except for seasonal items and clothing.
You will be amazed at how much more airy and spacious your home will feel after decluttering.
Label the bags or boxes clearly and take them to the appropriate places as soon as possible.
Begin your cleaning by tackling the basic cleaning tasks. Dusting, vacuuming and mopping are the most common tasks.
Dust all surfaces (within reason). This includes shelves, countertops and furniture.
Use a damp microfiber cloth to start with. If you see the grain (for wood and stainless steel surfaces) always follow the direction of the grain.
Then, dry your surface with a clean, dry cloth. You might need a degreaser or concentrate cleaner for certain areas, especially around your kitchen or bathroom.
Use a Vacuum with Attachments
Vacuuming is one of the most important steps, and in order to save some time, a vacuum cleaner with attachments is a good choice.
A vacuum with attachments helps you clean hard-to-reach areas. Because it’s a special time, it’s a good time to clean corners, baseboards, and upholstery.
If you start cleaning your floors first, and then your countertops and bookshelves, all the dust and food crumbs will fall to the floor naturally.
This is why you need to start cleaning from the top of each room, and work your way down as you go. Cleaning from top to bottom is helpful because you avoid cleaning the same areas multiple times.
Work In Sections
Divide each room into smaller sections and focus on one section at a time.
If you start cleaning here and there (which is quite common) you end up cleaning nothing!
This is why we were talking about cleaning with a schedule. It helps you stay organized and ensure you don’t miss any areas of your home.
Simplify Your Cleaning
If you want to clean your home quickly before easter, you must cut corners and simplify your cleaning.
This means using a universal cleaner for your surfaces. If you want to finish faster, you won’t be able to waste your time switching to different cleaning products.
There are some strategic areas that automatically make you feel like your home is cleaner. These places include window sills, drawers, bookcases and light fixtures.
Large surfaces such as floors are also a good telling sign that your home has been cleaned recently.
If you’re in a hurry, just make sure you sweep and mop all your floors. You will notice the change right away.
You can use all-purpose cleaners to avoid running around back and forth with different cleaning products.
Choose a Scent to Clean Your Home Before Easter
If your home is clean by now, you will probably notice it smells better. Especially if you have deodorized your carpet floors, for example.
However, keep in mind that you can extend this fragrance to make your home feel like it’s clean for longer!
There are many ways you can add a nice fragrance to your home.
Now that spring has officially started, start by opening your windows and letting fresh air circulate throughout your home.
You can use an essential oil diffuser or air freshener to add a pleasant scent to your home.
Place fresh flowers or plants in your living spaces. They will add some color and freshness, and what better time than spring to do this?
No matter what option you choose, always make sure to place it in a high-traffic room, such as your kitchen.
Decorate Your Home Before Easter
Last but not least, have some fun decorating! After your home has been cleaned thoroughly, it’s time to add some spark to your home!
You can add some easter-themed tablecloths and placemats. And, of course, baskets filled with candy!
You can place fresh flowers and herbs which are representative of easter, such as tulips and daffodils. You can place lavender and gardenia as well to give your home a pleasant scent.
Hire a professional
Last but not least, we always recommend hiring a professional if you don’t have time to clean your home for Easter.
Remember that our cleaning service specializes in house cleaning services in the Dallas area! This includes one-time cleaning for special events such as Easter, of course.
Conclusion
There you have it! Easter has arrived so you better grab your tools and start with cleaning!
Remember to check Dallas Maids of North Dallas and visit our blog! We’re constantly updating with more cleaning tips.
Hello! We’re so happy to share our collaboration with Wood Flooring Ireland in “The Best Natural Cleaners for Wood Floors”.
We are always happy to collaborate with other industries in the house cleaning, business cleaning, or business management fields. This time, we heard Wood Flooring Ireland was inviting other experts to pitch in with tips for cleaning wood floors with natural cleaning agents.
As you know wood floors are sensitive and if you live in Dallas, you’ve seen by now they look dry and dull sometimes, so they need some care regularly.
Here’s our piece of advice below:
“A gallon of water and two cups of vinegar solution is the all-purpose solution for most types of floors, especially ceramic tile and vinyl floors. Vinegar is pretty much safe and harmless for many different floors, and it’s nice for cleaning and removing dirt from surfaces. For hardwood floors, I would recommend using the same solution, but this time using 10 – 15 drops of lemon and/or tea tree essential oil (combined would be ideal), and one tablespoon of coconut oil. These ingredients have disinfecting and moisturizing properties, which are key for wooden floors.”
Please check Wood Flooring Ireland’s entire article to hear from other cleaning experts if you want more tips! We’re all for natural cleaners and wood floors are not the exception.
Thank you so much to Wood Flooring Ireland for inviting us and we cannot wait to collaborate with them again in the future. If you’re a fellow cleaning company or blog from the cleaning industry, you can always contact us! We believe in helping each other, and our visitors, with cleaning tips and tricks.
And if you need a professional cleaning service in Dallas, don’t forget to visit our booking page!
