• 31Dec

    Whenever you select a cleaning service, there are a few things you should check before you actually hire them.  These factors can be very important later on, especially if you and the cleaning service have a disagreement.

    First, make certain the service has insurance.  If one of the cleaning staff is injured while cleaning your home or office, you do not want to end up responsible for the medical bills.  In fact, there’s a chance your personal or company insurance policy may not cover these types of injuries, leaving you or your company fully responsible for any medical costs!

    Second, you should only hire a cleaning service that takes responsibility for theft.  If any of the cleaning staff steals from you or your business, you need to make certain that the cleaning service will replace whatever was stolen and will prosecute the thief.

    Third, ask for references.  When calling these references, ask questions such as the length of time they have used the service, if they’ve ever made a complaint against the service, and if they would provide that particular cleaning service.

    Fourth, ask about the hiring process of the service, especially if your office has expensive equipment or has confidential information that cleaners may have access to.  Ask if employees are subject to a criminal background check and ask for a list of qualifications that each employee must meet.

    Finally, know what you’ll be expected to provide.  Some cleaning services ask that those who hire them provide all the necessary equipment and cleaning supplies, including rubbish bags, vacuum cleaners, brooms, and cleaning chemicals.  Others may bring some items but need you to provide others.  Knowing exactly what you are responsible for will prevent misunderstandings later.

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  • 19Dec

    Around the holidays, you have a lot of stress—you have to decide what to buy for everyone on your list, actually purchase those gifts, deal with crowded shopping centres and, if you’re hosting the holiday meal, cook and clean.  There’s so much to be done, especially if you’re doing it all on your own.  Most often, the thing that doesn’t get accomplished is the cleaning.  If you have to drop something off your to-do list, here are some ideas for prioritising the cleaning.

    First, clean the main areas people will be in.  This is usually your living room, dining room, kitchen, and main bathroom.  If no one will be in your bedroom or spare room, you may get by without cleaning them.  Just shut the doors to those rooms.  If you have time, of course, you should at least give them a quick pick-up.

    In the main rooms, focus on very noticeable things.  Vacuum, sweep, and get rid of any cobwebs around the ceiling.  If your bookshelves aren’t very dusty or aren’t noticeably dusty, save them until last just in case you don’t have time to get them done.  Straighten up anything on your coffee table or tossed around the living room, too.  It’s a quick process that usually takes less than ten minutes, but it can really help make the room look nice.

    Also spend some time on your main bathroom.  Nothing will make people think your home is icky than to have a dirty bathroom.  In fact, you may spend more time cleaning the bathroom than any other room since you may want to mop it, clean the toilet, and clean the sink.

    The dining room, likewise, needs a good cleaning.  Make sure the floor looks nice and that the chairs are animal-hair free if you have any pets.  Finally, there’s the kitchen.  Here, you can cheat a bit as well.  If you’ve been cooking all day, it’s expected that your kitchen will have a few dirty dishes in it.  However, you may want to do a little cleaning just for your own sake.  After a big holiday meal, you’re going to have a lot of dishes to do.  Having the dirty dishes from the past two days piled up in addition to the holiday dishes will really give you a lot to deal with.

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  • 13Dec

    Most cleaning services are very professional and know exactly what needs cleaning.  They know all of the nooks and crannies that many might miss.  However, some cleaning services, either because they’re new or because they just don’t know any better, may miss a few things.  Here are some items you might want to make certain they clean to keep your office looking great.

    1.    Computer keyboards.  Keyboards, especially keyboards that are shared by several people, can accumulate a lot of dust, germs, and other dirt.  All it takes is running a sterile wipe over the keyboard to get rid of a lot of these germs, but some people don’t really think to clean keyboards.  To keep your employees healthy, make certain the keyboards get a wipe down.

    2.    Storage closets.  If the door to your storage closet or room is closed, your cleaning company may not realize it needs vacuumed or swept.  Be sure the door is unlocked or that your cleaning company knows that the room needs to be cleaned.

    3.    Paper shredders.  If you’ve done a lot of shredding and want your cleaning company to empty the shredder, be sure they know where it is and that they need to empty it out along with any other trash.

    4.    Televisions and computer monitors.  Often, people forget to dust the back of the TV or to wipe off the computer screen.  Check to be sure your cleaning company is giving your televisions and monitors the once-over.  TV screens often attract dust, so they have to be cleaned regularly.

    5.    Personal items.  Employees often have photos and other small personal items on their desks, and some cleaning crewmembers may be hesitant to touch them.  Let both your employees know that the cleaning crew may be touching their items and let the cleaning company know if there’s anything they should not clean.

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  • 05Dec

    Many people hire a cleaning service because they decide they don’t want to deal with cleaning their home themselves, but others do so because they realise they simply don’t have time to keep their home as clean as they need to.  But how can you tell if you truly need a cleaning service or if you’re simply using it as an excuse to be a little lazy.

    While some might think clutter in your home is a sign that you need a house cleaner, it’s really not.  Everyone accumulates clutter.  Often, you simply need to spend a few hours going through the clutter and throwing away what you don’t need.  It can also help to set up a system of dealing with clutter build-up.  Throw away old mail, recycle old newspapers and magazines after you read them, and file away bills and other papers you need to keep.  Don’t simply let them stack up on your desk.

    Another sign some use as a reason to hire a cleaning service is disorganisation.  If you take a look at your home and see DVD shelves overflowing, books crammed in every corner, or your wardrobe overflowing with clothing, again, you may not really need a cleaning service.  You simply need to do a little organising.  Buy a new shelf or two or donate some of your old clothing to charity.

    There are some signs that do indicate you need a cleaning service.  If your kitchen is constantly overflowing with dirty dishes because you never have time to wash them, you should look for help.  Likewise, if your floors never get hoovered or your windows washed, it’s OK to seek professional cleaners.

    The main way to tell if you need to hire a cleaning service is to decide if you need weekly assistance in keeping your home clean or if you simply need to take a few hours and clear away some clutter.  You don’t want to spend the money on a cleaning service if you don’t need one, but you don’t want to live in squalor, either.  If you truly need a cleaning service, don’t hesitate to hire one.

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