0 Easy Cleaning – Part One

Here starts my first series of stories about my experiences as a maid. My names is Charis Whitcomb, I am 28 years old and currently live in Ipswich, Suffolk. My mother is a Greek who has moved to England to work as a maid but eventually gets married to my wonderful father – a butler of long standing. There is no doubt why I have chosen a profession similar to my parents’. I have been raised in the spirit of devotion and family values and feel satisfied when can help the others. As a little girl, I really enjoyed doing all the housework tasks and always gave a hand to my mother. As I grew up, started working for the family my parents have working for almost 25 years. Since I wanted to achieve some success on my own, I applied for the position of a maid in another little family mansion in Ipswich, on Turkey Shore Rd. The family that lived there really liked me and my services and eventually decided to hire me. Now I live on Turkey Shore and work as a maid for these nice old people.

As you may have guessed, old people are not able to do the housework at all so they are especially in need when it comes to cleaning personnel. I work there with one more lady at the age of the 56, who is very experienced in her work and always plays the role of a godmother of mine and is always ready to help me with my tasks. It is great to have such an experienced companion when you cannot deal with the task of removing grease on the kitchen sink in time. This lady with the traditional name Mrs. Smith knows all the hangs and knacks related to the essence of a maid’ works – as you start with all the tips for cleaning the appliances, floorings, windows and blinds, and finish with numerous tricks in case of needy de-cluttering. I will reveal to you some of them if you are interested in my experience. After all, learning ideas and strategies from the source – in this case, from me and my director – is the best way to save time, money and efforts. I will post in my rubric every week with surprising suggestions about the best solutions for household problems and tasks. Eventually, creativity and experience go hand in hand and are not applicable only in the cases of professional areas but in the real field of cleaning.

0 Cleaning Grease from Different Surfaces

We all know how close to impossible it is to clean the oven or the grill, or in other words, the burnt grease stains. There are so many different cleaning products which are supposed to serve this purpose. Companies compete to earn more customers by assuring us that just a sprinkle of their product will remove all grease and make our grills shinier than they have ever been. Unfortunately, the reality is different.

Cleaning burnt grease stains from food preparation appliances is one of the toughest cleaning jobs in a household. The most important thing is to pick a cleaning product that will indeed remove grease effectively without much scrubbing and rubbing.

Grills are easier to clean as the surface is horizontal and the cleaner can stay on the stains and effectively attack the grease. Ovens, however, require a cleaner of different density. Foamy cleaning products are recommended as they can get on the walls and stick on the stains and grease. The main rule when you use stronger cleaning products is to wait as long as the label says after you have applied it on the surface. A common mistake is wiping of a cleaning product immediately after spraying it on the surface, then making the quick decision that it is not effective, which, as you might have guessed by now, is not necessarily correct.

When you buy a grease-removing cleaning product always make sure you have read the instructions on the back. If they are not absolutely clear about how to use the product, I may advise you not to buy the product.

Another surface at your home that gets grease spots, surprisingly enough, is the glass surface of your windows. It might be fingerprints of the children looking out, or, for the kitchen, the grease when you are frying or cooking. That’s why it is good to spent some time every once in a while to clean all the windows thoroughly. If you do not wish to hire a professional company to clean your house, I might suggest that you take your time and clean the windows one room per day.

First, remove the main dirtiness on the windows. If you use a cleaner directly you might smear the stains and end up with messier windows than the ones you had in the beginning. Use water and a sponge to dust the glass surface first, then go for the cleaning product.

A good window-cleaning tool are newspapers. If you have old ones laying around, don’t hesitate to use them on the glasses. They are very good and do not leave streaks behind. When done, you can wipe the windows with a microfiber towel.

0 Cleaning After A Party

I am pretty sure that the party last night was amazing. This morning, however, is something you probably do not wish to talk about. In the light of day it is easy to come to the conclusion that the bigger the party the tougher the cleaning.

Regardless whether you had a couple of guests over for a dine and wine, or you had friends over to watch the big game, the morning after brings your spirit down with piles of dirty dishes and so much more. Piles of piles of plates and glasses, stains on the carpet, stained table covers, scratches on the floor, napkins under the table and God knows what more…

The situation, however, can be handled. There is a way to deal even with a problem of that caliber. As most good solutions, it is the fastest and easiest.

First of all, put all the dishes together, sort them and put them in the washing machine. Now you can start thinking you a jack of all traits – doing multiple tasks at the same time. Even climbing mount Everest takes a first step to begin with, so do not get scared of the upcoming work – the sooner you get down to it, the sooner it will all be over.

Play some energizing music. Take all you need for the cleaning process with you – put all the brushes, spraying bottles and all that in a bucket or a basket. You should not stop the whole process to search for a cleaning product or a tool, as this is nothing but a waste of time. Your mobile set should be well stacked with rags and cleaners.

When you walk in a room to clean it, set an alarm to go off in fifteen minutes and do not walk out before you are done with the cleaning. Hurry up! This will help you get focused on the tasks and deal with them faster. Speed, not style, is what matters in this particular case.

It really doesn’t matter where you start from, what is important is to stay focused on the task at hand. However, it is recommended to work your way counter clockwise around the house. Split the cleaning into small portions of work that will be easier to complete. Do the small tasks one by one. Do not move on before completing the first one.

You do not need a basin of dirty water. Take a spraying bottle in one hand, and a rag in the other. Spray and rinse – that’s all you need to do.

The faster, the better. You do not have to clean everything to perfection the first time around the home. You can always get back for some touch-ups.

0 Clean to Create a Refreshing Atmosphere at Home

Whether you are going to move out or you just need to redecorate a room, you might find some these following ideas quite useful in order to clean and create a refreshing atmosphere at your home.

A very simple way to make your place of relaxation even more pleasant is to bring more warmth in the atmosphere. Colours, such as yellow, orange and red are the perfect thing to go for in this particular case. They will charge you with bright, sunny mood and optimism.

If you want to feel more comfortable you can go for more soft fabrics. A fluffy blanket, curly carpet and decorative pillows – these small items will bring more comfort and cosiness to the room. You can use different colourful pillowcases with your favourite colours and put your favourite pillows in them. This way you can easily wash and change them, while in the same time keep the original colours of the pillows new-looking for longer.

If you are of the emotional kind and you appreciate the time spent with your loved ones, surround yourself with items that remind you of those moments and people. Beautiful picture frames, souvenirs and funny gifts is what you have to put around the room. The dust on them can be easily cleaned with a fluffy brush and a wet microfiber rag afterwards.

However, if you are not that sentimental of a person, keep in mind that these things are a bit retro. You can settle for a few pictures with more of a modern style or good photographs with interesting frames like a colourful frame and a black and white photograph. The effect is amazing and the dust can be easily cleaned with a piece of bread.

Go for out of the box furniture placement. You will be surprised how different a room can look by just moving a couple of big stuff around. Be adventurous – do not put everything in straight lines. Put the sofa on the diagonal for example.

In other words, let yourself free and do not be afraid to experiment with your home.

Regular moving of furniture will also prevent layering of dust under the sofa or bed. The walls will not get the marks of the furniture that has stayed there for decades; the carpet will be the same colour everywhere. It is not just for entertainment purpose – you preserve your furniture, floors and walls better by moving them around.

Another good thing to trust when moving furniture around is Feng Shui. Although you do not need to get in deep with the whole philosophy of it, the Feng Shui concept of Chi flow is a great way to optimize space in a room. Following its instructions you will find how spacious and big your room really is!

0 Clean And Cosy Home Without Any Renovations

You are at home at the place you feel the best. Maybe you have lived in the same apartment or house for year but every now and then something new is added to the picture which pretty quickly blends in with everything else and you no longer notice it. The rooms of your grown up children are full of old toys and picture books. It is obviously time to clean up and transform your home.

Start by making a plan. Pick the style you want your home to have. Do not rush into unorganized working and do not rely on your spontaneous decisions. You have to have a clear picture of where you are now and where you want do end up. Be hard and determined when you have to throw away old items you no longer use or need. They might tempt you by bringing up old memories but think about what you do with them now – which is nothing.

Play with the brush. Paint the walls in a different colors. If you are imaginative and extravagant you maybe want to paint the walls yellow. Give it up. Instead, paint them white and put wall designs on them.

Create comfort. After you have created some open space, look at the pillows, covers and towels. The colors and fabrics may seem like they are not important at all, but they are the key towards creating comfort and a feeling of coziness. Add a pillow or two on the couch, or a new curtain on the kitchen window – these are ideas worth considering.

Move things around. One of the easiest ways to change the way your home looks is by moving the bigger pieces of furniture around. You can take a Feng Shui book and try to arrange the Chi flow better in your home. The carpet under the sofa is usually in a different color then the rest of it. Moving the sofa around often or rotating the carpet will keep the color even. Moving furniture around is also a good reason to look where you have never looked before and maybe find something long lost, or some money to fund your projects.

Add the final touch. Door handles, picture frames, and drawer knobs – these are easy to replace details. If you combine them successfully you can give your home a signature look that will make staying in it a bit of an experience. At least until the next time you renovate it.

If you want to keep your home comfortable and cozy for longer without having to renovate it to make it loveable again, just try to keep it clean and organized. That way it will not make you feel like you need a change.

0 Easter Cleaning

As soon as you start thinking about your spring cleaning, you should prepare yourself for the Easter celebrations. Here are the main points for every housewife.

You need to clean the windows, the drawers in every room, the wardrobes, the books on the bookshelves, the shoe drawer, vacuum the carpets, wash the door mats and the curtains, clean the blinds, put the winter clothes away for the season. Check if the medicines in the medicine cabinet have not expired. To the same for your spices. Clean the fridge, the oven, the microwave and the washing machine. Last, but not least, decorate your home according to the season – spring theme and Easter decoration.

Make sure you get yourself in the right mood for doing the spring and Easter cleaning so that you do not do it with a frown on. Put on comfortable clothes, play energetic music and do not clean for the whole day – leave yourself a couple of hours to go outside for a walk.

Don’t be afraid to ask somebody for help. Try not to get too exhausted. Start with the cleaning earlier and clean a little bit each day so that you don’t have to do it all in a day. A good idea is to work with a neighbor or a friend who can help you at some point – when you have company cleaning is more fun and easier. You can do some work and socialize at the same time. Don’t forget to return the favour!

Also, plan for helping your mother or grandmother with the spring cleaning, even if they haven’t asked you for assistance.

You don’t want to be exhausted and moody when the celebrations come, therefore you need to organize your cleaning. There is no point in cleaning the floor with a sponge if you will be dusting afterwards. If you want to both clean and sanitize everything you clean, you need to be thorough. You need to move in one of two directions. You can go either from top to bottom or right to left/left to right. For example, it’s better to start with the ceiling and the upper parts of the walls and then go down to the windows and walls, finishing with the floor.

Clean the things you haven’t thought of before. This includes the mattress, the phone, the dustbin, the shower curtain, the dishwasher and the fireplace. You can clean all that with nothing more than hot water and a rag.

Clean and sanitize the toilet dish, the kitchen floor and the cutting board. It might seem strange, but the cutting board, according to recent studies, can host more than 200 times the bacteria than the toilet dish. You can clean it by spraying it with vinegar and leave it overnight.

0 The Life of a British Maid – Serving My First Dinner

I brought the wine to Elizabeth just as she had ordered it – with ice and a lemon slice. This time she didn’t say anything as she was busy speaking on her phone. She was apparently telling some friend of hers about her day spent in shopping and going around the cafes. She seemed so sad and angry because of the fact that someone had bought the Gucci bag she had wanted before her.

I once again realized how superficial this girl was. But again I thought about her parents – they were completely responsible for this but they didn’t seem to care or do something about it. I looked at them and they were so calm and unconcerned. Katherine was slowly drinking her vodka martini and reading some fashion magazine while Chase was reading a newspaper. There was no communication between any of them, which seemed to me rather strange and bad. Those people had everything but they did definitely not look happy at this moment. They seemed bored with all of this, even with each other’s company which was really sad.

I went back to the kitchen to take a breath until they call me to serve dinner or anything else. The kitchen was empty now. The cook had prepared the meals and probably gone to sleep, the nanny must have been in the baby’s room putting him to sleep as it was already late, and I don’t really know where the others were.

I sat on a chair to relax for a minute and I realized I wasn’t feeling my legs anymore. I didn’t feel even tired, I felt nothing. This first day had been really intensive and burdening. I relaxed on the chair and I closed my eyes just for a second. Suddenly, I heard the nasty voice of Janette; she was speaking something which I couldn’t completely catch. She screamed.

I woke up. Oh my God! I had been asleep. I don’t know if I had been sleeping for seconds or minutes or more but I knew that this could cost me a lot. Janette was apparently furious. She was talking and talking and talking but I couldn’t really understand her as my head already hurt. I only got the part in which she told me to serve dinner immediately as I was late.

She instructed me to put a piece of salmon in each plate with a spoon of puree and some broccoli. Those people definitely knew what to eat. The food looked fine and sophisticated as everything else in the house but I couldn’t imagine how this kind and amount of food could be enough for me.

0 How To Clean Up Your House Quickly

If it is time for you to clean up your home thoroughly and you don’t know what to start with, it is good to follow several useful rules.

First, you need to plan your work in advance so that there won’t be any free time. It is better that you fulfil everything at once than to take pointless breaks and get more tired by the continuous cleaning.

Let’s take the living room. Put all cluttered things in a basket, for example, and then start with the furniture and the floor. The direction of cleaning in any room should be from the top downwards. Remove the cobwebs from the walls, dust the furniture, stretch the pillows on the couch and dust them as well. Dust the shelves and the cupboards and if necessary, wash the curtains. After that, vacuum clean the floor and then clean it with a wet mop. Go back to the basket with the objects and begin arranging them in their places one by one. When the curtains are washed, you can hang them straight on the ledge and they will dry on their own.

Let’s proceed with the kitchen. Arrange the dirty glasses, plates and cutlery in the dish-washer and turn it on. Put inside the fridge and the cupboards everything that needs to be put away. Beat out the table cover and wipe the counter. Throw the garbage out and vacuum clean the kitchen. Then clean the stove and the sink until they shine.

And we can finish with the bathroom. First, you should wash the sink and clean the mirror with an appropriate detergent. Then clean the toilet with the help of a long brush or mop. Disinfect the whole room after you have taken care of the tiles. You can use a vacuum cleaner or a microfiber towel to collect all hairs and tiny waste. Change the used towels with new ones and air the bathroom.

This may sound like a lot of work but in fact it isn’t. All you need to do is make a plan or a schedule and use every free time and opportunity to fulfil it. Follow your plan strictly and you will see how effective this is. You won’t waste any time because you will know exactly what to do, when to do it and how. Let this quick everyday cleaning become a kind of a habit or a ritual for you and you will notice its positive results.

0 Aromas For Every Room

Aromas bring freshness, positive mood and health to our homes. The influence our state of mind and that is why it is important that we choose the right aromas for every room and every season. The smell of Christmas can be already sensed. And when we are choosing Christmas aromas, it is good to consider what kind of aroma to put in which room in the house.

Here are some appropriate aromas for the living room. For many families, this is the most important part of the home and it should always smell fresh and cosy. Some nice aromas for the living room are lemon, grapefruit and bergamot. Vanilla has a relaxing effect on us – it soothes and it predisposes us to sweet talks and hugs on the couch. You can also put orange, lemon or tangerine peels on the radiator. You can cut them into different shapes and make a Christmas garland or Christmas blinds with cinnamon and lace. If you have a fireplace, you will feel really cosy and comfortable if you put some pine-tree branches and cones there.

Here are some ideas for bedroom aromas. Here you should use relaxing aromas which will make you indulge in reverie and sweet dreams and help you enjoy your rest. Some appropriate aromas for your bedroom are rose, patchouli, vanilla, ylang-ylang, cedar.

Next, we give you a few aromas that are good for your bathroom and toilet. We usually place different kinds of aroma candles for more relaxation; we use aromas from shower creams, bathtub foams, shampoos and all kinds of cosmetics. Most importantly, it smells clean and fresh. For example, a potted crane’s bill will do a good job if, of course, there is enough space and light in the bathroom.

Kitchen aromas. If we are good housekeepers, this should be the cosiest room in the house, smelling of tasty food and home. But if we are not so good, we definitely need some aromas. Unfortunately, there aren’t any aromas of roasted chicken or home-made pie in order to make our kitchen more original. It is a good idea, however, to plant some herbs in pots such as basil, rosemary, salvia. In December, it is enough just to make a pie with cinnamon and everything will smell like Christmas holidays.

Everyone will, of course, choose their own holiday and everyday aromas according to their own taste and preferences. But it is always good to create a more pleasant, relaxing, exciting or cosy atmosphere in our place and in this way we will feel good and enjoy it every time we come home.

0 How to Clean The Iron

Almost every housewife has seen stains on their iron. In most cases, these are deposits that cover the plate of the iron. These are caused by the very process of ironing and are nothing more than mill-cakes from the clothes. The process of their formation is a continuous one so they do not appear after one or two ironings. With time, however, the deposits grow and every housewife has to face the question of how to clean them exactly. There certainly are quite a lot of products for that type of cleaning which you can easily purchase in the supermarket. I, however, would like to introduce to you those methods to clean the iron which are easy and practical and can be easily performed in your everyday life.

Some people use baking soda. It is probably the best solution for cleaning. Baking soda can get rid of pretty much any type of deposits. You need to put some of it on an old newspaper and scrub the surface of the iron, with the iron being turned off, of course.

The limestone can be removed using acid like vinegar for instance. But if you pour it in the iron’s tank, the limestone will dissolve and occlude the tubes. This could damage your iron. That’s why you should use only distilled water for your iron.

Another method is using dishwashing liquid to clean your iron. Soak a cotton rag into a lot of dishwashing liquid and put the iron on it for at least twelve hours. This is usually effective against the deposit. Do not forget to iron a worthless piece of clothing first to make sure there is no leftover dishwashing liquid, before ironing your clothes.

Vinegar is one of the best weapons against deposits. Heat up the iron first and then go over a rag, soaked in vinegar. That will make the iron shiny again without having to go through the supermarket looking for the specific cleaning products.

It is very important that you take care of your iron. It is as important as your washing machine for your clothes. If you let it get too much of deposits or stains on the ironing surface you might put your clothes at risk. Imagine you have to iron a white shirt for a business meeting and you are almost running late. Well, you would not want to burn it or stain it with your crappy iron, do you? Although you cannot prevent the eventual staining of getting deposits on the surface, you can try to postpone it as much as possible by taking good care of it. Always use distilled water for your iron to make it last longer and serve you better.