My Blog

Tag: professional cleaners calgary

  • Have a Happy Holiday with these Cleaning Hacks

    Have a Happy Holiday with these Cleaning Hacks

    Nothing can whip up stress and joy all at the same time quite like the holidays. The excitement about spending time with family and friends combating self-induced worry about everyone in your home, seeing just how clean you really live. Well, take it easy. You’re not alone! Use these tips, tricks, and holiday cleaning hacks so you can keep your home looking its best and your stress nice and low for this holiday season.

     

     

    Pre-Holiday Party

    Holiday Hack: Prep in Advance

    When we know what we’re working with, it becomes easier to find a solution. Before starting, create a list of all that you need to clean a few weeks before the holiday season start your cleaning – or book your pre-and/or post-party cleaner – to avoid any last-minute stress of having to do everything at once.

    Holiday Hack: Create a Cleaning Schedule

    From the list of to-dos, create a holiday cleaning schedule that outlines the specific tasks that need to be completed. Knowing what task you have to do and when, helps you plan your time while also breaking seemingly large to-dos down into tiny, manageable steps.

    Holiday Hack: Declutter First

    Surprisingly, now is a great time to declutter (or even purge) your space. Before putting up your holiday decorations, clear out any unnecessary items to create more space and make your holiday cleaning maintenance easier. While most of this will go into storage until after the holidays, if there is anything that you are ho-hum about, now’s the time to donate it.

    Holiday Hack: Focus on High-Traffic Areas

    There’s nothing like hosting a party that gives people eagle eyes for every spec of dirt in their home. Avoid the eagle eye stress knowing that your party will not go into every area of your home. Focus your cleaning efforts primarily on the high-traffic areas; areas that see most of the activity. These typically are the entryway, living room, and guest bathroom(s).

    Holiday Hack: Delegate Tasks

    Instead of taking on all the holiday cleaning yourself, get your family involved. After all, they say that the holidays are for spending time with family. Why not start by working together? Break your holiday cleaning to-do list down together and decide who will do what.

    Holiday Hack: Decorate Strategically

    To help you maintain a clean home throughout the holiday season, be strategic when placing your decorations around your home. As beautiful as they are, these decorations tend to be dust attractors. We recommend that you do not place these near vents or fans so you don’t have dust flying through the air (or going into your air filtration system).

    Holiday Hack: Take Breaks to Enjoy

    We can sometimes become so focused on cleaning perfection that we forget to take breaks and enjoy the festivities themselves. Take your well-deserved breaks and enjoy the festivities. If you forgot to schedule some fun family activity time (outings, cookie baking, holiday movies, etc.), now’s a great time to add them. Find the balance between cleaning for the holidays and relaxing to remove the stress of hosting a holiday party.

     

     

     

    Day of Holiday Party

     Holiday Hack: Protect Surfaces

    On your tables and other flat surfaces, use table runners and tablecloths. Put out coasters so people will use them, protecting your surfaces from spills and stains.

     Holiday Hack: Floor Mats and Rugs

    At the entrances to your party, place out floor mats and rugs to capture any dirt or debris from your guests’ shoes. If comfortable, ask people to remove their shoes and avoid having any unwarranted dirt makes its way further into your home.

     Holiday Hack: Quick Spot Cleaning

    If you’re not bringing in professionals to help clean the day before or day off, we recommend doing a deep clean at least the day before. On the day of, do a quick walk-through of your high-traffic areas and wipe down with a damp microfibre cloth, then dry with a dry cloth. For glasses, mirrors, or other shiny, reflective surfaces, give them some extra sparkle by polishing them with a specialized glass-cleaning cloth.

     Holiday Hack: Accessible Trash Bins

    Make it easy for your guests to help you keep your house clean during the party. Keep a trash bin accessible for people to easily throw away items when they’re finished. Begin the night with an empty bin and fresh garbage bag and change as needed throughout the night. For fun, why not dress the bin up with holiday decorations, making it a part of the scenery?

     Holiday Hack: Enlist Help

    It’s okay to ask for cleaning help before, during, and after a holiday party. No one said that you must do it all on your own. Invest in a party cleaning package so you can focus on the party details that matter most – spending time with people.

     

     

     

     After the Holidays

     Holiday Hack: Post-Holiday Cleanup Plan

    Just as setting up your decorations is a great time to declutter, taking down and putting away your decorations is a great time to deep-clean your home. We also recommend having a specific date you want to have your decorations down. This gives you time to plan what needs to be put away by when. One common practice many people do is to have them down by December 31, so they can start the New Year fresh.

    The holidays are about spending time with loved ones and creating cherished memories, not about stressing about cleaning. Use these cleaning hacks to keep your holiday entertaining joyful and joy-filled!

     For more tips and tricks for planning your holiday party, click here[1] .

    https://www.cleanclubcalgary.com/blog/your-party-planning-checklist

  • How to Clean Away Fear and Lean Into Your Values During COVID-19

    How to Clean Away Fear and Lean Into Your Values During COVID-19

    COVID-19 has rocked my world no more or less than any other business or individual I know. We are all in a time where our hope and optimism are being challenged, where visions of growth are put on hold, and uncertainty makes us question what we hold most dear.  

    As I reflect on exactly what COVID-19 means for my family, Clean Club Calgary, our clients, and the small business community, my thoughts turn to our values and how we can help. How we, as a business, can be there for our team and customers beyond our residential and commercial cleaning services. Suddenly, COVID-19 became a way for me to further tap into my values. With this, COVID-19 became:

    • Compassion for ourselves and others

    • Offer to help

    • Visualize life after the pandemic

    • Incorporate fun every day

    • Drink wine

    • 1% fear

    • 99% love

    COMPASSION FOR OURSELVES AND OTHERS

    Without having compassion for ourselves as we face difficult decisions and for those who are impacted by our decisions, COVID-19 will win. With compassion, it won’t. The one thing that we are all seeing is the beauty of human connection and compassion this pandemic is bringing out in people. 

    Compassion for self and others

    Compassion for self and others

    I myself had to lay off staff for a multitude of reasons in March and not one of them was a performance-based decision. However, it is still important that I connect with them. Once a week via Zoom, we connect and chat about how they’re doing okay with the EI process and their own mental health, understanding that this is (hopefully) temporary. We all understand the position we are now all in and share in our compassion for each other. 

    OFFER TO HELP

    Clean Club Calgary has been deemed an essential business and is continuing to serve Calgarians with professional cleaning and sanitation services. One way we have identified that we can further help a number of our elderly clients (beyond our specific Coronoavirus sanitation procedures) is by bringing key essential items to them when we come for their cleaning. This way, they do not have to worry about going out for groceries or other items. While we are not offering this for all our clients, we are constantly looking for ways to support those who may be at higher risk.

    We are here to help!

    We are here to help!

    VISUALIZE LIFE AFTER THE PANDEMIC

    A number of colleagues of mine in the cleaning industry simply closed their doors once this pandemic hit. This breaks my heart as, in talking with them, it’s clear that it was primarily a fear-based decision (rightfully so). To keep my mind out of the fearful zone while staying realistic in my hope, I wrote myself a letter highlighting what I want my life to be after this pandemic. This includes what Clean Club Calgary will look like. With so much out of my control, this specific task helps me stay focused on what I can control; specifically, my thoughts, feelings, and behaviours. Yes, some days are really hard; others, not so much, but I have people I need to be there for today, tomorrow, AND months down the road. By visualizing life after the pandemic, I’m able to stay in the optimistic zone as I take the very next steps to work with the day-to-day realities as they present themselves. 

    Day dream a little!

    Day dream a little!

    INCORPORATE FUN EVERYDAY

    This is key for remaining focused on hope.“Fun” doesn’t have to be huge. For me, fun is the conversations I have with my husband, or a loving touch and a warm smile. We also play card games every day. To keep things interesting, we have started a fun way of tracking who “wins.” This helps us remain lighthearted after days that are full of heartache.

    I also think it’s key to bring fun into all business conversations these days. For instance, on zoom calls with my team, we all share in a gratitude moment. This is important as it allows us to remember that we are grateful to be together, serving our customers in a time of need. 

    Have fun and play some cards!

    DRINK WINE

    Always – drink wine! But in all seriousness, this really means that you should keep consistent with the things you did before the pandemic that helped your mental state. For me, a glass of wine a day has always been a comfort and continues to be throughout this time. For others, this could be as simple as keeping up with your medication or going for a walk. Whatever your “drink wine” is, continue to do it with even more purpose and intention for self-care.  

    Enjoy a glass of wine!

    Enjoy a glass of wine!

    1% FEAR 

    We are inundated with fear from the moment we wake up to the time we go to sleep. However, we cannot operate on fear for long before we crash and burn. Recognize that fear is a normal emotion to have right now, but it should not be all-consuming. Limit your news and social media, look for those voices who are being a light in the dark, and focus on filling your fear with love for your team and your customers.

    99% LOVE

    Love, life, and business? Yes. More than anything, this pandemic has taught me the importance of operating with love, both in my personal life and in business. It’s important I take a moment and infuse all actions with compassion in connecting with other business owners, my team and customers. Even as we make hard decisions and have rough conversations, coming from a place of love and compassion will help us all get through COVID-19 a little less worse for wear. 

    At the end of the day, there’s not one person or business who will walk away unscathed by this pandemic. While there may not be much that we can control throughout COVID-19, we can control how we choose to act. It’s a matter of leaning into our values, showing compassion for everyone, and building community through safe distances and clean spaces. 

    How has COVID-19 made you look at your values and actions differently? Connect with me today – I would love to hear how you and your team are connecting through COVID-19.