Many people don’t realize it, but white distilled vinegar is one of the best tools to have in your kitchen – both for cooking, and for cleaning! Vinegar has a variety of uses, from scrubbing scum away, to disinfecting your butcher blocks, and today we’re going to cover 10 great ways that you can use vinegar to naturally clean your kitchen.

1. Shine Your Stainless Steel Appliances

We love the look of stainless steel appliances in the kitchen, but they can easily show streaks, fingerprints, and hard water marks. Multiple months (or years!) of use, touching, and water stains can leave your stainless steel looking flat and dirty.

Luckily, adding some new life to your stove, fridge or dishwasher is easy! Just combine vinegar and olive oil in a spray bottle, mist your appliances, and wipe away with a soft cloth or paper towel.  This salad dressing-like mixture works wonders and will have your appliances gleaming in no time flat!

2. Soak Before Buffing Tarnished Silver

With Thanksgiving coming and Christmas just around the corner, many of us will be opening up those silverware drawers and polishing our best silver. Want an easy way to make your silver shine? Try out this easy project:

Use an aluminum or glass baking dish and line it with aluminum foil (shiny side up). Make sure the dish is deep enough that your silver can soak in the mixture we’re about to create. Next, combine 1 tablespoon of baking soda, 1 tablespoon of sea salt, 1/2 cup of vinegar and 1 cup of boiling water. Pour the mixture over your silver and allow the pieces to soak until the tarnish can be buffed away. Older, more tarnished pieces may need to sit longer.

3. Refresh Your Dishwasher

If your dishwasher is looking like it’s seen better days, empty it and run a cycle with 2 of cups of vinegar in the bottom of the dishwasher. By the time the cycle is complete the vinegar will have washed away hard water deposits, streaks and even odours! You can also use vinegar to clean around handles, scrub the utensil rack, and wipe off the exterior as well!

4. Wash the Dishes In the Dishwasher

If your current dishwasher soap doesn’t include a rinse aid, don’t worry about buying any; white vinegar works as an excellent rinse aid. Just fill the rise aid reservoir in your dishwasher with white vinegar and run as normal. The vinegar will leave your dishes sparkling!

5. Clean Your Coffee Carafe

Over time coffee carafes can become stained and unsightly, so use white vinegar to restore a clean, shiny look! Simply follow these steps:

After emptying out any old coffee grinds from your coffee maker, fill the carafe full with equal parts white vinegar and water. Fill the water reservoir with the mixture from the carafe and begin a regular brew cycle. Shut the cycle off halfway through and leave your pot to sit with the mixture for an hour. Once the hour is up, start a fresh brew cycle with enough water to fill your carafe. Do this 2-3 more times to ensure that all the vinegar is washed out, and you’re left with a sparking coffee carafe!

Looking for affordable, trustworthy house cleaners in Winnipeg to help you shorten your to-do list? Request a free estimate for our professional cleaning services!

For those of us in Canada Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and if you’re hosting a large meal for family and friends the laundry list of things to do before your guests arrive might seem overwhelming.

Luckily even if you haven’t had the chance to do a deep clean before guests start arriving, there are a few key things that you can do to instantly make your home feel cleaner and more inviting.

Below are our favourite ten ways to get your house ready for Thanksgiving:

• Clean the bathroom. Most guests will overlook dust on the TV, or lint on the couch, but dealing with a dirty bathroom is an unpleasant experience that your guests shouldn’t have to deal with during their visit. Wipe down the toilet and sink, spray and wipe down the bathroom mirror, empty the trash, make sure the toilet paper is stocked up, light a candle or incense, and put out fresh towels.
• Dust and tidy. Remove clutter from surfaces and give them a wipe before your guests come over. Some areas to focus on are coffee and side tables, electronics (which are usually dark and show dust easily) and low shelves.
• Fluff your pillows. Having fluffy, fresh-looking pillows instantly makes a room look more inviting. Plus, if you had a nap earlier your guests will be none the wiser!
• Wipe kitchen countertops. No doubt you’ve been busily preparing food for your guests, but wiping down your counters is an easy way to make your kitchen look (and feel!) less hectic than it’s likely been over the past few hours.
• Sweep the kitchen floor. Once you’ve wiped off the countertops, sweep the debris away and wipe up any drips or food splatters on the floor.
• Vacuum. Ran the vacuum in rooms where your guests will be spending most of their time: the front hallway, living room, dining room bathrooms, and any guest bedrooms for overnight visitors.
• Do the dishes. Wash, dry and put away any dishes you can before your guests arrive. If you’ve got a dishwasher, running a cycle in-between when your food is finished (or nearly finished) and after dinner can make a huge difference in the time that it takes to clean up.
• Create inviting lighting. Turning off the overhead lights and using lamps not only creates a cozy, more intimate feel for your guests, but it also helps draw attention away from areas which might not have been cleaned as thoroughly.
• Make room for coats and bags. Make space in your front closet or coat rack for your guests jackets, or choose a room like your bedroom or a guest bedroom with space for guests’ bags and jackets.
• Put on some music. Music instantly makes your home feel more inviting, and fills any pauses in conversation, which help guests feel more comfortable and relaxed.

Want to know how we can help ease the workload the next time you’re hosting an event or get-together? Request an estimate and see how easy hosting a get-together can be with a little extra cleaning help!

Getting your kids to clean up their bedrooms can be an exhausting challenge. Many kids will do just about anything to avoid cleaning up including whining, dawdling, getting distracted or trying to distract you, and outright refusal. In order to help you overcome and eventually avoid having this battle, here are some great tips:

Set a good example
Kids are far more responsive to what we do than what we say. Because of this, it is crucial to lead by example.

Respect their space
Children are more likely to want to keep their space tidy and organized if it feels like their own. Give them control over how the space looks and where things are kept.

Define cleanliness
You can tell your kids to clean up until you are blue in the face but it is never going to get done if you don’t tell them exactly what they need to do. Make a checklist to help them learn all of the steps involved in getting their room up to your standards of clean and don’t forget to include:

• Making the bed
• Put laundry in the hamper
• Putting away clean clothes
• All toys and sports equipment off the floor and in its place
• Dusting and Vacuuming

Do chores together
Armchair supervision is often less effective than active participation. Set aside a specific amount of time to work together getting their room spic and span and, once they have learned how to perform all of the necessary tasks, use the time to catch up on how their schoolwork is going and what is going on with their friends.

Set reasonable standards
Keep your expectations reasonable. Show them how to do something and then make them do it themselves or they will never learn. Proper cleaning up is essential to prevent illness and injury so establish strict rules about garbage, dirty dishes, laundry, broken glass, and scattered toys.

For more tips on cleaning and organizing, contact Take Time Home Cleaning & Lifestyle Services at 204-770-7103.

The best order of operation is: De-clutter, Reorganize, Spring Clean. We’re going to look at the most efficient way to de-clutter your home. Follow each step as listed:

1. Find 4 boxes and label:

a) Toss it—items that are damaged, broken and not worth giving away

b) Sell or Give Away—seldom or never used but often have an emotional attachment; be hard on yourself and ask
“when did I last use it?” This can be the most difficult part of the entire project

c) Store It—useful and needed items but used infrequently

d) Put Away—used often; must have a designated place.

Work your way through each room depositing items appropriately into the boxes. To stay organized, finish one room before starting another. The feeling of accomplishment will energize you to continue on to the next room. Remember to include closets, cabinets, and storage areas. This may take a day or several depending on the circumstances.

2. Toss, Sell, Store and Put Away

When you’re finished, you can dispose of the Toss it items, put the Store It and Put Away items in their designated homes. Now…on to the difficult part.

We advise our clients to keep the Sell or Give Away box in the garage or basement for one week giving you time to accept or reject the idea of being without those “emotional” items. If you just can’t part with an item then you should retrieve it and find a place for it in your home. But…be hard on yourself.

Garage sales or charities are typical ways for dealing with the items in this category.

Take Time Home Cleaning & Lifestyle Services offers De-cluttering, Reorganizing and Spring Cleaning by experienced and certified professionals. For more information call our office at 204-770-7103 or send us an estimate request.

Whatever the reasoning, using our house cleaning services in Winnipeg does have benefits. Underneath are 5 reasons to consider using Take Time Home Cleaning. Often times, there are common misconceptions about house cleaning services that cause people not to use them. Either it’s the idea that these services are expensive or the notion that you should be able to manage your house. Conversely, home cleaning services are affordable and very reasonably priced. Sometimes life gets hectic and we just need a little bit of help.

Your Overwhelming Schedule

It’s difficult to balance life sometimes, between a career, family, and other obligations. Take Time Home Cleaning will take care of the house chores, allowing you to focus on other activities. You also have peace of mind knowing that the house is one less thing to fuss about.

Coming Home to Blissful Surroundings

Well, it’s not exactly bliss, since you still have responsibilities but returning from an exhausting day to a clean home is such a calming feeling. After all, your home is like an escape from work. Your home will also always appear in top shape, so don’t worry about surprise guest visits.

Convenient Regular-Cleaning Schedules

When using regular cleaning services, you are able to customize your own schedule. Home cleaning services allow you to determine when you want your home cleaned. Usually, most companies will send professional home cleaners to your home on a weekly or bi-weekly schedule.

Experience and Expertise

Although everyone can do it, cleaning, in fact, is a skilled trade. Hiring professional cleaners is beneficial because experienced cleaners will clean faster and better than you. Professional home cleaning services provide training to their employees, ensuring that they have the appropriate skills to clean efficiently.

Take Time Home Cleaning will also give you access to professional cleaning equipment. These companies may offer advice for choosing green products that are environmentally friendly. Not only will it be better for the environment, but will be healthier for your home.

Better Quality of Life

Apart from the obvious that your home will look nice, ensuring a clean environment improves your quality of life. Regular cleaning will regulate good hygiene, promoting a healthy environment for your family. A clean place is also better for focusing so you can get things done faster. Lastly, an organized house makes finding items easy, so you can manage your house efficiently.

One Stop Shop

Besides house cleaning, Take Time Home Cleaning also provides Handyman Services, Interior Exterior window cleaning, gutter cleaning, carpet and upholstery cleaning, tile and grout and resealing, hardwood preservation, mattress cleaning for allergy sufferers, year round property care, and market ready real estate services.

In Answer to a Question we got last week…

Last week one of our clients said “I’ve gone through four other cleaning companies before I found you. What do you do to get my house so clean?”

First, we start by working in a Top to Bottom, Left to Right, Back to Front system. Starting at the top working our way to the bottom, one wall at a time always paying attention to the details. This ensures we are getting absolutely everything down to the baseboards.  Then we work our way into the room, cleaning and dusting all furniture and floors. We also use terrific enviro friendly products. We can also use the client’s products if requested.

In the case of cleaning floors, we use the hands and knees method instead of just mopping to ensure we are cleaning corner to corner, getting in all the little nooks and crannies and making sure to clean marks off baseboards.

Our main focus while cleaning your home is meticulous attention to detail and quality control. All cleaners are quality checked on an ongoing basis.

We have a 100% Customer Satisfaction Policy because we stand behind our work. If for any reason the Cleaning Technicians accidently missed something, just give us a call within 24 hours of the clean, and we will correct the problem.

Take Time is committed  “To provide exceptional service that exceeds our customer’s expectations.”

Our vision is  “To lead the maid service industry through outstanding customer service, training and meticulous quality control.”

Our desire is to provide our clients with an opportunity to  “Take Time to Live Well”

We have been in business for 6 years and are members of the BBB (Better Business Bureau) with an A+ rating.

We are extremely detail oriented and will work from the Top of your home to the Bottom using our own standardized
cleaning system.

We are a Full Service company and provide generous discounts on these additional services: commercial cleaning; interior/exterior window and gutter cleaning; carpet and upholstery cleaning; tile and grout cleaning and resealing; handyman services; snow removal and grass cutting; demolition and junk removal and real estate services. All these additional services are provided by employees not contractors who have been thoroughly trained and certified.

We also have Quality Checkers who continually check the work of our cleaners on the job to ensure quality control and to make sure our high standards are being maintained. We use the solo cleaner system so you have the same cleaner each time. In some cases if the client wants the work done faster we will send two cleaners. Everything we do is standardized so if your cleaner is temporarily unavailable another cleaner will be sent and you are still getting that same GREAT clean! Although our systems and procedures are standardized, we are great at customizing service for clients who require some differences to their service.

We have a 100% customer satisfaction policy. We stand behind our work! This means that if you contact us within 24 hours of your clean and are not 100% fully satisfied due to your cleaner accidently missing something, we will do a complementary redo of the area in question.

During our hiring process, our staff must provide extensive background checks and police clearance upon hire. We have an extensive two week training program upon hire and we have a process to ensure ongoing monitoring and improvement.

All our staff are covered by WCB (Workers Compensation) Staff are licensed, bonded and insured. We carry a 5 million dollar liability coverage. This means that if our staff were to get injured in your home, you would not be responsible or liable.

All these facts are what sets us apart from other maid services in the industry. Book with us and see the real difference Take Time Home cleaning makes in your life… Take Time so you can enjoy your life!

As a follow up to our blog post about germs around the office, we have some tips on how to clean your electronics. Here is a bit of information from Maryam Maids on the subject:

To get the gunk out, use a specially-designed cleaning putty like Cyber Clean. This product also works on TV remotes, video game controllers and MP3 devices. Never apply any harsh liquid directly to the screen – this includes glass cleaners and ammonia-based chemicals. Doing so can seriously damage the screen and the entire device. The key is to dampen a lint-free, microfiber cloth with a tiny amount of water and wipe it horizontally or vertically in one direction, not back and forth.

Click here for the full article from Maryam Maids.

Keep a dirty office and suffer woes that extend beyond those you might imagine. Sure, your productivity will take a hit. Your reputation might, too. But did you know an unkempt workspace could also make you ill?

So confirms a recent study out of the UK that warns that people who work in offices that are not kept to a hygienic standard put themselves at risk of picking up viruses from their surroundings that could land them in a sick bed.

The news is particularly relevant at this time of year, as the world hunkers down for the usual onslaught of cold-and-flu-season-induced illness, and the inevitable spate of absence that follows.

The study found that office-thriving creepy-crawlies occupy carpets, desk surfaces, phones, computer screens and almost two-thirds of computer keyboards—some in such numbers that mould had formed underneath.

Concerned office workers might adopt some strategies to combat this bacteria-strewn reality. Some suggestions:

• Introduce systems to the workplace that pick up where your cleaning service leaves off. Colour-coding cloths, for example—red for sensitive areas like the washroom, green for general-purpose cleaning and blue for glass—sets the stage for improved health at the office.

• Remember that germs are spread by hand contact. Take care that light switches, door handles and phones are being cleaned regularly.

• Hire a cleaning firm you can trust. A dependable, dedicated service with a reputation for attention to detail and an appreciation for the role it plays in fending off health risks among office workers is worth its weight in gold. Ask your cleaner whether they bring cloths from other jobs into the facility, or if they can assure you that only dedicated cloths are employed on your site.