WE GET IT.
We love our job and our products and even WE find cleaning laborious. Why do you think we made awesome products?!
Even with excellent tools, you need to have a system to make sure you maximise your cleaning in minimum time.
We show you how.
When I first learned to clean my own place, I thought Saturday had to be an all day clean-a-thon. I didn't really have a concept of how to balance the workload during the week so weekends could be reserved for larger projects or actual FUN! Now I clean in 20 minutes a day, every day, and things just seem to take care of themselves. Here's a glimpse at the schedule I use!
Here are 5 tips to help make these 30 days a success:
1) Dealing With What Comes Through The Door
Set up a small area by the front door to act as a "landing strip" for incoming items to your home. If you're a longtime reader this is nothing new to you. If this is the first time you've heard this phrase outside of reference to personal grooming habits (heehee), then make sure to check out Maxwell's Home Cure video on the topic.
2) Do Your Dishes After Every Meal
This will help you stay on top of your kitchen instead of having it turn into a monster! NO ONE wants to do them.. after all, you probably cooked dinner to boot. But waiting for another meal or until you have enough to fill the dishwasher just makes things feel overwhelming and easier to procrastinate. The same goes for taking out trash as well. If you need to take the trash out, place it by the front door to go out in the morning or dispose of it that night so it's over and done with. Procrastination never makes things better!
3) Laundry
If you have a washer and dryer at home, do a little bit each day - spreading things out will mean you don't feel bogged down by 200 towels and stinky socks. Not feeling inspired? Treat yourself... to a new laundry basket and an easy line to hang things on. It's the little things that make the jobs go quicker!
4) Whistle While You Work
No one really enjoys cleaning, but singing, humming, whistling or turning up the radio are all great options to keep the beat in your feet and have fun while working. If you feel like you are missing out on your reading, try an audiobook, or even put on a TED talk.
5) Set a Timer
Most items on the list below should take no more than 20 minutes total. It's easy to rationalise 20 minutes, but it's also easy to get distracted by phone calls, emails, children and other projects that call your name as you tackle each chore. Set a timer for 5 or 10 minutes (whichever works best for you) and that way when it sounds you know exactly how much time you have left. If you find yourself off task it's easy to get back on track.
ONE ITEM A DAY TO DO LIST:
If you've tried the latest microfibre cleaning cloths, you'll know that technology really do make life easier. Not only are these cloths more hygienic, they avoid the need for extensive detergents, making them greener, and they get things far cleaner in a lot less time.
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]]>What if I told you I had an affordable product to clean your home that was all this…?
People joke about reinventing the wheel, but it’s because we think that most inventions already do their jobs pretty well. We imagine that there's little chance of coming up with anything better than we have already, but we just need to look at the latest cellphone to know that even the simplest things can be done better!
Take cleaning, for example: a chore we love to hate. Who'd have thought there'd be a better way to scrub things clean than using good old soap and water? BUT THERE IS!
If you've tried the latest microfibre cleaning cloths, you'll know that technology really does make life easier. Not only are these cloths more hygienic, they avoid the need for extensive detergents, making them greener, and they get things far cleaner in a lot less time.
What's different about a microfibre cloth?
An ordinary cleaning cloth has fibres made of cotton or a synthetic material such as nylon. You've seen pieces of cotton so you know exactly how big the fibres can be. But a microfibre cloth has far more fibres and they're much smaller, 100 times smaller than a human hair. If "many hands make light work", so do many fingers - or many micro-fibres.
Why do smaller fibres clean better?
Microfibres are able to attach themselves to even the smallest, most microscopic dirt particles, ones that normal cloth fibres (positively giant in comparison) crudely brush past. If forces were visible, you'd be able to see that there are adhesive forces (the forces of attraction) between microfibres and dirt. That's why dirt, dust, and other stuff can be "hoovered up" by microfibre cloths. It's also why you have to clean microfibre clothes so thoroughly after you've used them.
How microfibre cleaning cloths work
If you clean the traditional way, with soap and water, the molecules of the detergent you use stick to and break down the dirt and grime. When you rinse with a wet cloth, the water molecules glued to its fibres stick to the detergent and wash it away with the dirt still attached. This is old-fashioned cleaning with chemistry. Compared to a microfibre cloth, a normal cloth has relatively few fibres so it cleans in a hit-and-miss way. Dirt gets missed and detergent and water often get left behind on the surface you're cleaning.
If you use a microfiber cloth, there's no detergent involved whatsoever, so how is the dirt removed? Instead of detergent, we depend on millions more fibres that can sweep dirt away. The fibres are made of plastic and many of them attach themselves to each dirt speck. Working as a team, many fibres apply powerful enough forces to dislodge the dirt and carry it away, leaving the surface naturally dirt-free. This is new-fangled cleaning with physics using nothing but the adhesive power of forces: cleaning mechanically and without chemicals. The dirt stays locked inside the cloth's fibres until you wash it in hot water, which makes the fibres uncurl slightly and release their dirty content.
A number of recent studies have found benefits of using microfibre cloths (often combined with steam cleaning) to help minimise the spread of infections in hospitals and similar environments.
What's the best way to use microfibre cloths?
Like a traditional cleaning cloth, you use them dry for dusting and very slightly wet for more general cleaning. The best way to use these cloths is with as little water as possible.
If you're cleaning something very dirty, use a standard cloth and soapy water to wash all the dirt off first. Then rinse them thoroughly with clean water and let them dry in the air for a little while. At this point, polish over with your microfibre cloth, and you'll be amazed at the smear-free, sparkling finish. If your surfaces or windows aren't too dirty to start with, simply use the microfibre cloth by itself with a little water.
You can use microfibre cloths to clean virtually any hard surface. Try them on:
- bathroom surfaces
- kitchen surfaces
- car interiors
- windows
- reading glasses
- drinking glasses
- floors
- TV screens
- bookshelves
- dusting between burglar bars, or other nooks
- computers (ESPECIALLY helpful because no water is needed!)
...you'll be amazed at the results. I don’t want to sound like a bad TV advertisement, but these things are really good! You'll literally hear things getting squeaky clean and shiny.
If microfibre cloths are so good, why aren't they more popular?
Microfibre cloths are much more widely known and used in Europe, partly because that's where the market leading brands originated. The household chemicals market is worth tens of billions to big chemical companies, so they have little incentive to get behind a simple technology that undermines their products. Companies have spent a fortune on advertising for several decades, convincing most of us that we need to blast our homes with industrial-strength cleaners in an endless war on germs. Is it any wonder, then, that we're skeptical of "magic" microfibre cloths that promise to get our homes hygienically clean with nothing but water?
If you're still doubtful, add one of these cloths to your order today and try for yourself. And remember that what's cleaning your home isn't magic - it's science’s new wheel of cleaning!
1. As a mother, you do things you never thought you would have to
There are certain things about being a mother that are just downright gross, but no one else is going to do them. You’re used to picking your kid up and sniffing their butt for a dirty nappy, finding dishes with questionable fuzz growing on it, cleaning the toilet, and discovering where your baby left their sippy-cup of milk... last week.
It’s not just the gross things, as much the weird things you never expected to do. As a mother, you fulfil many roles; chauffeur, maid, pimple-popper, counsellor, chef, personal shopper, and so much more.
2. It really annoys you when people without kids complain
As a mom, you don’t want your childless friends complaining to you about how exhausted they are from staying up binge-watching Netflix while you’re exhausted from being up all night with Linda Blair. They might THINK that they are tired and stressed, but they have NO IDEA and you have no energy to be sympathetic.
You’d be happy if you could both agree that you are equally having a rough time and then skip to the part where you can drink your body-weight in wine after the kids have gone to bed. Except - oh! wait! - they can do that any time.
3. Your handbag is a multifunctional bottomless hole
Most women think it’s hard to find their keys now: just wait until your bag transforms into a portable baby kit. That’s before toddlers insist on having something, only to give it to YOU to hold. If you have a husband, just factor in HIS keys, phone, and wallet… although you may as well just hang onto that last one.
On the plus side, constantly carting around candy and snacks means you’ll have a ready supply of munchies on hand in case you work up an appetite.
4. You have the magic touch - apparently
Forget wizards, doctors, mechanics, politicians, teachers... no one has the power to solve any problem quite like Mom. Who do they want when they are sore? When something is broken? When they are scared, upset, or angry? You betcha. Your job is now to fix EVERYTHING. Who let you reproduce and accept this responsibility?! Don’t worry. What no one tells you is that you become infinitely wiser just for having a kid.
I’m kidding. Your IQ drops about twenty points, but the bright side is that you get to share in all of their best, wonderful, happy moments too!
5. You can hear a pin drop from miles away
Part German Shepherd and part superhero, moms can see and hear all. Much like losing one sense can strengthen the others, gaining a child will magically heighten the senses and transform regular humans into SuperMoms. The downside of this is that you will be forever suspicious of silence. You would think that we would enjoy peace and quiet when it finally comes about? Not a chance. It means the kids are plotting to burn the house down.
6. Sleep deprivation is not torture, it’s a way of life
You dream about the good old days when you were able to sleep in until 2 PM, stay in your pyjamas all day long, and watch movies all day – BM, ‘before motherhood’. Although you can still totally rock your pyjamas for an entire day, you definitely aren’t able to sleep in anymore. And you probably got used to that quickly after bringing your first child home from the hospital. No one has the time to sleep in when there’s a hungry baby crying to be fed.
The irony is that as your children get older, you’ll have increasingly more opportunities to go back to your sleeping-in schedule, but by the time your little ones reach puberty, you will be so used to not sleeping in that you won’t be able to anymore. You will discover that you have become your mother, doing nineteen chores before 8am.
7. Comfort trumps fashion
Comfy knickers are the signature fashion item of moms everywhere, along with good shoes. It’s sad, really, that closet full of thongs and stilettos, but you can’t risk the chafing and broken ankle running after a toddler for mere vanity. But after growing a human inside of you for 9 months, you deserve a little wiggle room.
8. Your moments alone are like holidays
Those granny panties aren’t going to buy themselves (and hell, you can’t ask anyone else to buy that tent FOR you). Moms might not have the time or energy to jet off on an actual vacation, but heading to the store for some solo shopping can definitely feel like one. Besides, when you’re that sleep deprived, who can even tell the difference between Woolies and a beach?
9. You would do anything for your kids
Despite all the important and tiring responsibilities a mother has, the rewards that come with motherhood are. It’s easy to get caught in the challenges and struggles of being a parent but don’t forget the incredible work of art you are doing: raising a human that YOU grew and teaching them to master the world.
A mother is really reminded of how amazing motherhood is when she sees her children achieve their big milestones – speak their first word, start kindergarten, graduate high school, graduate college, etc. The cycle of life is incredible and mesmerising, no matter how hard. So whenever you’re having a rough day, just remember how amazing your children are and that you are the one who made them that way!
Part of being a mom is keeping your home clean for your kids to grow up in… let Cleaning Hub help.
It’s as simple as logging onto our online store, placing your order, and waiting for delivery. Not only that, but our cleaning products are not only super-affordable but of the highest quality, making sure that you get the job done in no time at all, leaving more time to fix boo-boos, or (more likely) have that glass of wine you deserve!
The greatest filth-offenders in our lives are not actually the obvious suspects - decent humans are pretty conscientious about cleaning the toilet and the kitchen sink! The really gross things are the ones that cruise below our radar and rarely get the attention that they deserve. After reading this, you should totally go clean them
The greatest filth-offenders in our lives are not actually the obvious suspects - decent humans are pretty conscientious about cleaning the toilet and the kitchen sink! The really gross things are the ones that cruise below our radar and rarely get the attention that they deserve. After reading this, you should totally go clean them.
Now.
This actually depends on how vigilantly people in the home wash their hands. From the basin facets to the bathroom door handles, the places you go to get water could do with a thorough scrubbing. The kitchen is worse than the bathroom, because food particles are a great place for gunk to grow, but both can be covered with all kinds of disgusting bacteria.
3. TOOTHBRUSHES
Say “aaaaaaah YUCK!”… that brush you trust with your pearly whites probably has more germs than the dog’s mouth. The reason isn't what's in your chompers but rather what's on and around your enamel-polishing apparatus. First, most of us leave our toothbrushes wet when we're done - a lovely place for nasty stuff like Serratia Marcescens, which can cause meningitis, to settle.
Secondly, our toothbrushes tend to be close to our toilets, and if you flush with the toilet lid up, everything within a 5- to 6-foot radius is basically getting sprayed with aerosolised fecal matter. So clean that bowl!
4. REMOTE CONTROLS
Sorry, channel surfers, but your clicker is covered with germs! Give it a good wipe over (not with that cloth, please) at least once a week, and be conscious of handling it after eating, patting the dog, cleaning, and going to the toilet. Your laptop keyboard is in pretty much the same category.
And if you think your home remotes are bad, guess what scientists have detected on hotel remotes: an average of 67.6 colony-forming units of bacteria per cubic centimeter. For perspective, that's more than 13 times the maximum acceptable level recommended for hospitals. So maybe put on some gloves before changing channel.
5. PHONES
Incoming message: Your smartphone is caked with countless types of dirt, and we aren’t just talking about your ex’s number. Think about when last you were sitting on the toilet, eating your lunch, waiting in the doctor’s room - what did you have in your hand? And what did you not wipe down, like, EVER? That’s right. Ick ick ick.
6. HANDBAGS
Our handbags go everywhere with us, and to make matters worse they are often in the worst spot: on the floor. Whereas the floor gets washed occasionally, when's the last time you cleaned your bag? The answer is probably "not recently enough." Empty it out once a month and you might find those missing earrings too!
On that note, if you'll excuse us, we need to go wash our hands a few dozen times.
Need supplies? Why not stock up on our rubber gloves and bin bags before you get started!
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Weight Loss
Weight Loss
Yup, I said that. It will become the Sandton sensation of the year. My dad told me that when he was in the Army they had the “fat boy program” where the chubby guys had to weigh in every so often. On the day that they would have to weigh in they would wear garbage bags all day and sweat like mad to make the weight. Need to fit in that little black dress? Maybe the wedding dress is a bit snug?? Never fear, our black bags are near! Wear a couple of these and go for a gym session, or just lie in the sun sipping a beer and hope for the best.
First Aid Essential
South Africa is not for sissies, and one day you may well find yourself in a situation where you will have to administer first aid in the bundus or the ‘burbs, and you will have to utilise whatever you have close-by. Hopefully you have our versatile and thick black bags close at hand, because they are super useful!
Keep a bandage clean and waterproofed with some black bag and sellotape - this is quite handy to keep a cast dry if you need to shower too. A strip of the stuff makes a handy tourniquet if someone is thoughtlessly bleeding everywhere, and if someone has injured their shoulder and you need a sling, guess what makes a great lightweight substitute? That’s right. The good old black bag.
Personal Comfort and Fashion
If it's good for Lady Gaga, it's good for us. What could be more proudly South African than a black-bag emergency poncho? We’ve all been caught by surprise by the African weather. No need to get those cornrows wet or ruin your sneaks. Who is going to keep you dry? We are. That’s who.
Not even the cold is a challenge! A couple of these bad boys make excellent insulation in the biting winter, whether you wear one under your clothes instead of those boring colonial vests, or stuff them into your duvet with you. Warm, dry, and black looks good with everything.
The Ultimate Container
Of course use it for garbage, but this staple is the original varsity student’s laundry bag, make-do luggage set, the ultimate back-pack when moving house. They are just damned useful things for trekking stuff around, and our bags are stupid thick so they won’t spill your stuff on the pavement like your best friend after a few tequilas. When camping it can be used for foraging, storing food and water, and in a pinch it can accommodate the ultimate garbage: the emergency toilet. We’ve all been there on the highway after Curry Night when nature calls. This super-sealed bag just means that other people won’t need to suffer the after-effects with you.
Survival Staple
When the zombie apocalypse hits, know what you don’t want to be without? BLACK BAGS. These bad boys can tie together to make ropes, be used as solar stills to collect drinking water, become emergency shelter and insulation in one, act as a windsock or a firestarter, be both sunshade and ground cover when you are living off the land, plus when bundled up they aren’t half bad as a pillow. If you are unfortunate enough to become one of the zombies, you could use them to keep your people parts fresh or store brains for later with no leakage. Just saying.
Get yours here now, now from just fourteen bucks!
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