Cleaning the sink is a chore that all parents hate, especially after the children have done their best to ensure it is constantly piled with dirty plates, mugs and dishes. It is also an annoying chore after a long day at work to come home and scrub the sink.
After emptying the sink of the days used crockery, use this simple but effective tip to make you feel like a domestic cleaning god or goddess. To make sure that the sink sparkles, shake baking soda on to a sponge and rub the sink gently all around. Rinse the sink after this has been done and watch your sink sparkle back at you.
Organisation is as important as cleaning the house itself. By ensuring that all equipment is prepared before starting your daily cleaning duties, a large amount of time can be saved so that you can enjoy the rest of your day, without having to move back and forth between your cleaning area and the cupboard where your cleaning products are stored.
Using a bucket to place all of the equipment you feel you made need to use whilst cleaning, is a massive advantage and can be kept within reach at all times. It may sound like a no brainer, but it comes as no surprise that often you require an extra cloth, bottle of spray or sponge.
Franchisees whose businesses fail should blame themselves before they blame the franchise, says Freddie Rayner, franchise guru and author of ‘Your Franchise Success’ (www.freefranchisebook.co.uk).
Freddie has estimated that in 9 out of 10 failing franchises, it is not the franchise model that is to blame but the franchise owner who is not fulfilling their potential.
As the founder of the UK’s largest cleaning franchise, Time For You, Freddie has noticed that many people see a franchise as an easy way of earning money with little effort.
He said: “Some people think that by owning a franchise they can sit back and just watch the business grow and the money come flooding in.
“In reality it’s not like that at all. Just as with any new business you have to be prepared to put in the hard work if you want to see the results.
“The only difference is that it costs less to start a franchise, you have ongoing support from the franchisor and the business model is tried and tested for success.”
He added: “It is true that eventually, a franchise can give you a better work/life balance but it still has to be a balance of work and life!
“In my experience, any failing franchisee only has themselves to blame – I was there myself at the start of my career.
“Many years ago I bought into a franchise without doing my research. I thought I could sit and wait for the profit without putting in any hard work and I lost £35,000 in just 10 months!”
“After that hard lesson I haven’t looked back and now I know that a franchise is essentially the same as any new start-up just with less risk.”
Freddie has built his hugely successful franchise by providing franchisees with a tried and tested business model, as well as ongoing training and support along the way.
Time For You now has over 200 franchisees across the UK and is continuing to grow rapidly each month.
Because of his vast experience with franchises –both successful and unsuccessful - Freddie has recently written a book, ‘Your Franchise Success: How to Make It Happen’.
He is giving away free copies of the book so that he can help anyone considering buying a franchise to make the right decisions and warn them of potential pitfalls.
You can get your free copy at www.freefranchisebook.co.uk.
Franchisees whose businesses fail should blame themselves before they blame the franchise, says Freddie Rayner, franchise guru and author of ‘Your Franchise Success’ (www.freefranchisebook.co.uk).
Freddie has estimated that in 9 out of 10 failing franchises, it is not the franchise model that is to blame but the franchise owner who is not fulfilling their potential.
As the founder of the UK’s largest cleaning franchise, Time For You, Freddie has noticed that many people see a franchise as an easy way of earning money with little effort.
He said: “Some people think that by owning a franchise they can sit back and just watch the business grow and the money come flooding in.
“In reality it’s not like that at all. Just as with any new business you have to be prepared to put in the hard work if you want to see the results.
“The only difference is that it costs less to start a franchise, you have ongoing support from the franchisor and the business model is tried and tested for success.”
He added: “It is true that eventually, a franchise can give you a better work/life balance but it still has to be a balance of work and life!
“In my experience, any failing franchisee only has themselves to blame – I was there myself at the start of my career.
“Many years ago I bought into a franchise without doing my research. I thought I could sit and wait for the profit without putting in any hard work and I lost £35,000 in just 10 months!”
“After that hard lesson I haven’t looked back and now I know that a franchise is essentially the same as any new start-up just with less risk.”
Freddie has built his hugely successful franchise by providing franchisees with a tried and tested business model, as well as ongoing training and support along the way.
Time For You now has over 200 franchisees across the UK and is continuing to grow rapidly each month.
Because of his vast experience with franchises –both successful and unsuccessful - Freddie has recently written a book, ‘Your Franchise Success: How to Make It Happen’.
He is giving away free copies of the book so that he can help anyone considering buying a franchise to make the right decisions and warn them of potential pitfalls.
You can get your free copy at www.freefranchisebook.co.uk.
These days we have all become much more conscious about the environment and the ways in which we can help to improve it. During your home housekeeping routine I’m sure you recycle your paper, plastic and glass, give away unwanted clothing and turn off lights when you’re not in the room, but did you realise that you can become more environmentally friendly when cleaning the house too?
We have already gone through the various uses for distilled white vinegar, lemons and bicarbonate of soda. Not only are they cheaper than your usual cleaning products, by substituting them with these natural alternatives you will significantly reduce the amount of harsh chemicals that float around your home.
These natural products will make your home housekeeping routine easier because they tackle problems that store-bought cleaners can’t. They quite often do a better job in half the time too!
If you don’t like the thought of using vinegar or lemons as a cleaning product, then there is an alternative to the harsh cleaning products on the market. Many companies now have eco-cleaning ranges that miss out the toxins and you can find them in your local supermarket or online.
Swapping the toxic chemicals for eco alternatives isn’t the only way you can be more eco-aware when cleaning. When our glorious British weather allows, you can use your washing line instead of the tumble dryer, saving electricity and making your washing smell fantastic at the same time.
If you do have to resort to the tumble dryer, invest in some dryer balls to pop in with your washing. They will speed up the drying time, reduce creasing and save the need for dryer sheets. This will also make home housekeeping easier by helping to reduce your time ironing and saving money on other fabric softening products.
By ensuring that your washing machine and dishwasher are both set to an eco wash you will save water and energy. If you don’t have this setting, when it comes time to replace your white goods look for ones that do. Energy efficient white goods are becoming more popular now and prices are similar to regular models.
For more tips on home housekeeping come back next week.
Assigning your kids tasks to help to clean the house not only keeps the children occupied while you are busy, but it also gives them a sense of responsibility.
While children are still young they will enjoy the chance to get involved in helping around the house. As they get older you may face some resistance, but teaching them from a young age will help to teach them that everyone in the household should make a contribution to clean the house.
Chores should be age appropriate and you may find that a reward system is a good way to keep children motivated and ensure they complete their tasks when they’re supposed to. A sticker chart can be a great way for smaller children to check off each chore that they complete and earn points along the way. They could collect points and save up towards a day at the park, a trip to the cinema or even their favourite meal.
As children reach their teens, it may become more difficult to motivate them to complete their household task but just remember not to get involved in an argument. Simply keep reminding them of their chore until it’s done.
Children aged two to three can help to clean the house by picking up their toys and books, helping to make their bed and feeding any pets they might have. At this age they will be very enthusiastic about helping and this should be encouraged (and enjoyed – it won’t last!). Remember that you should always supervise children at this age when they are helping out.
At ages four and five, children will still be very keen to help and mimic your behaviour. Tasks such as setting and clearing the table at meal times, dusting and helping to put shopping away are all easy jobs for young kids to help with.
From ages six to eight your children may become less excited to help clean the house and will want more independence. This is an ideal time to encourage them to keep their bedrooms clean and tidy by hanging clothes up, sorting them for washing, making their bed, looking after pets and vacuuming bedrooms.
From nine upwards, the kids can help with many more aspects when cleaning the house. They can start to help with the washing up, cleaning the bathroom and cooking too. Try keeping a rota for the whole family and get everyone to pick their favourite task that they alone can be responsible for.
As well as teaching your children more responsibility, encouraging them to help around the house will give the whole family more time to spend doing fun things. Remind them of this if you face any resistance and you’ll be on to a winner.
For more tips to clean the house check back next week.
A handful of new franchisees are being set up for failure by a few rogue franchisors who are more concerned with growing their bank account than growing their business.
That’s the warning from franchise guru Freddie Rayner, author of Your Franchise Success (www.freefranchisebook.co.uk).
He is warning against a small number of franchisors who will sell somebody a franchise – regardless of whether it’s the right kind of franchise for them.
Freddie owns Time For You, the UKs largest cleaning franchise with more than 200 franchisees.
He warned: “If you are talked into buying a franchise that you don’t believe in, you will struggle to make it work for you.
“Not everyone is suited to every opportunity. That’s what makes franchising so exciting with hundreds of different opportunities available.
“But there are some people out there who are just concerned about money rather than getting the right match between you and them. You need to know what to look out for.
“If you’re thinking about buying a franchise go about it in the same way that you would go about starting a new business; talk to other franchisees, research the market and make sure it’s right for you.”
He added: “Starting a business is one of the biggest decisions you can make – it’s your entire livelihood. Don’t go into it blind.”
Freddie has built his hugely successful franchise in just 8 years by selecting the right franchisees rather than just anyone who can pay.
He says: “Warning bells should ring if a franchisor seems to care more about their profits than the details of the business.
“Ask the right questions and know what to look out for and you will be sure that you have come to the right decision. If it you feel uneasy, look elsewhere.
“You would also do well to ensure they are a member of the British Franchise Association and adhere to its codes.”
Set up in 1997, Time For You now has over 200 franchisees and is continuing to grow rapidly due to the intensive induction programme and continued support to all franchisees.
Freddie has been hailed as a franchise guru because of his success and has recently written a book, ‘Your Franchise Success: How to Make It Happen’.
The book is written with potential franchisees in mind and advises them of everything they should consider before handing over their money.
You can still get a free copy at www.freefranchisebook.co.uk.
Storage around the home can be just as much a problem for someone living in a four bedroom house as it is for someone living in a one bedroom flat. There just never seems to be enough space to keep everything. We have some clever home housekeeping tips to help you on your way to an uncluttered home.
Paperwork can be a bit of a tricky thing to store. It’s difficult to know how long to keep your receipts, bank statements and bills for and there are no official guidelines on this. As a rule, if you have receipts for things that you have worn or used for a month or so, and these things haven’t yet fallen apart, it’s a safe bet to say that you can throw these receipts away. With bank statements it is a safe bet to keep between three and six months of records. This way, if you need to produce them for any reason you’ll avoid having to pay the bank to re-issue them.
A great home housekeeping tip is to buy a storage file for paperwork to save your drawers bulging, and to also save time when you need to find any of this paperwork in the future. For any paperwork that you need to throw away, make sure to shred it first!
The spare room is somewhere that everyone uses as a dumping ground for clothes waiting to be ironed, the old exercise equipment and many other things you just don’t know what to do with. It never looks tidy and just recall the panic that you had last time someone wanted to come and stay with you.
A good home housekeeping rule is to treat the spare room as a show room and avoid dumping things in there at all costs. Make it look as perfect as possible for the prospect of an unexpected visitor and use clever storage techniques to hide away the junk.
If you haven’t used the exercise equipment in over a year you probably won’t. Give it away or failing that, hide it in the loft or garage. As for the piles of clothes, sort them out as you did with your wardrobe and give away any that you won’t wear again. Buy some pretty baskets with lids to store your ironing in and all of the mess should stay out of sight!
For more home housekeeping secrets, come back next week.
A cleaning business has substantiated its claim of being the UK’s largest cleaning franchise this month by signing up its two hundredth franchisee.
Time For You has been flooded with enquiries from people looking to start a franchise recently, thanks to a surge of people looking to invest their redundancy payments in a business.
The two hundredth franchisee Caroline Kirby purchased the area in Tunbridge Wells.
Time For You has experienced and maintained steady growth since gaining its first franchisee in 2002, in spite of today’s economic climate.
Founder, Freddie Rayner is excited about reaching this milestone.
He said: “Our franchisees work hard to provide the best possible service to their clients and as a result they see huge success.
“Signing up our two hundredth franchisee is fantastic and means that we can create even more job opportunities for cleaners.
“It also means that our clients get more free time to do the things that matter to them, which has been one of our goals from the start.”
Time For You franchisees are able to run their domestic cleaning business in their own exclusive area using proven ideas, methods and systems.
Freddie provides all of his franchisees with ongoing invaluable advice and support in order to give their clients a first class service.
As a result, over 87% of franchisees are able to recover their initial investment within the first six months of business.
Caroline, the two hundredth franchisee, added: “I chose Time For You because of the huge success that it has had in recent years.
“Freddie is a great mentor and I’m really looking forward to working with him for years to come.”
Freddie Rayner set up his first franchise opportunity ten years ago, and now has 200 franchisees across five different franchise opportunities.
He recently published his first ever book – “Franchise Success: How to Make It Happen”.
You can still get a free copy at www.freefranchisebook.co.uk.
Freddie’s current franchise offerings include Time For You domestic cleaning, Bone-Dry carpet cleaning and Oven Wizards, an oven cleaning franchise.
Today, more people than ever are suffering from allergies to dust and particularly, dust mites.
Dust mites, although practically unseen, live all over your home and live on a diet of your dead skin cells. They have been found to be the most common cause of asthma and so it is vital that you keep them to a minimum in your home – especially if someone in the family suffers from allergies already.
Follow these household cleaning tips and you will get rid of these mites and their droppings.
Dust mites like to live in soft furnishings such as carpets, mattresses and even cuddly toys. Make sure that you wash fabrics such as bedding, pet bedding and soft toys regularly. Bedding should be cleaned at least once a week on a hot wash which will kill all of the mites. Duvets and pillows should also be washed at least twice a year.
For carpets, vacuuming regularly should keep dust mites to a minimum but it is worth dry cleaning your carpets occasionally to give the pile a deep clean too. It is a widely held myth that the best option would be to replace your carpets with hard flooring in order to eradicate the mites completely. This is not true however. In fact, having hard flooring gives the dust and mites nothing to cling onto and allows them to be stirred around the room and straight towards the allergy sufferer. Invest in a heap-filter vacuum and you should notice a difference.
When dusting or sweeping it is easy to spread the dust around from one place to another, further irritating your allergies and undoing all of the hard work that you have already done. Try using micro-fibre dusters which act as a magnet to dust rather than stirring it up. Also, using a mop rather than a broom on hard flooring will help to stop the dust spreading around the room.
One of the best household cleaning tips is to keep your home as free from clutter as possible. Not only will this give dust mites fewer places to hide, but it will also make your regular cleaning a much simpler task – and who wouldn’t want that?!
For more household cleaning tips, come back next week.