Going through a divorce with no degree to fall back on can lead to stressful circumstances and a lot of “what ifs,” especially when you then become a single mother to three daughters.
This is a good time to really look into what you enjoy doing, and try to turn this into something that could potentially make money.
Judy Baron Steigauf was offered a job from a friend to clean houses. She has been cleaning ever since, and has even started her own cleaning business called JS Cleaning, which has been in operation for eight years now.
Not only does Steigaufclean houses but she also cleans offices and does new construction cleaning. She explains that she really has no typical day. She could work up to 7 days a week, with hours ranging from 6 a.m. until midnight.
Steigauf currently has three two offices that she cleans, one every other weekend, and one she cleansthree times a week. She servicesa total of eight homes throughout the month, either weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly.
Steigauf explains that when she gets really busy, she hires people to help her, such as her sister, brother-in-law, and even her daughters.
One of Steigauf’s favorite parts of owning her own cleaning business is that she has a good amount of flexibility. She said that having a great customer base who understand if she needs to reschedule is also another reason she loves what she does. “Judy is a very dedicate worker when she cleans house my house she works so hard, its sparky when it’s done,” said Doris, one of Steigauf’s clients.
“This has been a blessing throughout the years, being a single parent and raising three daughters, if something came up I was able to be there for them, that was the most important thing for me,” explains Steigauf.
According to Steigauf, along with having great customers and flexibility, cleaning houses, offices and new construction projects have the potential to make a great deal of money, more than she could ever make working a regular 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.job at only a little more than minimum wage
Steigaufcharges:
$20/hour for house cleaning
$35/hour for new construction cleaning
$25/hour for office cleaning
Although Steigauf loves her job a great deal, and has worked hard enough to land her own successful business, there are of course some downfalls. Judy stated that, naturally, the bathrooms are the dirtiest place to clean. She also said that she often asks herself, when she’s cleaning offices, whether they would keep their home the way they do their office, but since she does clean homes-she knows the answer is yes!
When asked what her worst experience while on the job has been, Steigauf explained that when she first started working, her friend was rearranging things in a cleaning bucket and accidentally dropped a bathroom cleaner with bleach in it onto the carpet. Needless to say, the bluish carpet turned white almost instantly. After the initial shock, they were enlightened when they realized they Steigauf’s friend had insurance that would cover the costs.
If you clean for two hours you can burn about 200 calories, so for every hour you spent cleaning, you burn around 100 calories.
Your kitchen sink has more germs than your toilet seat. So take extra time and consideration when tackling this area.
Club Soda can be a great emergency spot remover
Average time spend on weekly chores:
– Washing/Doing Dishes: 2.5 hours weekly
– Sweeping/Washing Floors: 1 hour weekly
– Laundry: 2.5 hours weekly
– Beds: 1.5 hours weekly (those 10 minutes per bed really add up)
– Cleaning the Bathroom: 40 minutes weekly
– Vacuuming: 1 hour weekly
(buzzle.com)
On average 10 million bacteria are found in a sponge. If this is wiped on surfaces and ingested you could get sick. However, there are companies working on sponges with anti-bacterial properties.
These are a few helpful facts to keep in mind when doing your cleaning. It can help you get a better idea of what is most important to focus on, and how cleaning can be beneficial. As you can see, the time spent cleaning can add up (about 10 hours) so it is important to spend that time wisely. It is not helpful to continue cleaning things that do not usually accumulate the most bacteria. As mentioned above, bacteria can be harmful to your health.
Although the time spent cleaning will probably be less while in college, especially while living in the residence halls, it is still important to make a significant effort to keep things tidy and bacteria-free.
After a fun day of family and food it is important to take proper care of the dishes and clean up. This is a clip from my Easter in Dayton, Ohio. My aunt gives us a demonstration on how to properly clean different types of dishes. You will see how a plate goes from a mess to simply the best. Check out the video below:
Not only is it important to keep a clean and organized bedroom, living room, bathroom and kitchen, but also to maintain a clean and orderly refrigerator and pantry. A good home cooked meal’s ingredients either come from the pantry or the refrigerator and it is important to keep these clean.
Obviously the size of your family or the amount of people living in your home will depend on the clutter. I come from a family of seven so obviously it is going to be filled with lots of different foods and beverages, but my mom has always done a great job of spending time once a week making sure our refrigerator is free of expired foods and clutter.
Starting with the fridge, the first step is to remove all items from each shelf and drawer. Begin looking at all expiration dates on the packages and containers and throw out any expired items. Once you have separated the good items from the expired ones it is time to clean the shelves. A simple way to clean them is to get a wet wash cloth with soap on it and thoroughly scrub both sides of each shelf and the drawers. A deeper cleaning method is to pull each shelf and drawer out and bring it to your sink. Fill the sink up with hot soap and water and allow the shelves and drawers to soak for five to ten minutes, scrub them thoroughly, and then dry them.
Below is a picture I found from a blog called “A Mothers Ramblings: Making Chores Fun-Clean the Fridge” This is what a very clean and organized fridge would look like.
BGSU student Brittany Norton answers some questions about cleaning and how she views its importance, what cleaning products she uses and more. Although she doesn’t share the same views as all students, she definitely represents a large number and knows what it is like to live in the tight quarters of dorm rooms.
Hints come in handy regarding pretty much anything, therefore I have searched the web to find helpful hints, good for all lifestyles.
Checklist:
Depending on your preference, you can either make one yourself in a Microsoft Word or Excel document or use one from the web. I found a great checklist that you can print off and stick on your fridge, or somewhere in your house that you will see quite a bit. If you choose to make your checklist, you can base your categories on personal preference and what your specific house/apartment needs.
A checklist is also good if you have children or room mates. This way the different tasks can be designated to each person, and they will know which task they need to complete.
Another great website that has 30 different helpful tips and checklists.
Get rid of:
Super glue stains by using acetone nail polish remover and let it soak on the stain.
Scuff marks by using mayonnaise.
Red wine stains by BLOTTING, not rubbing, white wine or club soda.
Be sure to take the cleaning tips you learn with you from your home to your office, or your car, or anything else that deserves an organized space 🙂
Car tips:
When at a gas station, use the wasted time that it takes to fill up your gas tank to gather garbage form your car and expose of it in the trash cans located near the pump.
Vacuum out your car at least once every two months, it will help prevent bad odors as well as keep your car looking so fresh and so clean.
Getting your car washed on a pretty regular basis will keep the paint fresh and prevent and potential moldings.
Office tips:
It is much easier to focus in a clean environment, so spending an extra five minutes at the end of your day will allow you to come to work the next morning to an inviting work space.
A presentable office space makes a positive impression on your co workers.
Take and use these hints and hit the road, JACK.
Too tied down with other school obligations? These local cleaning services in the surrounding Toledo areas are the perfect tool for you. If you don’t have the money now, keep them in mind in the future, when life takes away from you the time you could spend cleaning.
I am no stranger to the “I’m broke, I’m in college” thing. We work hard in school and still go scrapping for money, eat Ramen Noodles or Macaroni and Cheese every night, and spend day after day trying to find a job to hold us over until we get Big People Jobs.
This should not stop you from keeping a clean environment.
There are many ways to go about your cleaning duties, still getting the cleanest conditions with the smallest amount of money spent. In fact, most of these tips can be done with around the house items, so you don’t even need to go to the store.
Vinegar. I swear my mother uses vinegar for everything. Everything from cleaning up after my dog to being put in our dishwasher. It can work as an all purpose cleaner as long as it is mixed equal part water to equal part vinegar. A splash of Vinegar in the dishwasher can add that extra zing to ensure that your dishes are extra clean. When my dog was a puppy she would not only use the mixture to clean up his “accidents”, but the harsh smell would make him associate the act of doing wrong with the vinegar and therefore teach him that it was WRONG.
The face of a dog that has just smelled vinegar
As well as being a great multi-purpose cleaner, it is good for disinfecting and deodorizing. As indicated above, the smell is very harsh at first but can actually deodorize and leave a “nothing” smell later on.
Baking Soda. Baking soda, because of its hard complexion can be used for scrubbing. It also works well as a deodorizer by placing in either the fridge or freezer.
Lemon Juice. Lemon juice is not only good for keeping the blondes of the world’s hair blonder, but it also can be used to get rid of soap scum and hard water deposits. It is also great for cleaning brass and copper units, all while leaving a fresh lemon-y scent. Check out this website for more lemon juice uses. Lemon Lemon Lemon!
What is a sneaning day you ask? Why, it is a snow turned into cleaning day of course.
It was the first snow day of the year, and I was surprised to wake up to sunny skies and zero snowfall. What to do often runs through the mind of many college students. Entering the (what feels like) negative degree weather was out of the question.
“Today is a cleaning day” I proclaimed to my tired roommates who just wanted to rest.
“Spring cleaning on a snow day?!” my roommate proclaimed.
As I thought about it it struck me as somewhat of an oxymoron, but I decided to roll with it anyway.
…were all a must to start this positive attitude thing. We began our process and really got into the nooks and crannies of our apartment, EW. The things that you find in a college apartment when really looking, not pretty. This just gave us more of an incentive to continue our streak.
I thought back to my public relations campaign while on my cleaning spree, and remembered that our main focus was to sell a cleaning product, seems so fitting. I whipped out my new JAWS (Just Add Water System) and began spraying away, it worked miracles.
The next time we looked at the clock 4 hours had passed. We were getting to the final stages, i.e. vacuuming and rearranging the furniture. We showered (which was a definite must) and decided to treat ourselves to a nice dinner, after all, it was well deserved.
Not only were we productive in that we didn’t waste our snow day being lazy, but we had an apartment that practically looked brand-spanken-new, and bonded as roommates, all while practicing our singing skills.
And that, my friends, is how you turn a snow day into a Sneaning Day.
I don’t know about you, but dirty people get under my skin. We are old and mature enough to pick up after ourselves. College is a time where we learn to fend for ourselves, if we haven’t already been prone to do so. Cleaning and taking care of your living area is a huge part of this process because it shows yourself and others that you care enough to do a little bit of extra work, and that extra work goes a long way. I now know why growing up my mother would always say, “pick up after yourself, i’m not your maid.” It is not only rude, but selfish to constantly leave your stuff lying around.
I have found a few successful theories for the “dirty, dirty roommate”:
1. Ask them politely. (Seems simple, right?)
2. If you’re as nutty as me, you might just pick up after them because you need a clean space.
3. Leave the mess there so they can blatantly see that is is there to stay.
4. When all else fails, throw the mess into their room, dishes on their floor, clothes on their bed. This should be the last and final method>>EXTREME!
In all honesty, as with most things in life, communication is key. Simply talking to them is usually the best route to take. Tell them that although you have different ideas of a comfortable living environment, you both need to make sacrifices and come to a happy medium. It is much better than living in constant annoyance. Not only will it help with your living arrangements, but it can help to possibly better your friendship!
It’s already 2011, that means this world has been in existence for a VERY long time. This also means that we need to be doing whatever we can to preserve what we have been given. There are many ways to do this, and one of those is through the use of cleaning products.
A great reason to do this in college is that it is not only good for the environment, but it’s cheap! Using products that you can find around your apartment or house is easy and you save money because most people usually have items such as vinegar already for their cooking. There are so many articles out there as to why going green is essential. Here is a great article I came across, http://planetgreen.discovery.com/go-green/ultimate-go-green/.
There are many simple ways to go Green. View this video for a quick lesson.
There are also a great deal of reusable recyclable products. My Public Relations Campaigns class is currently working on a campaign for a company called JAWS, Just Add Water System. It is a great product because you buy the bottle once and then just refill, reload and reuse! The bottles come in glass and hard surface cleaner, multi-purpose cleaner/degreaser, bathroom cleaner/deodorizer, and disinfectant cleaner/degreaser. You can refill the bottle by just adding water more than 20 times!
As a soon to be graduate of college, and what some would say, a neat freak- I thought there was nothing more perfect to “blog” about. I have lived with the dirtiest of people and feel as though my perspective on something that I find to be important can be of value to at least some of those other so called neat freaks. Tune in to read about all different aspects of cleaning, from how to do it, to how to make your own products, to how to deal with that messy roommate of yours.
