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What I Wish I’d Known
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Category: What I Wish I’d Known

How to Get Rid of Dust Mites in Your Home

Dust mites. You’ve probably heard of them, and maybe you even know you’re allergic to them. But do you actually know what they are? You can’t see the tiny, white, insect-like creatures living in your bedding, mattresses, and furniture with the naked eye, but if you look through a microscope, you’ll see that they have eight legs. Although dust mites don’t sting or bite, they can be problematic since some individuals develop an allergy to dust mite feces, which causes symptoms like a runny or stuffy nose, sneezing and coughing, itchy eyes, nose, mouth, or skin, and more.

Happily, there are steps you can take to rid your bedroom of dust mites, like using dust-proof covers on your mattress and box springs, washing sheets, pillowcases, and blankets weekly in hot water, and vacuuming weekly. Learn more about dust mites, how to ditch them, and what to do if you experience dust mite allergies in this informative graphic. 

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How to Apply Task Management Skills in Business and in Life

Article by Brittany Fisher
Computer on Desk

 

Task management is at the core of business leadership. Your ability to effectively manage a task from start to finish will determine whether your business succeeds. If you’re struggling with one aspect of task management, it’s time to hone in on improving specific skills that will enable you to become an even better leader for your company’s team.

Sometimes, hiring others like Right Touch Residential Cleaning can free up more of your time to focus on your business as well as free up more of your personal time for things you’d rather be doing. Best of all, becoming more confident in your task-management abilities can also allow you to accomplish other goals in your personal life. These tips will show you how to boost your task management skills at work and leverage these same skills in your life outside of work.

 

Stay Organized With Apps

You don’t have to handle task management on pen and paper, or by simply creating notes in your smartphone – instead, you can download apps that have been designed to help you with the very tasks you’re trying to accomplish!

For instance, you might be concerned that your payroll system is disorganized because you’ve been handling payments manually. A payroll app like QuickBooks Time offers a time-tracking feature in addition to mobile timesheets for employees, which streamlines team management. In addition, you can integrate this program with your other business software, use the program’s mobile app to manage payroll on the go, and get real-time reporting.

If you’re used to budgeting on the backs of envelopes, a financial app could also help you stay organized in your personal life. For example, you can use an app like Mint that connects directly to your bank account so that all of your deposits and expenses are automatically recorded, making it easy to keep track of your savings and spending habits!

 

Use the Right Communication Tools

Communication and project management go hand in hand for business leaders. And in order to handle both of these responsibilities, you’ll need the right tools. When it comes to communication, Slack is the perfect platform for teams of all sizes. You can create channels for different topics and projects, share documents, and even host spontaneous virtual meetings while keeping all your communications on one platform.

While Slack can be a useful communication tool for everyone working on the same project, it is not necessarily a comprehensive project management tool. For this, you’ll need a platform with more features, like Asana or Monday. You can integrate Asana with Slack, and this software also offers a variety of options for visualizing task plans and progress, as well as drag-and-drop functionality to change task-management plans. On the other hand, Monday allows you to see visualizations for progress on all your current tasks on one screen and create groups for project portfolios. If you need task-management solutions, you can turn to these programs.

Project management tools aren’t just useful for business – you can also use these tools outside of the office! For instance, if you’re working on a personal creative project, you can outline the different steps with a project management app. You could even use it to plan fun events, like birthday parties or holiday celebrations.

 

Become a Master of Delegation

You like to have a say in every aspect of your business, but you can’t tackle task management entirely on your own. You need to learn how to delegate to your team members and outside contractors. When you delegate a task to someone, Cleaner Magazine recommends giving out specific instructions and examples of the results you want. Clarifying your expectations will ensure that both of you are on the same page. Offer training if necessary and let them know that they can reach out and ask for help if they have questions.

Delegation is also a useful strategy to apply to your personal life. Hiring people to help you with domestic tasks like cleaning, ordering meal services to save time cooking, or simply coming up with a chore wheel for your household and assigning other people different tasks can create more room in your own schedule.

 

Efficient Time Blocking

Sometimes, figuring out the timeline for completing a particular task can become confusing. You might be trying to balance countless small subtasks in order to finish major milestones. It can be easy to spread yourself too thin or start working on subtasks in an inefficient manner. Instead, carefully plot out the schedule and timeline using a time management strategy. Productive Club states that by grouping certain related tasks together and scheduling them hour by hour, you can divide your time each day between working on long-term projects and taking care of daily responsibilities.

You can use time blocking to schedule your own week outside of work. You could group certain chores together to finish on a weekend morning, or you could combine grocery shopping, meal prepping, and cleaning the kitchen for Sunday afternoons. You’ll minimize the amount of time you spend switching between domestic tasks to get things done faster.

 

Understand Your Productivity Cycle

Finally, it’s important to identify when your personal productivity levels peak during the day. Maybe you tend to feel the most productive in the morning, or maybe you feel truly motivated in the evening. You can complete your most challenging and energy-intensive tasks during these hours, whether they happen to be work-related or personal goals. Your energy cycle will be unique compared to anyone else’s. But knowing the ins and outs of your own cycle is the key to unlocking a higher level of productivity that you can apply to your most crucial tasks.

Task management sounds simple enough on the surface, but mastering this art can be complicated. With time and practice, you’ll be able to manage every task that comes your way with efficiency and accuracy while guiding your team members through the entire process. And by getting the hang of these skills, you’ll also become a fantastic task manager outside of the workplace, whether you’re working toward personal goals, outsourcing a cleaning service, or trying to organize your household.

 

Photo via Pexels

Right Touch Residential Cleaning doesn’t just clean your home. We give you your life back! Reach out to us today! +1 612 987 1620

 

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The Top 3 Myths of Hiring a House Cleaner

Do you really enjoy cleaning your bathroom, vacuuming up the pet hair, and scrubbing your floors? Be honest. You probably wish someone else could do it. However, I understand that there are some misconceptions associated with hiring professional house cleaners, which might prevent you from exploring these services. I’m going to bust some of the myths and explain why hiring a professional is actually a responsible choice. Are you missing out on something that could really make a positive impact in your life?

Myth #1 Only “Rich” People Hire Professional Cleaning Services

Did you grow up with the perception that only “rich” people hire cleaners or lawn care teams? Today, residential cleaning services are very different from a traditional maid. We have clients from many financial backgrounds who find hiring a cleaning company a cost-effective solution. How much is your time actually worth? Take a moment to think about it. If time is in fact money, the time you spend scrubbing the kitchen floor might be spent more profitably (not to mention more enjoyably) elsewhere.

Myth #2 I’m Embarrassed – Everyone Will Think I’m Lazy

Are you secretly jealous when the cleaning car drives into your neighbor’s driveway? It is easy to brush it off with “well, it is such an indulgence and they are clearly lazy and entitled.” It is usually the opposite. People think women should be able to do it all – raise the kids, go to work, clean the house – but they can’t. How many of us have the energy to do it all? Busy professionals who work long hours often rely on the services of a house cleaning company. Instead of spending limited free time on chores, this gives them more time to do the things they love.

Myth #3 The Cleaners Will Invade My Privacy

I get it. Some people just feel a little bit weird letting strangers inside their home. This is natural to feel insecure that professional cleaners will spend time snooping through your personal things. It is important to remember that employees of a residential cleaning business are professionals. They are focused on doing their job as thoroughly and quickly as possible. They won’t judge you or invade your privacy. But, if you have important files or other property you would like the cleaning technicians to say away from, you can always choose to make certain rooms off-limits.

The majority of our clients hire us simply because they do not have time to clean or they don’t want to spend their only time off cleaning. The benefits of more time with your family and less stress adds so much more richly to your life than the actual cost of weekly service. Hiring a professional cleaner can save you time, save you stress, and give you more time as a family – in a clean house!

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The Incredibly Useful Cleaning Product You’ll Wish You Knew About Sooner

Bar Keeper’s Friend has been around a long time – since 1882 – and a lot of people rave about it. But is it really that good?


The product doesn’t offer any outrageous claims or fancy packaging, but what it lacks in pizzazz, it makes up for in cleaning power.


Bar Keeper’s Friend is ideal for kitchen surfaces like stainless steel, ceramic, and glass. Polish your stove, sink, and pots and pans. No more pots with blackened bottoms! Just use a light sprinkling of this power, a bit of water, and a little elbow grease, and Bar Keeper’s Friend will have you seeing the shine in minutes.

Then, move on to your bathroom where you can shine up dingy faucets and clean away grime on your tile or bathtub. It works wonders on glass shower doors caked with soap scum. Our teams even use it in the toilet!


If you haven’t added Bar Keeper’s friend to your cleaning tools — I recommend it.

The best news? It is under $3 and is easily available in stores like Walmart and Target.

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3 Hidden Things Cleaning Professionals Look for When Home Shopping

Did you know the best time to buy a house is in the late summer or fall?

As a cleaning professional, there are a few hidden things I make sure to check out when I am inspecting a home to buy. Here are 3 to keep in mind:

1. Door Jams and Window Tracks

Run your finger along the door jams and window tracks. This is an area that should not have been missed if the owners did a deep clean–and they should have in the process of getting the house ready to sell. If there is still a lot of dust or bugs, this could indicate other items in the home may not be as clean as they could be.

2. Vents and Filters

Check the vent over the range to see how dirty and grimy it is. Is there a lot of grease buildup? What about the dryer vent? Is it caked with lint? What is the condition of the furnace filters? If they are coated in dust, the rest of the house that you can’t see might not have been maintained either.

3. Scent Test

Are there any unusual smells? If any walls or floors are emitting an odor, this could be a sign of mold which can cause major problems down the line.

I hope these tips will help you find the perfect home for you and your family.

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Finding a House Cleaning Company You Can Trust: Questions from a Professional

The “New Normal”…..is hectic, right? And when life gets busy, cleaning often takes a backseat.


We all really deserve a break, so think about outsourcing some of your to-dos. You can lose an entire weekend to scrubbing bathrooms, mopping floors, and dusting your home. Wouldn’t you rather focus on other things? Outsourcing your house cleaning is not only practical, but can actually improve your family life.


Some people think hiring a house cleaner is a luxury or causes you to appear lazy. In reality, it is a solution to help you free up your time. You may not change your own oil or fertilize your own lawn. In fact, research shows that people who spend money to save time are happier than those who spend it on material goods.

If you are considering hiring a house cleaning service, you should interview several companies before choosing one. They will have access to your home and you should be comfortable with them. Asking these questions will help you find the right service that fits your needs:


1. What are your rates? Find out if the price is by the service, hour, or square foot. Most cleaning companies offer free estimates. You should expect to pay more for the initial, deep cleaning than the recurring cleanings. Having service less frequently will cost more per visit.


2. What cleaning tasks are involved? This is important because different companies have different ideas of what a basic service consists of. If you want particular services done in your home, make sure you ask whether these tasks are an additional add-on cost. Some of the most common areas of confusion are dishes, stripping and making of beds, laundry, and handling of children’s toys.


3. Do you do background checks on your employees? It is important that you know what kind of people will be taking care of your home. Unfortunately, some independent cleaners start cleaning because they cannot find another job due to a past criminal conviction.


4. Are you insured? An uninsured cleaning company will be able to offer you lower prices, but what are you going to do when you realize your wood floors have been scratched? If an employee accidentally breaks or steals something in your home, a company should have coverage for that. Ask to see the written policy. Also, ask about workers compensation insurance in case someone is injured while at your home. This risk is particularly great with an independent maid, since technically YOU are their employer.


5. Who supplies the cleaning products? Look for a company who provides all of their own supplies and equipment. Employees are less likely to misuse products they are familiar with and trained to use.


6. What products are used? If it is important to you that the cleaners only use environmentally friendly products, find out if that’s an option and if it costs more.


7. What kind of training do you give? The best companies will have formal and documented training processes that they have tweaked and worked out over the years. On-going training ensures high quality.


8. What guarantees do you offer? You are paying for a service that you should be completely satisfied with. A reputable service company should come back and fix the problem.


9. Do you have a formal quality assurance program in place? A house cleaning company should have methods in place to measure quality on an ongoing basis. Do they perform surveys, leave behind comment cards, or send someone out for quality checks?


10. What is the easiest way to get a hold of someone? It is not unusual for a sales person to work hard to gain your business at the outset. Once they book that first appointment, however, you may find they are not nearly as friendly and responsive. You want proactive communications. Cleaning reminders and follow-ups by phone or email are a great way to tell if your new provider really wants to keep you informed.


Hiring a cleaning company to clean your home can be a little intimidating. There are a lot of choices out there. Asking the right questions up front can save you time, headaches, and money.

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