BidMyCleaning.com Banter

Reasons Why You'll Be Glad You Got A Maid

Posted by Candice on January 27, 2010 at 00:47 am

There are many people who resist getting a maid citing reasons like, it’s not in my culture to have someone clean for me or I don’t want a stranger in my home.  Some are worried about being able to communicate with a maid while others feel like a maid would not clean as well as they could themselves or that they’d feel obliged to help.  All of these are valid.  Are there reasons to hire a maid that might sway folks like this?

When it comes to house cleaning, it can be very time consuming and exhausting. Hiring a maid service to take care of the cleaning can leave you with more time, energy and inspiration to do other things like cook. You’d have time to try a new recipe or bake some goodies for your family. When it comes to family we’ve written before about how having a housekeeper can free up more time for family All of these are great reasons why you’ll be glad you hired a maid.

While some may think that a maid will not clean as well as they would themselves, the opposite is often true. Maids spend a lot of time cleaning and in doing so have often learned the best techniques for cleaning and will leave your home cleaner than it has ever been. Since you have so many other things to do it is also likely you may cut corners where a good cleaning service takes pride in their attention to detail and quality of service. Another great reason to hire a maid.

If you don’t enjoy cleaning and have to give up your nights and weekends to clean then hiring a maid will definitely improve your mood. You’ll feel much better on a Monday morning when you haven’t spent your Saturday or Sunday scrubbing toilets and cleaning countertops. Yet another reason you’ll be glad you hired some housekeeping help.

If you are concerned about the cost of hiring a maid then read our previous post: Can I afford to hire a maid? Can I afford not to?. You can also easily check the cost of hiring a maid in your neighborhood by using the cleaning calculator on Bidmycleaning.com to get instant bids.

Bidmycleaning’s Eco-Friendly Web Find: Greenopolis.com

Posted by Candice on January 22, 2010 at 00:36 am

Greenopolis are about doing good. They want to make the world a better place and try to do this by providing positive solutions. Their specific focus is on recycling, reusing, repurposing and conservation.

The Greenopolis belief is that “to actually change the world, recycling and preserving our precious natural resources must be easy and rewarding.” There is a reward system called “Think Green Rewards” which can be earned in several ways. The rewards can be redeemed for discounts and coupons to me used on meals, entertainment, dining, travel and more. Their partners include Marriott, Dominos Pizza and Blockbuster.

At their website, Greenopolis.com , you earn rewards by blogging, commenting and inviting other to join the website community. The website content is focused on proving information and tools to help you recycle easily, learn about conservation and saving our natural resources. The website philosophy is to educate and reward while providing content that is positive, fun to read, visually interesting and provides links to more information where applicable.
The other way to earn rewards is returning aluminum cans and PET to GreenOps Tracking Stations which are being deployed at locations like Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego and Whole Foods Markets. You can find more locations at their website.

New Green House Cleaning Product Line

Posted by Candice on January 21, 2010 at 00:06 am

When it comes to housekeeping there is no more recognizable name than Martha Stewart. Will the launch of her new line of all natural, fragrance-free cleaning products Martha bring new awareness to the green cleaning category and convince a whole new group of people of the benefits of eco friendly cleaning?

The Martha Steward Clean line has some formidable competition in method, Seventh Generation and more mainstream ones like Clorox GreenWorks. Their tag line “Finally, green equals clean” implies that none of these competitors had been able to get a handle on green and clean.

The range, Martha Stewart Clean includes Dish Soap, Dishwasher Detergent, Laundry Detergent, Fabric Softener, All Purpose Cleaner, Glass & Mirror Cleaner, Carpet Stain Remover, Wood Floor Cleaner, Bathroom Cleaner, and Toilet Bowl Cleaner. All products are completely non-toxic, 99+% plant and mineral based, free of fragrances and colors and have been certified by the EPA/Design for Environment Program. Prices range from $3.99 to $17.99

The HDPE packaging is recyclable.

The products can be purchased from Martha herself, from Amazon.com and Home Depot.

If you want to find someone to help out with your cleaning and you want them to be green then don’t forget that at Bidmycleaning we help you find green cleaning services in your neighborhood that are pre-screened and customer reviewed. Get instant bids and then easily schedule online.

House Cleaning Services for Realtors

Posted by Candice on January 19, 2010 at 01:02 am

Recent reports on the state of the US Housing Market probably bear some good news for realtors. It appears that Americans are buying more existing homes, but fewer new homes. With the buyer’s market we currently have it is easier to get a good deal on an older home than on a new one. The market is also full of foreclosures and struggling homeowners will drop their prices to entice interested buyers. The number of foreclosed properties is increasing.

What this means for realtors is that older homes might need more work to make them ready for a sale. Foreclosed homes are often left standing empty for months on end or if not may have been occupied by owners who no longer maintained the home or even worse trashed it. Cleaning services including carpet cleanings, window cleanings and maid service are an important part of every Realtor’s toolkit. Deep cleaning should be the first step in staging a home for sale.

When it comes to finding and scheduling one or all of the house cleaning services, the Bidmycleaning.com marketplace is the easiest and most convenient source. With an extensive database of pre-screened cleaning providers and online scheduling a single cleaning service on multiple services at one or more locations can be scheduled within minutes. From a single account a realtor can manage all their cleanings for all their properties; adding new services, rescheduling or canceling. In addition, with green becoming more mainstream the filter which identifies only green cleaners or those who can use green products if requested is a key feature.

With so many other items on the to-do list like assessing and advising on curb appeal, helping homeowners cut clutter and staging the home for show, saving time on getting houses cleaned should be an attractive proposition for any realtor. Visit Bidmycleaning.com today.

National Organize Your Home Day

Posted by Candice on January 15, 2010 at 00:41 am

January 14th each year is earmarked for National Organize Your Home Day. There are many, many wonderful blogs and resources online to help you get started on organizing – her are a few of my favorites:

I’m An Organizing Junkie
Organized With Style
Organizing With Sandy

For some inspiration it’s always great to look at Before & After pics and here are some great ones from Miss Organized.

Once you get organized it’s a good opportunity to put systems in place so you can keep everything neat and tidy without too much effort. Designate a place for everything. Get some attractive baskets or boxes and place them strategically around your home so that you have a place to store all the items which usually lead to clutter when they are left lying around.

Another thing to consider once you are all organized is a good deep cleaning. If you don’t have the time to complete a more thorough cleaning that your usual cleaning, it can be beneficial to hire a maid service.

Bidmycleaning on Facebook – Win a Free Cleaning Service

Posted by Candice on January 14, 2010 at 12:45 pm

Join our Facebook Fan-anza and win a FREE House Cleaning Service. Our Facebook Fan Page is now live and ready for you to join us. Just click on the ‘Become A Fan’ link and you will be entered into the draw for a FREE cleaning http://www.facebook.com/bidmycleaning

The winner will be selected by a random draw from all fans listed at 12pm on January 31st 2010 and announced on February 1st.

If you win the free maid service, just think of what you can do with the time you won’t have to spend cleaning – maybe take in a movie, spend a few hours at the local park with your kids or just enjoy having nothing to do!

You can keep up with our blog posts, get news about special discounts and giveaways and chat with us and other Bidmycleaning friends and fans.

There are just two weeks left to enter so pop over there now – http://www.facebook.com/bidmycleaning

Cleaning Up with Crayola

Posted by Candice on January 5, 2010 at 14:45 pm

We have a Bidmycleaning budding Picasso – she is almost four years old and loves to draw especially princesses and mermaids. Fortunately she doesn’t feel the need to take her talents beyond paper and hasn’t drawn on the walls or furniture. She did accidentally get some red marker on the sofa and unfortunately for us it wasn’t a Crayola marker. If it had been we would have been able to visit their complete online guide to stain removal. For each of their products they provide information related to the surface on which the stain has been made, what materials are needed for removal and their suggested procedure for doing so.

We prefer to use only eco-friendly cleaning products and often use homemade cleaning products and their materials list includes typical commercial cleaning products. They do however say that while these are brands that performed most effectively in their tests, other brand products may work equally well. They also do recommend that before trying out the stain removal method, test an inconspicuous area of the material or surface to be cleaned.

If you don’t have the time or are reluctant to tackle stain removal yourself, we have great cleaning companies listed at Bidmycleaning.com who can clean carpets and upholstery.

New Year, New Look for Bidmycleaning

Posted by Candice on January 5, 2010 at 01:04 am

The team here at Bidmycleaning.com are happy and proud to announce the new, improved Bidmycleaning Online Marketplace. At first glance you will see the clean new look of the website but the improvements extend beyond the new look. Improvements ‘under the hood’ will make the site faster to load, updated navigation will make it easier to find what you are looking for and the cleaning calculator has been updated to simplify the bidding and online scheduling.

Bidmycleaning is still the only online marketplace for house cleaning services. It is the only one-stop-shop where you can get instant bids on maid service, window cleaning and carpet cleaning from local providers in your neighborhood who have been pre-screened and reviewed by other customers. Immediate online scheduling allows you to set up a cleaning appointment with your chosen provider in just a few easy steps.

If you are specifically interested in green cleaning services our search makes it easy to filter the results to show only providers who exclusively use green cleaning products or who will use them by request. Achieving your eco-friendly cleaning goals for the new year has never been easier.

Visit the new website today and let us know what you think – we value your opinion!