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In Addition to Green Housecleaning: Gifts Mom and the Earth Will Love!

April 28, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Mother's Day, 2011Mother’s Day is this Sunday, May 8, 2011.  Are you looking for that special gift to show that special lady in your life just how much you love her?  Whether you’re looking for a traditional gift, or something more special, you’ll find ideas below that please both your mom and Mother Earth.

1. Perfume
Perfumes are a perfect Mother’s Day gift, but they’re often filled with chemicals which are not great for Mom or Mother Earth. Try more natural options like those from Pacifica or Burt’s Bees, which makes solid perfumes perfect for moms on the go.

2. Organic Flowers
You’ve probably gotten her flowers before, but were they organic? Surprise your mom with a bouquet of flowers either at home or the office this Mother’s Day. Choose organic blooms onlne from either organicbouquet.com or 1800flowers.com to show her how much you appreciate her!  Or better yet, locally you may try Whole Blooms on Burnet Road or the Human Flower Project, sourcing organic flowers from among other places, Texas Specialty Cut Flowers in Blanco, Texas.

3. A Garden
While what you actually give to your mom will be the seedlings you picked up from our Austin farmers’ markets or nursery, that’s not the real gift. The real gift is the time you’ll spend together planting that garden and the memories that you’ll create.

4. Breakfast in Bed
Instead of driving to take your mom out for brunch, make her breakfast in bed! Waking up to the smell of organic coffee brewing and the sound of a sizzling skillet is always a treat.  Knowing she doesn’t have to clean up the kitchen will be the cherry on top!

Enjoy this special day with your mom, Austin.  And remember: Life is too short to clean your own home. You are not alone; we’re here for all of your green house cleaning maid service needs.  Request a quote or call us today at 512.827.8657.

Towards keeping Austin clean, Drew

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Austin Maid Service, Green Tips: Environmentally Friendly Earth Day!

April 22, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Earth Day falls on April 22nd, 2011 41 years after the first Earth Day in 1970, and we want to make sure your’re prepared to celebrate it.  Check out how you can participate at these Austin Earth Day events running through the weekend.   Be sure to support these local businesses today who are donating 5% of revenues to the Austin Give Five campaign!   This year, pledge to make a difference by making small changes to your every day habits. A little bit goes a long way! Here are a few ideas to get you started.

1. Clear Out the Catalogs!

Each year, 19 billion shopping catalogs are mailed to American consumers. So grab that stack of catalogs piling up on your coffee table and clear out the clutter. Visit CatalogChoice.org to put a stop to unwanted catalogs. Within 10 weeks, your mailbox should have significantly fewer catalogs.

2. Paper or Plastic?

When you’re at the grocery store, paper and plastic are both bad choices. The best choice is reusable shopping bags made of cotton, nylon or durable, mesh-like plastic.  Put a few reusable shopping bags in the back of your car so you have them handy on your next shopping trip. You can also use them at the library to carry books!

3. Bottle Your Water in a New Container!

To reduce your carbon footprint, stop purchasing plastic water bottles from the grocery store. Instead, use reusable water bottles instead made from materials like stainless steel or aluminum that are not likely to degrade over time. If you can’t give up the habit, at least recycle the plastic bottles you do use.

4. Plant a Tree!

This year, Lowe’s is giving away 1 million free trees tomorrow, Saturday, April 23, 2011.  That’s right, 1,000,000 free trees! All you have to do is head to your neighborhood Lowe’s to get one. Pick a spot in your yard with your child and have them help you plant it.

Every little bit helps.  And remember: Life is too short to clean your home. You are not alone; we’re here for all of your green house cleaning maid service needs.  Request a quote or call us today at 512.827.8657.

Towards keeping Austin clean, Drew

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Photo courtesy of A Green Living, creative commons.

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Green House Cleaning, Holidays: Have an Eco-friendly Easter, Austin!

April 18, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Green Tips and Tricks Austin Texas

Go Green this Easter

Easter arrives on April 24 this year and if you are looking for ways to festive, green, and observe the holiday, it’s not too late to start your preparations. So much about Easter has become commercialized, mass-produced and not very eco-friendly.  Besides, getting the kids involved and making stuff is a lot of fun. Check out these tips that make for a more environmentally conscious ways to create decorations and baskets of goodies for the kids.

1. Easter Basket

This year, instead of buying a new basket, find a secondhand basket from a thrift store. If you do buy a new basket this year, be sure to store it so it can be reused next year or passed on to a younger sibling or neighbor. If you’re crafty,try making your own Easter basket by using materials you have at home that are headed for the trash.

2. Grow Your Own [Easter] Grass

This year, try a fun DIY project to get the kids excited about a new Easter tradition. Instead of buying messy, fake grass, make your own. (This article explains step by step how to grow your own grassy Easter basket at home.) It takes a few weeks though, so make sure you start now! If you need help growing Easter grass, fast, find a neighbor that loves the Grateful Dead or Snoop Dog.

3. Use Natural Dyes

If you’re planning on coloring regular eggs for Easter, choose natural dyes. Just boil your eggs in water with a bit of vinegar and one of these ingredients below, then let simmer for at least 15 minutes:

  • Purple grape juice (for lavender)
  • Red cabbage (for blue)
  • Spinach (for green)
  • Carrot tops, orange peels or lemon peels (for yellow)
  • Coffee or black walnut shells (for brown)
  • Yellow onion skins (for orange)
  • Beets or cranberries (for pink)
  • Red onion skins (for red)

Have a memorable, green Easter, Austin! And remember: Life is too short to clean your home. You are not alone; we’re here for all of your green house cleaning maid service needs.  Request a quote or call us today at 512.827.8657.

Towards keeping Austin clean, Drew

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House Cleaning Austin: Add Green to Your Spring Cleaning!

April 18, 2011 By Leave a Comment
green house cleaning this spring

Life is too short to clean your own home.

It’s Spring and green house cleaning is top of mind. After a long winter, it’s time to shoo away the cobwebs, roll up your sleeves, and gear up for your annual spring-cleaning. Our homes have been shut up for months and most are in need of some freshening up. Give your home a green, spring cleaning by utilizing these tips.

1. Hang Dry Your Laundry

Drying your clothes in a dryer isn’t just hard on your clothes, it’s also hard on the environment. Don’t stop with just natural laundry detergent. Stay green and install a clothesline in your backyard. That way your clothes will truly smell like a spring breeze.

2. Tackle Your Closet

Donate gently worn items to charity, where they’ll get a second life. And as you’re packing up your winter sweaters, replace your mothballs with a natural and better-smelling version. Stuff an unpaired sock with cinnamon sticks, bay leaves, and whole cloves and tie it at the end.

3. Avoid Toxic Chemicals

Every year the residential house cleaning and commercial cleaning industry produces billions of gallons of chemicals to clean our homes and businesses.  Most of these chemicals are toxic, and are hazardous to our health and the environment. In fact, Environmental Protection Agency studies cite these chemicals as detrimental to our health and as polluting indoor air.

4. Ditch Your Paper Towels

Additionally, Most professional and domestic cleaning is done with disposable paper products that end up in landfills, soaked in toxic cleaning solutions.  This paper adds up: almost 4 billion pounds of paper waste in all, and trees deforestion to make all that paper. You can buy specially-made, washable cleaning and dusting cloths. Even better, use what you already have and give an old piece of cloth (stained towels, ratty sheets and pillowcases, etc.) renewed life and repurpose them. Simply cut or tear your old items into smaller squares and you can use them over and over.

4. Skip the Air Freshener

Chemical fresheners can cause eye, skin, and respiratory irritation. Aerosol air fresheners are even worse. Buy fresh flowers in lieu of traditional air fresheners. An open box of baking soda, cedar blocks, and dried flowers also add natural fragrance to the room.

Life is too short to clean your own home. You are not alone; we’re here for all of your green house cleaning maid service needs.  Request a quote or call us today at 512.827.8657.

Towards keeping Austin clean, Drew

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Green House Cleaning, Green Tips: Trim Packaging Pounds

April 7, 2011 By 4 Comments
Green Tips Recycling Reducing Packaging

Water Bottles Piling Up

As Earth Day approaches, I am reminded of all the excess we generate through habit and convenience.   As I conduct in home estimates for customers throughout Austin, I am more and more optimistic at the small (and large) steps Austinites are taking to make an impact on the planet.  Statistically, however, it turns out that one third of all garbage tossed in the U.S. comes from the packaging of consumer goods we buy.  Here are a few tips for cutting down on waste:

  • Cut back on single-serving foods and beverages. Instead, buy items in bulk and portion them out into reusable containers.
  • Buy household items, like detergent and cleaning supplies, in concentrated forms so that you get more product per package.
  • Whenever possible, look for packaging made from recycled materials. The higher the percentage of recycled content, the better.
  • Check the plastic code number before you purchase to make sure the package is recyclable (mainly 1, 2, 4 and 5).

Every little bit helps.  And remember: Life is too short to clean your home. You are not alone; we’re here for all of your green house cleaning maid service needs.  Request a quote or call us today at 512.827.8657.

Towards keeping Austin clean, Drew

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Photo courtesy of Sustainable Triangle, creative commons

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    Green House Cleaning and Maintenance: Plant a Greener Garden With Less Water

    March 20, 2011 By Leave a Comment
    Bluebonnets

    How does your Garden Grow?

    While a blooming garden is beautiful and bountiful, it can often consume copious amounts of water. With Summer around the corner and drought conditions across Texas, managing your investment and ensuring your enjoyment is a challenge. Here are some easy ways to help conserve this precious resource, help your wallet,  and nourish your garden at the same time:

    • Consider typical rainfall when buying plants and try to select varieties that require less frequent watering. Central Texas is located within “Section 8″. Use this designation as  quick reference when perusing Almanacs, talking to gardeners and professionals and they’ll know you’re credible and serious about your project.
    • When you water your garden, minimize evaporation by watering at sunrise or sunset and reduce water loss by using a sprinkler that throws water closer to the ground in large drops.
    • Make use of old soda bottles by filling 2-3 liter bottles with water and pushing them upside down into the ground to water outdoor trees. The soil draws the water from the bottles when dry.
    • Mulching with peastraw or bark adds layers of plant material to keep the sun off your soil and therefore retain water. It’s one of the most effective ways to reduce the amount of water a garden needs – up to 50% – and has the added benefit of preventing weed growth, deterring pests and providing nutrients to the soil as the mulch decomposes.

    Life is too short to clean your own home. You are not alone in your commitment to stay green and clean (even on a budget!) We’re here for all of your green house cleaning maid service needs.  Request a quote or call us today at 512.827.8657.

    Towards keeping Austin clean AND green, Drew

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    Green House Cleaning, Consumables: Reuse and Recycle Your Plastic Bags

    March 3, 2011 By 3 Comments

    Convenient, economical and efficient: Most people use resealable bags on an everyday basis because they are so handy.  The problem is that they’re plastic and the other problem is that most people use their plastic bags once and then throw them away.

    Consider some of the facts.

    One ton of recycled plastic saves:

    • 5,774 kWh of electricity.
    • 685 gallons of oil.
    • 98 million Btu’s of energy.
    • 30 cubic yards of landfill space.

    Plastic takes up to 1,000 years to degrade in a landfill. Recycling plastic takes 88% less energy than making plastic from raw materials. Enough plastic is thrown away each year to circle the Earth four times. Americans throw away 35 billion plastic bottles every year. Only about 25% of the plastic produced in the U.S. is recycled. If we recycled the other 75% we could save 1 billion gallons of oil and 44 million cubic yards of landfill space annually. It’s estimated that plastic bags and other plastic garbage thrown into the ocean kill as many as 1,000,000 sea creatures every year.

    And while the ecological impact is significant, consider the money wasted when repurchasing an item that can just as easily be repurposed. Here are some ideas for avoiding tossing them after every use.

    Reuse Them

    To reuse your plastic bags, all you have to do is turn them inside out (making sure the corners are pulled out completely) and wash them along with your dishes. To dry them, fluff them up and place them on the top shelf of an empty dishwasher.

    To avoid cross-contamination, label your bags with categories. For examples, bread crumbs, dry pasta, rice, and crackers could be labeled as “dry goods.” You can use bags outside of the kitchen as well. They are great for keeping toy accessories, game pieces, crayons and other crafts in one place and easy to find.

    Recycle: Practical is not Political

    For the last year, Ziploc® has been on a mission creating the Ziploc® brigade and partnering with a number of for-profit businesses and social businesses to incetivize reusing and recycling their products. Now, thanks to a new partnership between Ziploc® and RecycleBank (read more about the partnership at http://tcaatx.us/recycleplastic), consumers can claim rewards for each Ziploc® bag they recycle. RecycleBank rewards individuals by assigning points for recycling and other actions. The points earned can then be redeemed for rewards like gift cards and discounted products (another cool application of social business filling the gaps to make the world a better place!)

    So, if you can’t reuse plastic storage bags, clean and dry them, then recycle them along with any other plastic bags you have cluttering up the kitchen in a supermarket recycling bin. If the future environment is not incentive enough, think of all the savings!

    Life is too short to clean your own home. You are not alone; we’re here for all of your green house cleaning maid service needs.  Request a quote or call us today at 512.827.8657.

    Towards keeping Austin clean, Drew

     

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    Green House Cleaning: Monitoring Indoor Air Pollution

    February 12, 2011 By Leave a Comment

    Mother Nature doesn’t need any help; Allergies are at an all time high.

    Common Indoor Pollutants

    And while the quality of the air outside is at least a small concern for most of us, what about the air quality inside our own homes? The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that indoor air can be 2-5 times more polluted than the air outdoors. The EPA is responsible for monitoring outdoor pollution, but here are some tips to help you crack down on the pollutants inside your house!

    Be Selective with Cleaning Products

    When I started in this business, Green Seal Certified cleaning products were more costly than conventional cleaning products. As more manufacturers have taken non-toxic, bonafide green cleaning products to market, the cost has significantly declined. Given the choice, Green Seal Certified cleaning products are a no brainer, especially when selecting a home cleaning service that uses these products like The Cleaning Authority, Austin. (shameless plug!)

    Certainly, toxic cleaning products get the job done, but many off-the-shelf cleansers contain powerful and often toxic solvents, antibiotic pesticides and other nasty chemicals that are invariably absorbed into the systems of the people that live, work and play in the supposedly clean living space. Yuck! Consider: Chlorine is poisonous, so never mix a chlorine-based cleanser with an acid-based cleanser, like vinegar or ammonia; to be safe, don’t even clean the same surface with one and then the other. The result of mixing these two cleansers is potent and often deadly chlorine gas.

    Be Picky with Paint

    Lead paint is a well known danger that is banned in the U.S. However, older homes may still have lead paint on the walls, so maintaining old paint is critically important. Wall paint isn’t the only danger. Hobby and crafting paints and glues can be just as bad, or even worse. Avoid using solvents, glues or paints indoors.

    Vent While You Cook

    Just the simple act of cooking on the stove can introduce unsafe levels of nitrogen dioxide into the air, increasing the risk of asthma attacks and other respiratory trauma. Also a concern is simple steam, which can do the same work as moisture in the bathroom at promoting unwanted mold growth. Properly ventilate your stove so that the exhaust vents to the outdoors.

    Take Care of your Carpet

    Carpets can harbor dirt, dust mites, pet dander, and fungus that can irritate the lungs or cause asthma attacks.  It’s a little known fact that as house pets age, the protein that composes the pet’s dander (the actual allergen) becomes more dense. Thousands of pet owners wake up one day with allergies, where there were none before. Perplexed, their physician diagnoses a dander allergy much to the their surprise. And whereas steps can be taken to curtail or eliminate the allergen directly produced thus ensuring that “whiskers” can still be a part of the family, the remnant allergens are extraordinarily difficult to remove unless the pet owner/guardian takes diligent steps to regularly cleaning their home properly. For my home and the homes of our customers, we exclusively use HEPA vacuums, the first and last line of defense against harmful particulates.

    Some carpets even contain suspect chemicals such as formaldehyde during the manufacturing process that can lead to the same problems. Choose nontoxic carpets for your home when possible, and deep clean your existing rugs on a regular basis.

    Life is too short to clean your home. You are not alone; we’re here for all of your green house cleaning needs, Austin. Request a quote or give us a call at 512.827-8657.

    Towards keeping Austin clean, Drew

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    Green Car Maintenance: Four facts about warming up your car this winter!

    January 19, 2011 By Leave a Comment

     

    Green Car Maintenance. Not a Contradiction.

    Tips about warming up the car may not seem relevant in Austin with a 65 degree January day like today, but it’s nice to have the facts for when we do get our next cold spell…

     

    Should you warm up your car in the winter? Many people believe that “warming up” the car for a few minutes is necessary to avoid some kind of damage, but the consequences may surprise you. In most situations, idling is unnecessary. In fact, many communities have enacted ordinances against it. Check out these facts and decide for yourself!

    Drive, Don’t Idle
    Contrary to popular belief, driving the car will warm up your engine faster than letting it idle. The only reason to let the car idle at all is to get the oil circulating, but after 30 seconds of driving that’s a done deal.

    Idling = Money
    Over a year of five minutes of daily idling, the average car will waste 20 gallons of gasoline, which not only produces 440 pounds of carbon dioxide but costs at least $60. Think of all the money you’ll save by reducing your idling!

    10 Seconds Is All You Need
    The Environmental Defense Fund advises motorists to turn off their ignition if they’re sitting stopped for more than 10 seconds. After about ten seconds, you’ll waste more money running the engine than you would restarting it.

    Idling Can Hurt Your Car
    Idling forces your car’s engine to operate in a very inefficient and gasoline-rich mode that, over time, can degrade the engine’s performance and reduce mileage. Unless your car is coated with ice, there’s no need to let it idle.

    Life is too short to clean your own home. You are not alone; we’re here for all of your green house cleaning maid service needs.  Request a quote or call us today at 512.827.8657.

    Towards keeping Austin clean, Drew

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    A New Year’s Resolution for every day of the week!

    January 5, 2011 By Leave a Comment

     

    new year resolution

    It's Never too Late to Start Anew

    It can be hard to completely change your lifestyle in order to incorporate eco-friendly habits. Small steps are the only way to manage significant and sustainable change while not overwhelming yourself or your family. Here are some ideas on how to focus on one environmentally friendly goal a day for the new year.

     

    Meatless Mondays
    Giving up meat is a big change to your diet, so use Mondays only to explore vegetarian dishes to better your health.

    Trash-free Tuesdays
    Focus on reducing as much waste as possible by doing things like using glass cups and plates. Nix the water bottles and reduce your paper usage as well.

    Walking Wednesdays
    Whenever possible, encourage yourself to walk more. Use the staircase instead of the elevator and walk to the local deli for lunch instead of driving.

    Think Outside the Box Thursdays
    Use Thursdays to think of a way to reuse something that’s already in your home. It’ll take some creativity, but you’ll be surprised at what you can come up with!

    Fruitful Fridays
    Support our local Farmers’ Markets by stocking up on farm fresh fruits and veggies for the weekend.

    Good Samaritan Saturdays
    Collect excess clothes and items around your home to donate to local thrift stores or Goodwill.

    Scenic Sundays
    Use Sundays to get outside as a family. Go on a hike, play a game of soccer, go on a picnic, etc. You’ll all enjoy the fresh air and the opportunity to improve your health naturally. Plus, you’ll create some awesome family memories in the process.

    Have a safe and happy New Year, Austin! And remember: Life is too short to clean your own home. You are not alone; we’re here for all of your green house cleaning maid service needs.  Request a quote or call us today at 512.827.8657.

    Towards keeping Austin clean, Drew

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