Teaching children to pitch in with household chores is a significant life lesson as it demonstrates the importance of teamwork and responsibility, and it allows them to develop a sense of pride around completed tasks.

However, we all know that chores aren't the most exciting or fun thing to do. What you have to do is make cleaning a game - and why not start this long weekend? The kids will be having fun, and you'll benefit from a cleaner house!  

The cleaning experts at MOLLY MAID offer these creative ways to make cleaning fun for your children:

• Put on some fun music and invent silly games. For example, have your children clean up their toys only using their feet; or have your children clean up one section of the toy room before the song ends - and then dance with them for the rest of the song!
• Skate for dust bunnies.  Finally, here's a great use for those socks that have lost their mate!  Put on some old socks and 'skate' around the floors, picking up dust bunnies along the way. You can also have your child put a matchless sock on their hand and dust along flat surfaces and baseboards - the baseboard is the racetrack and the sock is their car. 
• Paint the dust away.  Have your children use a clean, soft paintbrush to remove dust from window frames, doors tracks, knick-knacks, computer keyboards, etc.  The thickness of the paintbrush will be determined by the size of the job, but soft bristle brushes are always recommended to ensure the surface they're cleaning isn't scratched or damaged.

Visit us again next week for even more fun ways to get your children helping around the home!

Mother's Day is May 12^th, and the experts at MOLLY MAID suggest you surprise Mom by giving her a bouquet of flowers and by doing a bit of cleaning (of her most dreaded chores, the toilet). The best part is there's a quick and easy 'double duty' cleaning trick that you can use for both! All you need is a package of effervescent antacid tablets, such as Alka-Seltzer.

Shimmering Flower Vase

Once you have given your Mom flowers and a big hug, it's important to make sure you have a clean vase to put the flowers into. The Alka-Seltzer tablet will lift leftover bouquet residue from the bottom of a vase. Here's how:

1. Fill the vase with warm water
2. Add 1-2 tablets and let sit for a few minutes
3. Swish the water and rinse
4. Fill with fresh water and the bouquet of flowers, then put them somewhere you know Mom will enjoy them - maybe the kitchen table or the coffee table in the living room.

Sparkling Toilet

Cleaning the toilet is easy with Alka-Seltzer too:  

1. Pop 1-2 tablets into the toilet bowl and let the fizz attack stubborn stains for 10-15 minutes
2. Give a swish around with the toilet brush
3. Then flush - it's as simple as that!

When the rooms in your home begin to smell a bit dusty, try these natural, air freshener ideas. They're a refreshing change to chemical air fresheners that you buy.

1. Open the windows.
2. Set out bowls of vinegar, which absorb odours.
3. Make your own citrus air freshener for the bathroom:

Ingredients:

2 cups hot water
1/8 cup baking soda
½ cup lemon juice

Directions:

• Dissolve the baking soda in hot water, then add the lemon juice and allow to cool.
• Pour liquid into spray bottle, shake, and use as needed.

1. For bedrooms, try a vanilla air freshener:

Ingredients:

1 cup water
1 cup household vinegar
1 Tbsp vanilla extract

Directions:

• Bring all ingredients to a boil then simmer over medium heat for two minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
• Pour liquid into spray bottle, shake and use as needed.

Note: Increase/decrease the amount of vanilla to your preference.

1. Fill a pot with water and add favourite fragrant ingredients such as cinnamon, herbs and citrus peels, and simmer all day.
2. For the fridge or bathroom, try an orange freshener:

Ingredients:

1 Orange
Salt

Directions:

• Cut an orange in half and remove the pulp;
• Fill the empty shell with some salt;
• Put the freshener in the back of your fridge or behind your toilet.
• Keep the orange shell in a small bowl so it won't tip over and spill the salt.

The salt absorbs stale and unpleasant odors while the shell releases a fresh, orange scent.  

(Recipes/ideas from http://tipnut.com/easy-air-fresheners)

If you're changing furniture around in a carpeted room, you may notice that 'dents' have been left by heavy pieces in the carpet. Here's a simple trick from the cleaning experts at MOLLY MAID to remove these problem spots!

1. Place one ice cube in carpet dent. If there is a longer or larger dent, multiple ice cubes may be required.
2. As the ice cube melts, the carpet should begin to fluff back up and reduce in size.
3. Check the results after the ice cube melts and remove any excess water with a cloth. If there is still a dent, use a fork to gently lift the carpet fibres and give it a fluffy appearance.

Do NOT use this method if your carpets are hand dyed, antique or delicate, such as silk carpets.

NOTE: It's always a good idea to test this method on a small area before you begin. Place an ice cube on top of your carpet in the corner of the room. Once it has melted, check that that the water hasn't damaged the under flooring by lifting the corner of the carpet.

When the snow melts, it's often shocking when you see how much garbage has accumulated.

But the mess also inspires many communities to organize annual spring cleaning events for their parks and recreation areas. Having the community work together not only creates a sense of pride and camaraderie among neighbours, but the earth itself also benefits from a clean and green environment!

Watch for news of a community clean-up in your neighbourhood - and be sure to volunteer. These events are often organized around Earth Day, which falls on April 22^nd this year.  

MOLLY MAID shares the following safety tips for participating in your local clean up event:

• To avoid stumbling upon any hazardous materials, visually scan the area you're cleaning before starting.
• Make sure you wear gloves at all times and when handling garbage of any kind. This will help limit the bacteria and potential sharp objects that may otherwise have come in contact with your bare skin.
• Wear bright coloured clothing if you're cleaning up near roads or in high traffic areas - so vehicles will be able to easily see you.
• Carry a water bottle and take frequent breaks to hydrate yourself - double breaks, if it's warm outside
• Wear sunscreen, sunglasses, and a hat to protect yourself from the sun (you can still get a sunburn if it's cloudy because UV rays burn through the clouds).
• Bring sanitizer to apply throughout the day and thoroughly wash your hands when you get home.

If you want your house to have a green clean, call MOLLY MAID. Every MOLLY MAID clean is done using cleaning products from our Green Housekeeping Program. Our green cleaning service is designed for the health and safety of our customers, their family and pets, our staff, and to protect the environment.