Category: News

A recent survey has confirmed what we always suspected: outer cleanliness affects inner calmness. A whopping 74% of Americans said that clutter in their homes increases their mental clutter. Around 24% even agree that having a clean home improves their mental health.

The survey also uncovered that we are not taking enough advantage of this simple trick to achieve more calmness, focus, and mindfulness. Although the average person cleans their home once a week, they declutter or spring clean only three times a year. If just decluttering one’s home helps improve inner peace, it should be done more often.

On this front, residents of Idaho and Maine are doing better than others. They spend the most time per session cleaning their homes - around 59 minutes. People of New York, on the other hand, usually have the quickest cleaning sessions - only 45 minutes on average.

As per the frequency of cleaning, Oklahomans clean their home the most often, averaging 4.3 times monthly, compared to Hawaiians, who clean 3.4 times a month.

No matter the cleaning habits, almost all Americans value a clean home; 9% of us would even trade a family member in exchange for having their homes regularly cleaned by a professional!

We know that cleaning tasks can be hard, especially when you're trying to balance family, work, personal health goals, maintaining a social life, and more. 44% believe they’d have more time for the things they love doing if they didn’t spend as much time cleaning.

On top of that, household chores, like cleaning, are not particularly enjoyable. Especially cleaning the bathroom -- with 36% of Americans saying it’s their least favorite room to clean. Despite difficulties, it’s also important to find joy in the task, just like around 52% of the survey respondents who turn on the tunes while cleaning.

It’s also important to get all the help you can to keep your house clean and clutter-free. As Raychel Leong-Sullins, president of Maid Brigade, said in a recent interview, “it can be difficult to find time to keep the house orderly unless we have some help. It can be very stressful trying to ‘do it all,’ and that stress can take a toll on how we interact with others.”

Then, there are additional challenges in ensuring the use of safe and eco-friendly cleaning equipment and practices. Sixty-three percent of respondents say it’s important to use natural cleaning supplies. However, maintaining good cleaning habits is not always possible, as 68% also say they’re likely to use the same cleaning materials, like mops and cloths, across different rooms, which poses the risk of contamination. That’s why at Maid Brigade, we always use color-coded cloths to avoid cross-contamination among various surfaces. The safety and health of your home and family is extremely important to us.

In light of these enlightening survey findings about our cleaning habits, we can see that Americans are doing everything in their power to live a clean and healthy life, but the challenges are also very demanding. So, it’s important to remember that we are together in this fight against dust, grime, and clutter, and Maid Brigade is always by your side!

Contact your local Maid Brigade and look forward to your clean house in no time!

Survey methodology: This random double-opt-in survey of 100 Americans from each of the 50 states was commissioned by Maid Brigade between Feb. 12 and Feb. 21, 2024. It was conducted by market research company OnePoll, whose team members are members of the Market Research Society and have corporate membership to the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) and the European Society for Opinion and Marketing Research (ESOMAR).

We've collaborated in the past with Leslie Reichert, the Green Cleaning Coach, to create content and videos for fans of DIY house cleaning to leave your home not only cleaner but safer. Now, Maid Brigade is proud to officially welcome Leslie Reichert to our blogging community. Leslie is a cleaning expert who uses her sparkling personality, great sense of humor and contagious passion to engage her fans and followers. Leslie realized her life mission after reading a quote that said that older women are called to “teach and encourage the younger women on how to love their husbands, love their children and to be pure keepers of the home… “

Leslie says, “The joke was on me that I was no longer the younger woman, but the older one, who was being called to share my life experiences with others.”  She now divides her time between coaching individuals and speaking around the country. Her goal is to let people know that there are alternatives to toxic cleaners, most of which are already in your pantry. Her goal is to re-program people to go to the pantry first, instead of under the kitchen sink, when looking for a cleaner. And that is why we’ve asked her to come on board – to share her green cleaning tips so you can keep your home cleaner and safer until Maid Brigade comes to clean!

Leslie is known as a Green Cleaning Coach…

Leslie is an author, spokesperson and is a teacher of green home-keeping. She has been on the Dr. Oz Show, as well as a contributor for Real Simple, the Today Show and Woman’s Day Magazine. She is a frequent home-keeping expert on Martha Stewart Living Radio and author of the book: The Joy of Green Cleaning – a handbook for DIY cleaners, including a collection of 101 homemade recipes that have been tested and proven to work as well as “store-bought” cleaners. The cornerstone recipe in her book is ‘Great Grandma’s Laundry Soap’ which is derived from her great-grandmothers laundry soap recipe. After testing the laundry soap, Leslie knew this and other old-fashioned recipes needed to be compiled into a convenient resource. Her mantra has now become: “We can change the world – one spray bottle at a time.”

Speaking of change - read her first blog for Maid Brigade - if a cleaning technique could change your life, this would be it: Bucket-less Mopping.

Maid Brigade's NW Houston Franchisees Honored as a Small Business Giving Back

Jim and Susie Fordice, and their daughter Laura Stark, are role models of perseverance, ingenuity and giving back.

The Fordices, Maid Brigade's Northwest Houston franchisees, were among six Texas based small businesses honored at the 29th annual Lone Star College Small Business of the Year awards banquet November 19, 2015. A total of six small businesses were selected for the award — one representing each of Lone Star College’s six campuses - based on their contributions to their community.

Director of the LSCS Small Business Development Center Sal Mira explained, “Lone Star College serves 1,400 square miles, and within so large of a footprint are literally tens of thousands of small businesses, each looking to grow and prosper. Our finalists have not only grown, but have been recognized for excellence in the community. [They] have taken [their] dreams, put [their] own capital at risk, stayed awake many nights, helped to create jobs and even found time to give back to the community."

Since Jim, Susie and Laura opened their residential and small commercial cleaning franchise in 1999 they have partnered with Habitat for Humanity to offer cleaning services for new homes; with Cleaning for a Reason to offer free monthly cleanings to cancer patients; and with Helping a Hero and Welcome Home Heroes, lending their services to military personnel. They are also involved with animal rescue groups and foster pets awaiting adoption.

“I am so honored for the nomination and to be a part of the finalist group that we’re in,” Jim said. “I have to give total credit to two people—my wife, who has stood behind me for the 16 years we’ve been doing this, and my daughter, Laura, who has brought us to the point where we are serving the community in addition to growing our business.”

Community members were able to nominate businesses to the LSCS Small Business Development Center, which narrowed down the field to three finalists for each campus. Roughly 350 people attended the awards ceremony to show support for the businesses nominated.

New infographic explains how using independent contractors puts consumers at risk.

Just one day after the US Department of Labor published updates to federal classifications clarifying its definitions of employees versus independent contractors, one key player in the new “gig economy” bows out. HomeJoy, a click-to-consume app-driven company that pairs house cleaning providers with consumers in need, conceded its bid to revolutionize the home services industry in a press release issued July 17^th, saying the outfit will shutter operations effective July 31. The quick exit is seen by cleaning industry insiders as a harbinger of more backlash against companies that outsource home services to contract laborers. These companies sub-contract their work, usually to individuals, in an effort to control expenses and maximize shareholder earnings. The problem is, this model thrives at the expense of the worker and the consumer. A new infographic sponsored by national housecleaning service Maid Brigade illustrates the 5 biggest pitfalls a consumer faces when hiring a house cleaning company that sends independent contractors to do the work.

When Injury Occurs

HomeJoy and other companies using contract labor are able to avoid many large expenses required of companies with true employees on the payroll, most notably worker’s comp insurance. It is assumed that the contractor maintains his or her own policies however in reality many contract workers forego such a major expense, instead gambling against the odds of injury on the job. “In the unfortunate event that injury does occur, contract cleaning workers may seek (and get) medical reimbursement from the owners of the home they were cleaning when the injury took place,” warns Bart Puett, president of Maid Brigade.

Tax Liability

Homeowners may also be liable for Social Security, Medicare and unemployment taxes and penalties for the contract workers who do not make accurate and timely payments to the IRS each quarter themselves. Since the contract worker is not employed by the housecleaning company that dispatched them, the IRS may deem that the homeowner is the employer of that cleaner and therefore responsible for these taxes. The risk of finding a surprise tax bill in the mailbox is slim for most consumers who have cleaning help but the fees and penalties can be costly, not to mention the professional and social stigma that accompanies real or perceived tax evasion.

Don’t Get Taken to the Cleaners

Ernie Hartong, CEO of the Association for Residential Cleaning Services International (ARCSI), advises homeowners seeking help with house cleaning to do their homework. “Homeowners should do their due diligence before hiring a house cleaner or professional cleaning service. To avoid the pitfalls that can occur when someone is working in your home, ask to see a copy of the company’s business license and insurance policy before hiring,” cautions Hartong. “A professional company should gladly provide these to any consumer who asks.”

Maid Brigade is the only house cleaning service that is Green Clean Certified® with more than 400 franchise service areas in the United States and Canada. A leader in house cleaning since 1985, Maid Brigade is the green cleaning industry leader and has a longstanding legacy of providing quality customer service and consistent and thorough cleaning using the most advanced techniques and equipment. The company has also implemented a consumer advocacy program in response to reports from the Environmental Protection Agency linking chemicals in traditional cleaning products to a wide range of health risks. All Maid Brigade cleaning professionals are employees of the company not independent contractors. Maid Brigade is  member of ARCSI.

Hey Maid Brigade readers! Check out this awesome giveaway we have for you. Tell us your favorite way to stay active outdoors, and we will give you $300 to REI! Just fill out the form below, and BOOM! You're entered. Good luck!

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Howdy-ho, Maid Brigade readers! We're excited to announce our first annual Spring Fling giveaway! All you have to do to enter is fill out the information in the widget below. You get multiple entries for different actions, so make sure you take advantage of them all! Contest ends 4/11/14, and winner will be announced 4/14/14. Please see below for other terms and conditions.

This year, how about letting someone else handle the spring cleaning for you?

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Many of you follow the radio show I have with Leslie Reichert, the Clean Green Talk Show. Well, we have good news: Leslie Reichert and Marie Stegner are pairing up again!

MomCorps, the professional staffing and career development firm, has invited Leslie and me to be panelists for their MomCorps University webinar titled “Green Cleaning in No Time:  The Professional  Woman’s Guide to Managing a Clean Home.”  We will be educating our guests on managing and keeping a healthy, clean, and green home.  I am so excited to be working with MomCorps again!  After all, it is through MomCorps that I found my position as Maid Brigade's Consumer Health Advocate.

MomCorps newest initiative MomCorpYOU offers professionals a one-stop online resource for enhancing their careers, finance, health and wellness.  According to MomCorps, learning how to manage these factors is key to achieving work-life satisfaction.  Through their educational platform, subscribers to MomCorpsYOU have access to online coaching, live career chats, articles, toolkits, and discussion forums from some of the nation’s top thought leaders in these arenas.

MomCorpsYOU content like our webinar is normally accessible only by subscription, but as a MomCorpsYOU sponsor, Maid Brigade can offer our social media followers free access to this session!

During our webinar, Leslie and I will be covering all sorts of green cleaning topics, such as:

• The importance of green cleaning and why it is so important for your family’s health and the environment
• Indoor air pollution
• How to avoid hidden toxins in professional cleaning products that are harmful to the air we breathe
• A systematic approach to cleaning, which breaks down certain cleaning tasks that should be covered daily, weekly, and monthly.

After all, we all know how to clean and organize, but most of us don’t want to spend all of our time doing it.  Learning to follow a systematic approach to cleaning will help free up some much needed “me” time so you can do the things you enjoy doing instead of cleaning.  Your home will also remain clean, healthy, and guest-worthy all week long!

Another interesting topic we will be covering is how to get powerful results from cleaning solutions that are safe enough to eat.  For example, did you know you can shine your wood furniture with mayonnaise and olive oil, or clean the bottom of your copper pans with ketchup?  How about shining your leather shoes with a banana peel?  Interesting, isn’t it?

Leslie and I have also compiled check lists, a shopping list, and recipes for non-toxic homemade green cleaning solutions that will help you get your cleaning tasks done and done WELL.  We will help you turn your stressful cleaning chores into enjoyable tasks with huge results.  You will have access to five videos that cover quick and easy cleaning tips that you can do at home, like how to clean pet hair off of upholstered furniture and area rugs using a splash of vodka and a rubber glove.  At the end of the webinar we will be answering all your tough green cleaning questions so you can clean your home with ease.

Our fun and entertaining webinar will be held on Thursday, March 27, 2014, from 1:00pm to 2:00 pm.  All you have to do is click here!

Leslie and I are looking forward to this wonderful opportunity MomCorps has given us because there is nothing we like more than to educate families on the importance of healthy green cleaning. We hope you can tune in!

But wait, there's more!

Would you like to win a personalized day planner from May Designs and $75 to Whole Foods in addition to your free entry to the webinar? Then head over to our Facebook Page and enter our Green Cleaning in No Time promotion, where you just have to tell us your favorite time management tip. Enter now through March 19 to be entered.

Good luck, and we'll see you on the 27th!

Last week, while scanning through the local newspaper, I came across an article that concerned me.  The article was about poison chemicals, and how the number of industrial chemicals that are known to cause childhood brain impairments has more than doubled since 2006.

In 2006, Harvard School of Public Health and Mount Sinai Hospital scientists found six groups of toxins which had a direct impact on human brain development.  Now, they identified six more, including pesticides, inorganic compounds, dangerous solvents, and metals that have the same impact on the brain.  What is scary about this is that these chemicals are widely used, but have never been tested for human safety.  Many Americans are exposed to these chemicals on a regular basis.  Some of these brain-damaging compounds float through the air in our homes in the house dust.

Back in 2006, the list of brain-damaging chemicals included arsenic based compounds, lead, mercury, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB’S).  Now the list includes pesticides DDT, DDE and chlorpyrifos, industrial flourides, brominated diphenyl ethers (flame retardants), and tetrachloroethylene (PERC), which is used in dry cleaning.

Brominated diphenyl ethers are flame retardants which show up in house dust and humans because it is widely used in carpets, draperies, furniture upholstery and computer cases.

The pesticide DDT was banned in the United States but is still used throughout Latin American agriculture.  Much of the produce imported from Mexico and elsewhere increases our exposure to DDT.

PERC had been found in groundwater.  It is a central nervous system toxin and is also suspected of affecting the liver, kidneys, immune system and reproductive organs.

There are no laws safeguarding children whose developing brains are vulnerable to toxic chemicals in the environment.  There should be laws requiring manufacturers to prove that existing and new chemicals used for public use should be tested for safety and proved to be non-toxic.  Fetal and early childhood exposures to toxic chemicals have grown into a silent pandemic of neurodevelopmental disorders, like autism, dyslexia, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and losses in IQ points.

Raising my children healthy and keeping them safe has always been my number one priority.  As a nurse, I see the health effects chemicals can have on us.  In fact, I have experienced some of these effects first hand.   At fourteen years old, my first job was at a boatyard cleaning new and used boats.  We used every chemical possible to make those old boats look brand new.  For five years I breathed in and handled chemical after toxic chemical, not even knowing what it was doing to my body inside.

Twenty years later, I am feeling the effects everyday through the asthma and respiratory issues that were the result of handling hazardous chemicals six hours a day, five days a week for five years.  The burn scars on my chin from cleaning with certain toxins is a constant reminder to me of how strong, powerful and harmful these chemicals really are.

This article just proves why there needs to be regulations against the use of certain toxic chemicals and laws for manufacturers stating how ingredients should be listed on everything we, as consumers, buy and use in our homes everyday.  It also shows how important the green movement really is.  Living green is a healthy lifestyle choice.  Cleaning with non-toxic green products (like Maid Brigade does) or cleaning with homemade non-toxic solutions cuts down on the chemicals in your home and keeps your home healthy and clean.  The indoor air is then safer because there are lesser VOC's consuming it.  Vacuuming with a HEPA filter vacuum also cuts down on dust and pollen floating around, and putting a HEPA filter in your home can help with this as well.  Educating yourself and your family about harmful chemicals and keeping them out of the home is critical today, especially when there are no laws telling manufacturers to list ingredients on labels.

What do you do to keep your kids away from toxic chemicals?