An Equal share of the Mess?

Continuing our theme of household mess (see out last twoblogs) Malones Cleaning now have the results of a survey undertaken on their behalf by Pivotal Research Ltd. Household chores is still a the main bone of contention between couples, with 67% of men claiming they do an equal share of the cleaning, while 75 % of women argue that they do ALL of the above! The statistics just speak for themselves.

"Many men are under the illusion that if they empty the dishwasher, they are doing an equal share of housework!" Dr. Tony Humphreys, Clinical Psychologist.

How do we expect our children to have a balanced sense of looking after themselves on leaving the nest when 63% of women believe that it is their duty to tidy up in their wake. On top of this 52.7% still believe that it is Mum's job in the first place. You might have expected feeedback like that thirty years ago.

"In this situation a parent should ask themselves, why they do not allow their child to do things for themselves... Behaviours within families are learned and passed on, so the next generation mimics the last." Dr. Tony Humphreys.

Imelda Graham of Barnardos adds "It also fosters independence, encourages development of self esteem through feelings of achievement and it is healthy for the family for children to play their part in making family life easier and sharing what can be seen as a burden."

So listen to the people who know what they are talking about, if you have ever been frustrated and feel you are doing more than your fair share do not keep quiet about it. Encourage everybody to pitch in as it may well add to a balanced and healthier domestic atmosphere now and in the future.

Domestic Bliss

Enter Our Caption Competition! Win Malones natural cleaning goodies.

Look how much fun you can have using Malones Cleaning Products! We like the below photo so much that we've decided to run a caption competition with it! Enter the competition by leaving a comment below as a caption for this photo. Best caption will win Malones Cleaning Supplies. We may even pick a few winners! We look forward to reading your replies!

Malones Cleaning Spray

What will your caption be?

Rain, rain go away....

Have you ever seen weather like it?! In June! The garden is a swamp, my pot plants are drowned and the poor old birds and cats outside look miserable! The children can’t kick a ball as the grass is so soggy and the muck and wet they trail inside when they do venture out makes me doubly glad of my easy clean wood and tiles on the floor.  I know the gardens appreciate a good drenching now and then but I don’t.  Do you have holidays planned to escape the Irish monsoon or are you stuck here like me for the great Irish Summer?

Sellling your home and keeping it clean can be a trial

I had coffee this morning with a friend whose house is on the market – a tough proposition in this current market, as you can imagine; but I was amazed to find that she was in great form and very upbeat about the situation. Despite having to vacate her house twice a week to allow strangers to trek through the place, the big fringe benefit she sees is that she always has a clean house!! The agent told them to declutter at the start of the sales process and before each viewing on a Wednesday evening and a Saturday morning, the whole family pitches in to scrub and polish for the viewers.

 The place doesn’t really get dirty anymore with this ongoing routine and despite not being the most house proud family (three teenage sons and accompanying football kit, boots etc.) they are finding they like living in a ‘showhouse’ . She says “ I don’t have much confidence in the house selling with the market as it is but it might teach my dirty divils better habits that carry over – for a while at least!). Actually sometimes when we have the place all tidy and smelling freshly of lavender, myself and my husband look at each other and aks oursevles why we are selling?

It got me thinking about the tips people use when selling their home.  The baked bread in the oven, the coffee aroma and the fresh cut flowers in every room. 

I'll share a few of my cleaning up before a viewing tips in the next blog but if you have any to add please drop us a note.

"Treat not trigger". Malones, Proud corporate sponsors of the Asthma Society of Ireland

Malones was developed to bring a valued brand to consumers. Not just a range of products that would work but ones that could be used knowing it wouldn't cause harm to a family member, pet, home or environment.

It was important to underpin this message by becoming corporate sponsors of The Asthma Society of Ireland - an excellent organisation and one we are proud to be associated with. 

Malones natural cleaning range may be more suitable for people with asthma and the many people who are sensitive to harsh cleaning products.

We love the garden they have created for Bloom2011  which  is, (and I quote) "To highlight how better air quality and managing environmental triggers contribute to asthma control and a better quality of life in general for people with asthma and allergies, the Asthma Society of Ireland has created “Treat not Trigger- the Asthma & Allergy Friendly Garden” at the Bloom in the Park gardening festival over the June bank holiday weekend"  Makes perfect sense but read more here (clickedy click)

I wish the society the very best of luck and comfy shoes for the 5 days over the weekend.

We have been delighted to give a hamper to one lucky Bloom visitor each day - so remember to visit the Asthma Society garden and stand to win it!

A short guide to a safer, cleaner home

How safe are the cleaning products you use in your home?

We use cleaning products everywhere in our home and offices. Washing and cleaning our dishes, countertops, furniture, clothes, floors, windows, and now even spraying that “clean air smell” through the air. Makes you wonder what ever happened to opening a window!

In our war on dirt and germs we may often actually be making things worse. We are simply unaware of the significant health damage it could be causing our family and even to our pets!  Many cleaning products in fact are very harmful to the health of people, animals and the environment. Most of these products are made up of petrochemical components and have many disadvantages.

Here are some environmentally friendly cleaning tips for making your household a little greener.

• Toxic Chemical Cleaning Products

First things first: get rid of all those chemical-heavy cleaning products lurking under your kitchen sink. How many of those bottles read “Danger” or “Caution” complete with a frightening warning? Throw them out!

• Avoid poor indoor air quality

We hear the air inside a home or office can be more toxic than the air outside! This is because of the presence of toxic materials and substances. .Keeping windows open as often as possible allows fresh air in and keep toxins flowing out. This is especially important when cleaning your home.

• Minimise your use of  detergents and cleaning products
• If this isn’t too gratuitous we would advice everyone to use environmentally-friendly cleaning products

Here is a list of top plants for removing toxins from the air in your home

Sources of airborne Pollution

Plant solutions

Formaldehyde

Foam Insulation Plywood or Particle Board Carpeting Furniture Paper Products Cleaners

Corn Plant

(Dracaena fragans massangeana)

Spider Plant

(Chlorophytum comosum)

Philodendron species Bamboo palm

(Chamaedora siefrizii)

Golden Pothos

(Scindapsus aures)

Potted Mum

(Chrysanthemum)

Benzene

Tobacco Smoke Petroleum Products Synthetic Fibers Plastics Inks & Dyes Rubber Products Detergents

Dragon Tree

(Dracaena marginata)

Janet Craig

(Dracaena deremensis)

Potted Mum

(Chrysanthemum)

Gerbera Daisy Ribbon Plant

(Dracaena warneckei)

English Ivy

(Hedera helix species)

Peace Lily

(Spathiphyllum species)

Trichloroethylene

Dry Cleaning Inks & Dyes Adhesives Varnishes Lacquers & Paints

Dragon Tree

(Dracaena marginata)

Potted Mum

(Chrysanthemum)

Peace Lily

(Spathifyllum species)

Gerbera Daisy Ribbon Plant

(Dracaena warneckei)

We really wanted to offer our customers a safe, effective, natural alternative we hope we’ve achieved this with our new range.

If you would like to see our range on your local shop shelves please go to our Stock Malones page and fill out the form – we will do everything in our power to help.

Malones enters RTE in style.

We really want people to trial and enjoy our products, so we dropped goodie bags into RTE today.

It is great how accessible our "personalities" are and amazing who you can bumped into while making a quick drop into either the television or radio centre. 

Liz (LizMcGPR) was just coming out of RTE Television centre when she bumped into John Murray of The John Murray Show fame.

There was a few things noted.

• John is as lovely in person as he is on Twitter ( @johnmurrayshow )
• He is very tall (and rather gorgeous)
• John and colleague Colm are very nice and helpful

We hope everyone in there likes our stuff as much as our customers!

T'is the season to declutter.... Tra la la la

Queen of Clean decluttering tips

I know even as I begin that this is going to end up being a series of articles on this one subject.  There is such a lot of information to decluttering your home it’s hard to believe!

However, one thing we all agree on - once done the feeling of satisfaction is worth the effort.  All the signs show a tidy, decluttered home leads to feelings of well being, a sense of empowerment and of pride.

We've put together a few of our first tips and thoughts - let us know yours and we will add them to our next declutter feature - because there will be one!

#1. As per one of our daily tips.  If you don't use it, wear it, love it - dump it! Be strong, be ruthless. It's the only way to succeed at decluttering.

#2. Much as we might dislike taking a look at reality.  Step back; pretend you’re visiting your home as a visitor.  Ah yes that lava lamp that looked so well with the dusky lighting from your student days not looking so well in the kids playroom now is it? Tastes and fashions change. No room for sentiment in decluttering, it’s for the bin!

#3. Every time you leave a room, take something with you that doesn't belong there and put it away or bin it (are you getting the theme?)

#4. They say you should start with the small declutter jobs. I'm a firm believer of booking a weekend when it’s all about the decluttering.  But go with what works for you.  If it is the former pick the small areas to work on and it tends to help build momentum.

#5. If you didn't listen to me above its time to listen to me now.  Roll up the sleeves and BLITZ the place.

#6. As my mother used to say, "Aim to have a place for everything and everything in its place". I used to really dislike that phrase and now I parrot it to my own kids - it works, you should see where we keep our shoes! 

#7. Sort in piles.  I tend to work on this basis.  For friends, for charity, to sell.

#8. And relax! Is that a glass of wine I see before me.....