All Star Cleaning Services A Natural Eco-Friendly Company

1. Limit junk mail from entering into your home in the first place. Simply register your preferences with the DMA (the direct mail association) and your name will be removed from the majority of direct mail lists. Go to www.dmachoice.com. Cost is $1. 
2. Opt out of prescreened credit card offers. This will limit the amount of junk coming into your home, prevent identity theft, and extend the life of your paper shredder too! Go to www.optoutprescreen.org. 
3. Do you really need 5 phonebooks when you have quick and easy access to the internet? Go to www.yellowpagegoesgreen.org to opt out of phonebook delivery. 
4. Sign up for electronic statements through your bank, utility company, cell phone company, credit card companies, and anyone else you do business with who offers this option. Most companies make years worth of statements available to you online, so there is no need to keep hard copies. If you don’t trust the companies to do your bookkeeping for you, it is still quite easy to download all of your statements onto your hard drive, and back up onto a thumb drive. 
5. On a similar note, sign up for automatic debiting or electronic bill pay for as many of your bills as possible. It is easy to set up, saves paper, saves stamps, and saves time! What’s not to love? Just set it and forget it. 

By limiting the inflow of paper into your home, you will cut down on clutter and save more than just a few trees in the process: 

Fully grown trees needed to make a ton of paper?  24

Gallons of oil needed to produce a ton of paper?  380

Cubic yards of waste taken up by a ton of paper?  3

Gallons of water needed to produce a ton of paper?  7,000

Kilowatts of energy needed to produce a ton of paper?   4,000

I recently had the pleasure of meeting Marty Shults, Owner of Enviro Friendly Lawn Care here in Fort Collins. 

His company is the first (that I am aware of) HUMAN POWERED lawn care company. They use old fashioned reel mowers, hand trimmers, and best of all - they haul all of their equipment on custom made bike trailers! Brilliant! Services offered include:

* Lawn Care * Hand Weeding * Aeration * Organic Fertilizers * Organic Soil Amendments * Clean Up * Landscaping * Xeriscaping * Edible Garden Designs

Marty can be reached at 970.590.2235. Current clients of ALL STAR take note - we may offer a “bundled services” package in the spring. Call the office for details!

I just came across this blog post and video today on the Green and Clean Mom blog about Green Irene. Green Irene is a company that trains independent Eco-Consultants, who can come to your home and give you a green makeover.  

Here is some information about Green Irene’s services taken directly from their website:

Our Flagship service for your home or apartment at a special introductory price of $99.

Your local Eco-Consultant will walk through your home with you and develop a customized set of recommendations on what you can do to save
money, energy, water, and live a healthier life. Your Eco-Consultant sells many of the green solutions you select.

Green Home Makeover Topics include:

• Energy conservation improvements
• Energy efficient lighting replacements
• Water conservation and purity tools
• Green energy sources available in your area (i.e. electricity from wind power and other renewable sources rather than coal)
• Improving indoor air quality
• Toxic free living by reducing harmful chemicals in use
• Recycling and waste reduction
• Safety and emergency preparedness
• Tax Credits, rebates and other financial incentives available in your area
• Your carbon footprint and Carbon Offset Programs
• Referrals to members of Green Irene’s Sustainable Contractor Network
• Included is a six-month membership with Ask Green Irene, which entitles you to access to our large,green database and email support from a Green Irene researcher as questions arise on your path to greening your world

I will be offering completely free workshops on natural cleaning to any group of 5 or more who would like to book one. This is a public education outreach effort on behalf of my company, but will not be about my company or a sales presentation for it. In this workshop you will learn:

1. Why you should make the switch to natural - health benefits, allergies, chemical sensitivity issues, environmental impact, etc.
2. How to go about making the switch - what to do with all those old products lurking beneath the sink.
3. What products to use - store bought or homemade? Brand reviews and recommendations, recipes and more!
4. Tips, tricks, and solutions from an industry expert. 

All participants will receive a booklet on Natural Cleaning, a sample bottle of all-purpose cleaner, and a special microfiber cleaning cloth. Workshops last between 30 minutes and an hour, depending on the amount of time your group wishes to allocate and audience participation. 

Give me a call to book your group’s workshop today at 970.215.2224 or email laura@cleaningallstars.com for more information.

Go ahead. Pull all those bottles out from under your sink and have a look. Here is what all those warning labels are really trying to tell you:

Danger! A taste to a teaspoon could kill you. 

Warning! A teaspoon to an ounce could kill you. 

Caution! An ounce to a pint could kill you. 

These estimates are based on a 180 pound adult male. Small children and the elderly may be harmed by even lesser amounts.

To me, clean smells like vinegar. I don’t routinely use vinegar in the homes of my clients, because it is a very love-it or hate-it type of smell that many find offensive. In my personal home though, vinegar is our cleaner of choice for just about everything! Vinegar cuts grease, disinfects, deodorizes, and leaves no scent behind once it has dried. 

• Use a mixture of 1/2 distilled white vinegar and 1/2 water in a spray bottle to clean counters, sinks, toilets, walls, cutting boards, windows, mirrors, and more! Avoid using vinegar on granite, marble, and other natural stone, or on gold colored taps. 
• Remove pet odors - if your pet has an accident, blot up as much as you can, and then saturate the area with white vinegar. Let dwell for several minutes, and then blot well and rinse with warm water. The vinegar will remove the smell, and discourage your pet from resoiling the same area. 
• Remove soap build up and odors from your dishwasher by filling a juice glass with vinegar and placing it right-side up in the top rack. Run the dishwasher empty (except for the juice glass) once per month. 
• Clean and deodorize the microwave: pour 1/4 cup of white vinegar and 1 cup of water in a small bowl, and microwave on high until it boils. The steam will loosen stuck on food so it will simply wipe away, and the vinegar will get rid of the burnt-popcorn smell that haunts your microwave. 
• Vinegar is a natural fabric softener and reduces static cling - use as you would a traditional liquid fabric softener. 
• Unclog and deodorize drains - pour a 1/2 cup or so of baking soda down the clogged drain, followed by 1 cup of hot vinegar, and let sit for 30 minutes. Flush with hot water. Read more »

While there are about a million reasons to choose natural cleaning over chemical, here are some of the more compelling reasons to make the switch:

Within 26 seconds after exposure to chemicals such as cleaning products, traces of these chemicals can be found in every organ in the body.
-Chec’s HealtheHouse, the resource for Environmental Health Risks Affecting Your Children

Cancer rates have increased since 1901 from only 1 in 8,000 Americans, to 1 in 3 today. By the year 2010, this disease will afflict 1 of every 2 individuals.
-American Cancer Society

Cancer rates have continued to increase every year since 1970. Brain cancer in children is up
40% in 20 years. Toxic chemicals are largely to blame.
-NY Times, September 29, 1997

Women who work at home have a 54% higher death rate from cancer than those who work away
from home. The 15-year study concluded it was as a direct result of the much higher exposure
rate to toxic chemicals in common household products.
-Toronto Indoor Air Conference 1990

The toxic chemicals in household cleaners are three times more likely to cause cancer than air
pollution.
- Environmental Protection Agency report in 1985

1. Make a paste of baking soda and water, and spread liberally on the area to be cleaned.
2. Let sit for several hours or overnight for really tough grime. Keep moist by misting with water every once in awhile.
3. Wipe out well, and then spray the walls down with vinegar and let dry.

The baking soda requires even less scrubbing than conventional oven cleaners (you have to try it to believe it!) and the vinegar helps repel future spills.

To be considered truly Green, a product must go through rigorous testing and receive Green Seal Certification.

Green is an unregulated term however, and is frequently used by products that are not actually certifiably green (Simple Green is a great example of this.)

So what does green actually mean? To be certified Green, a product must prove through testing to be better for Human Health and the Environment. Typically Green Products are in fact chemicals, they are simply safer than traditional chemicals.

Natural Products are just that, natural. Their ingredients are naturally occurring and include elements such as baking soda, natural soap, vinegar, lemon juice, salt, borax, essential plant oils, and natural oils such as olive and jojoba. Most natural products are safe to consume (not that you would want to,) and thereby have little to no health or environmental impact.

Hiring a cleaning service you can trust can be a daunting task. With so many available options, from franchises to mom-and-pops to individuals, and prices ranging from $10 an hour to $45+ per hour, it is easy to get lost in the process. Here are some recommended questions to ask to facilitate an apples-to-apples comparison, and ensure the person(s) you finally hire are properly prepared to care for your largest asset - your home.

How long have you been in business?

It takes little more than good intentions and a mop and bucket to start a cleaning business, but it takes far more to run a professional, sustainable company.  As a result the failure rates for the industry are staggering.  50% will go out of business within the first year. By the end of the fifth year, nearly 90% will have closed their doors for good.  This is not to say you should not consider hiring a newly formed company (we all start somewhere,) but generally the longer a company has been in business the more likely they are to be around in the future.

Are you insured? What happens if something in my home is broken or damaged?

Proper insurance (at least one million dollars in coverage - two million is better) is vital.  An uninsured company will absolutely be cheaper, but when the finish is eaten off your wood floors, your stainless steel appliances are scratched, or your grandmother’s vase is broken, they are also the ones who will not be able to afford to compensate you for it, leaving you to foot the bill.  Always verify insurance coverage through the company’s insurance provider.  Ideally there should be a written policy in place regarding procedures for dealing with breakage/damage.  Ask to see it.

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