Benefits When You Hire a Professional Cleaning Service

Most people think that seeking and having professional cleaning service to handle the cleaning task for their house is a luxury and not worth spending for especially nowadays that the money is hard to earn. Yes, It may be costly but if you are going to compare the benefits when you employ a cleaning company, you will find out that benefits can outweigh the cost. This service will handle the entire cleaning job that you are tired of doing.

Although many people are still in doubt if a cleaning service is worth spending for, there are numerous advantages when a home owner hires a cleaning services provider.
Enhance Health and Sanitation
Normally, germs most likely breed in the place that is full of mess - dirty. Now, with the help of cleaning service, you don't have to worry about these matters. Cleaning your house will be handled by cleaning service providers. The cleaning task that you don't like to do will be done by cleaning service for you. If the sanitation and cleanliness inside of your house will be maintained, this, of course, will improve the health aspect of your family.

Make a Good Reflection
Since our home is a reflection of us, we want it to be clean and well-maintained. Although you may have hard time maintaining the cleanliness of your house, but you need to think about what people or your visitors would think about you if they happen to see a cluttered and messy house of yours. But that's not a problem anymore since professional cleaning service is there to help you ease those burdens. You can be assured anytime that a guest or a friend visits you as your house will reflect fine on you.

Protect your Home Investment
Our home can lose its value as investment if it is messy and untidy. Since our house serves as our investment, we have to protect it. With the help of professional cleaning company, we will be able to keep the value of our house by maintaining its tidiness.

Save your Precious Time
Hiring a cleaning service is beneficial for a busy person. Yes, you may be busy and no time cleaning the house because you have more other things to do. But you still want to maintain the cleanliness of your home without having your precious time to suffer. Hiring a cleaning company will be such a great help for you then. They will take care all the cleaning job for you therefore you can have more time to do what you want or need to do.

Professional cleaning company can be beneficial to any of us. If you are a person that has no time cleaning your house, you can have a cleaning maids come to your house at weekly schedule. They can also be helpful if you happen to move out or move in from one place to another. You don't have to spend your time cleaning your new place by yourself as professional cleaning service is always there for a help.
No time to clean your house because you are busy with your work, providing for your family, or studying for the coming exams

Improving your Memory

Tips and techniques to help you remember...

...you know, that thing... I forgot.
Having problems forgetting appointments, to-dos, errands, feeding your children and pets, picking up after yourself, getting out of bed... not to mention forgetting birthdays, and even anniversaries?
If you are like many people, you will often find yourself forgetting something. In an age of computers, PDA’s, and many other devices - this my be ok for some folks, unless you forget where you put those devices. Others may want to increase their ability to memorize things - luckily there are a few creative ways you can improve your long and short term memory.

Use your Senses & Be Aware
Practice creating vivid images/concepts in your head - using all of your senses. Analyze your surroundings by sound, sight, smell, taste, and touch. Being aware all of your senses will give your mind more ways to associate (and thus remember) when it is time to recall something.
This is like form of meditation -- which is good for your brain in a variety of ways. (see our article: Interesting Ways to Improve Your Brain for more info).
Practice this tip of simply being more aware of your surroundings everyday and you will find your general memory greatly improved.

Humor & Vulgarity
If you need to memorize something specific try using humor or vulgarity as a memory aid. Make a nasty or funny limerick about something that needs to be remembered and you'll have a hard time forgetting. (Great tip for students).

Don't worry, be Mindful
There has been a lot said about the power of positive thinking. Recently, a huge bandwagon of new-age positive thought = positive outcome theories have been on tips of everyone's tongue from Oprah to your local convenience store clerk. Just do a google search for "Law of Attraction" or "The Secret" if you aren't in the cult loop.
Negative thoughts fog our minds, but clearing out the negative and focusing on the positive also improves memory & concentration.
Stress is a big brain buster, so minimize stress and negative thoughts to keep your wits.
Apt Quote: “What to do if you find yourself stuck in a crack in the ground underneath a giant boulder you can't move, with no hope of rescue. Consider how lucky you are that life has been good to you so far. Alternatively, if life hasn't been good to you so far, which given your current circumstances seems more likely, consider how lucky you are that it won't be troubling you much longer.”

See the Future
Have trouble remembering to-dos, appointments, meetings, deadlines, birthdays and other future events?
Here is the secret: When you know you have an upcoming event you don't want to forget, picture yourself at the event. What are you doing, who is there, what does it smell like? Imagine the event...even better: imagine yourself taking the steps that lead to the event.
For example... let's say tommorrow you have to call the someone. Picture yourself in your home/office, picture yourself picking up the phone, imagine dialing the number and talking to the person of the other end.

Associate
Association is among one of the easiest and most used tools in learning. This is the process of taking the information you wish to memorize, and linking it mentally to something else that is natural to you. When learning something new, try to associate the new concept with one to which you are already familiar.
Couple association with being aware using all of your senses and you will have a higher rate of successful recall.

Chunky like your mom
Chunking information is a great mnemonic method to remember multiple items. Many people naturally use chunking to remember phone numbers: Instead of thinking "17342876642" we chunk it as 1-734-287-6642.
The concept of chunking comes from a famous 1956 paper by George A. Miller: The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two: Some Limits on our Capacity for Processing Information. If you are a sucker for classic works in the history of psychology (I know, who isn't?) you can read the whole original paper here.

Write it Down
We generally think of "writing things down" as a means to NOT have to remember something. The paper does the work for -- we just need to remember where we put that piece of paper...
But, writing things down has another effect: you clear your mind and take away the stress of "having to remember", and by doing so you actually have more room in your noggin for remembering stuff. I know that explanation wasn't scientific, but it works.
To-do lists are championed by business gurus and soccer moms alike. Try writing everything down for a week or two and see how much this improves your memory & focus. A great digital tool for "writing things down" is provided by a website called Nozbe.com -- I recommend it for clearing your head and also organizing your thoughts.


Memory and Concentration Games on Blifaloo.com:

Memory 3
Memorize color patterns to test your short term memory.

Music Memory
Test your memory while training your musical ear with this game.


Balls & Boxes Memory Game
Use your memory and put the balls back into their original boxes.


Classic Memory Game
Old-school card matching memory game.

About our cleaning company

The Truth About Cleaning Business Franchises

Janitorial services franchise companies, are not in the cleaning business, but rather in the business of selling franchises to would-be entrepreneurs.
This is how franchises work. for Example: there are two companies, the family owned business and the franchiser both bidding on a typical 5 day a week 2.25 hr per day office cleaning account. The family owned company places a normal bid of $755.00 per month for the account. The franchiser sales person bids lower in order to win the account. He places $631.00 per month for it. The customer not aware of what is going on likes the very low price and decides to sign with the franchiser. Now after signing, that contract will be sold to one of the franchisee for $1893.00 3 times the worth of the account. They have to pay it off in 3 months; they will actually clean that account for 3 months for free in order to pay for it. After the account is paid for, then the franchiser takes 20% per month off the top for franchise fee ($157.75.) plus $50 for insurance per month for each account. So now the franchisee gets $473.35 per month for that account...The franchiser sales person has now made $1893.00 on the account, plus $144.65 per month as long as they have the account. So the head franchiser makes there money on quantity and re-sell of accounts not quality. What happens in almost all cases the franchisee that has purchased the account starts to realize he is not making much money on the account so he calculates it to see how much he is really getting. $473.35 per month divided into 4.33 = $109.31 per week, divided into 5 days = $21.86 per day, dividing that into normal cleaning time 2.25 hours = $9.71 per hour. after he deducts his cost for materials, equipment, etc. He realizes he is only making $9.00 per hour. Now he can not afford to hire labor unless he makes some changes. For labor its going to cost $8.00 per hour but after taxes, workman comp, etc, etc, the total hourly cost for labor will be $10.00 per hour. So now he needs a solution.
The Solution: What happens he cuts back on material, supplies, etc? Maybe even water down the chemicals to stretch it out, cuts the cleaning time in half say from 2.25 down to 1.25 hours. After all is done, he can know afford to have an employee and still make his 5 to 10% profit.
Now the problem, the customer has now become a victim. The customer is being short change; the cleaning supplies have been cut and the cleaning time is being cut in half, leading to very extreme poor quality cleaning. Now the customer has to complain to the head franchiser, The sales Rep promises they will take care of it. Again no changes and the customer now needs to complain many more times, they explain that the building is in poor condition, there customers and employees are also complaining about the poor cleaning quality in there building. Now the sales rep for the franchisee needs to solve the problem in order to save the account. He or she takes the account from the franchisee and re-sells it to another franchisee making another $1893.00 on that same account, totaling $3786.00. Now the problems will just starts all over again but with the new franchisee, as they start the same process the last one did, usually it will continue till the customer has had enough and decides to switch companies. But in some situations the customer could be locked into a three year contract. If there is for instance 2 years left on the contract, they will need to pay the two years left in the contract in one large sum in order to be released from it, costing the customer an additional $15,144.00 in the end the franchiser has made over $18,930.00 on that one account.According to industry information, the typical legally-operated cleaning company profits between 5% to 10% after all costs and overhead are paid. Some very large corporate operations function on as little as 2-3%, but these are the exception in the industry. Franchises and/ or others who operate unethically or illegally typically under price their services since they don't have to actually suffer the direct consequences of their pricing strategy - instead making their money "off the top". It's the poor franchisee or illegal subcontractor who suffers trying to make a reasonable wage from the predicament. If a franchiser has taken any where from 15 to 20% off the Top, It is most likely the franchisee would not succeed. In the end, they and the customer have become victims of the franchiser.

9 Russian neo-Nazis get up to 23 years in prison

MOSCOW -- Nine young men who formed a neo-Nazi group and killed six non-Slavs were sentenced to prison Thursday, as Russia officials battle a surge in racist assaults, hate crimes and xenophobia.

The Moscow City Court said in a statement that 12 mostly underage neo-Nazis who called themselves "White Wolves" were charged with committing 11 murders and one assault since April 2007. A jury found nine of them guilty of six murders and one assault.

The group was formed on Adolf Hitler's birthday to "exterminate" non-Russians and was active until early 2009, when its members were arrested.

They preyed on Central Asians and other non-Slavs with dark skin or Asian features kicking and stabbing them to death. During the attacks, which were often videotaped to be posted online, they chanted "Russia for Russians!"

Russia has experienced a surge of racist assaults, xenophobia and neo-Nazism in the years since the Soviet collapse. Amid the ongoing economic meltdown, nationalist groups are lashing out at labor migrants from ex-Soviet Central Asia and Russia's poor North Caucasus, accusing them of stealing jobs from ethnic Russians.


In December 2008, a group of mostly underage neo-Nazis was sentenced to prison for murdering 19 people. They also posted videos of their attacks online with detailed instructions on how to kill "underpeople."

Authorities have recently cracked down on the most radical groups, and the number of hate crimes fell last year.

The Sova rights groups said 71 people were killed and 333 wounded in racially motivated attacks last year, down from 110 killed and 487 wounded in 2008.

But human rights advocates say ultranationalists are increasingly resorting to bombings and arson against police and government officials, whom they accuse of condoning the influx of illegal migrants.

Last November, a neo-Nazi group claimed responsibility for the bombing of an express train that killed 27 people earlier that month, and several ultranationalists have been accused of plotting to blow up police stations, conscription offices and a restaurant.

Ultranationalist groups have also stepped up attacks on human rights activists and anti-racist youth groups.

Last October, two members of a radical nationalist group were charged with the Jan. 2009 killing of human rights advocate Stanislav Markelov and a journalist.

Last November, the leader of an anti-racist youth group was gunned down near his Moscow apartment in what his supporters said was an ultranationalist attack.

More On Pedestrian Fatalities

Police concerned after latest pedestrian death

A 76-year-old woman was hit while carrying a bag of chicken breasts across Rutherford Road near Highway 400 yesterday afternoon. The driver of the van was uninjured and remained at the scene.

York Region police Sgt. Steve Kempster said he was “concerned by the busy start to the year” for pedestrian fatalities.

“Sometimes it’s the fault of the pedestrian and sometimes it is the driver,” he said as officers collected the woman’s groceries from the road. “You’re always going to lose against a vehicle.”

York police were still investigating the Rutherford Road collision last night, but didn’t believe charges were likely.

Kempster, of the traffic reconstruction unit, said the 76-year-old woman began crossing the six lanes of Rutherford Road when traffic was stopped, but the light turned green before she finished. Cars idling in the two left lanes waited for her to finish, but an approaching van in the third lane didn’t see her, Kempster said.

“We can’t tell you when she entered the crosswalk or how long it took her,” Kempster said, adding witnesses to the accident should contact police. “We don’t know what transpired, maybe she dropped to pick something up in the middle.”

Kempster said the 29-year-old driver of the van was shaken.

Bonnie MacDonald, who crosses Rutherford Road everyday, said it is difficult to cross in time, especially with cars coming off Highway 400.

“I usually have to hustle and I’m not a slow walker,” she said. “They need to reprogram it.”

Coun. Bill Saundercook, co-chair of the Toronto Pedestrian Committee, believes walk signs give enough time for seniors to cross streets. “I think what needs to be looked into is whether vehicle operators are making pedestrians nervous by trying to take turns too quickly,” he said.
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Woman struck and killed in west end; GTA's 10th such death in 8 days

Another pedestrian has been struck and killed by a vehicle on a Toronto street - the Greater Toronto Area's 10th pedestrian fatality in eight days.

The latest incident happened early today in the city's northwest end, near Dufferin Street south of Eglinton Avenue.

Police say the woman was trying cut across the road when the driver of a minivan hit her while trying to swerve out of the way.

The unidentified woman was pronounced dead due to severe head injuries.

Const. Hugh Smith says the driver had just come over the crest of a hill in the pre-dawn darkness and spotted the woman on the road and tried to take evasive action.

The female driver, who is a doctor, tried to perform CPR on the pedestrian, but to no avail.
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Deadly Combo

Pedestrians, drivers both to blame for deaths: cops

A rash of pedestrian fatalities in the Toronto area had experts sounding the alarm Wednesday about the deadly combination of reckless drivers and aloof pedestrians competing for space on crowded city streets.

"They're blinded with their hoods. They've got their earphones on. They've blocked out any awareness," Toronto police Const. Hugh Smith said about pedestrians, who are often tuned into their MP3 players instead of traffic signals.

But drivers weren't off the hook either.

"We've made it our secondary comfort zone," said Smith, as he described the laid-back behaviour of many motorists who play loud music, eat in their cars and think they can multi-task while driving.

The number of pedestrians killed by cars has become a cause for concern for police. On Wednesday morning, another person died after being struck by a vehicle. It was the 10th pedestrian fatality in eight days in the Greater Toronto Area.

The latest death happened in the city's northwest end. A woman was trying to cut across a road when she was hit by a minivan.

Police said such accidents can be caused by hurried people scurrying out onto the street against a light, and aggressive drivers speeding along, unaware of their surroundings.

In 2009, the total number of fatalities in car accidents in the city was 48. But 31 of those deaths involved pedestrians and 19 of those were senior citizens.

"What the unsettling part is, is that our pedestrian numbers went up," explained Smith.

In 2008, there were 54 vehicle fatalities in total, while 27 pedestrians were struck and killed. While the numbers seem close, Smith said it is in fact "a noticeable spike."

Smith said the mild winter has given motorists a false sense of security as they whip around on the roads.

During rush hour, people on city sidewalks also have a herd mentality and move in masses across the street without bothering to check if they have the right of way.

"We have aggressive drivers, but we also have aggressive pedestrians. We have pedestrians who will not wait for a fresh light," he said.

Ward Vanlaar, a research scientist for the Traffic Injury Research Foundation, said a 2009 report completed by the organization on vulnerable road users showed a reason for concern.

Vanlaar said the current number of fatalities in Toronto for this year may not indicate a statistical trend, but national data shows there has been a significant number of pedestrians killed by vehicles.

"There's really a lot of pedestrians dying in road crashes," said Vanlaar. "In Canada in 2006, there were 374 pedestrian fatalities accounting for 12.9 per cent of all road user fatalities," he said, referring to the most recent data.

A public opinion poll conducted by the organization showed Canadians are lax when it comes to pedestrians and their safety.

"Canadians are not overly concerned about pedestrians and cyclists behaving unsafe on the road," said Vanlaar.

According to the poll, Canadians considered jaywalking the second least risky behaviour for road users, despite its often fatal consequences.

While pedestrians and drivers may squabble over who's following the rules of the road, Vanlaar said it's little consolation for someone who is dealing with a tragedy.

"Discussing the fact whether you were right or not is not really relevant when you're the most vulnerable road user, because you may be right, but if you were dead and right it doesn't make a difference."

Brian Patterson from The Ontario Safety League said along with mutual respect between drivers and pedestrians, he would also like to see better driver education.

"You could have Canada's worst driver as your teacher," said Patterson, adding that only 20 per cent of motorists have attended a driving school.