Fridge Placement 101

Here I was sitting at my desk trying to figure out what would be latest and exciting new 4H (Heavenly Hands Helpful Hint) to share with the world... AND I WAS STUCK!

So I look across at my husband and brother and asked what THEY thought should be the topic of my newest hint - pets, toys, storage? They rolled their eyes because they felt that all my hints were catering for women (hmm housework and women - what's the connection I wonder?). So my brother felt I should share about Refrigerator Placement!?!?

Until he said it I never knew that it mattered where you placed your fridge! I always thought that you placed it where it can fit and still allow you to have access to its contents. My brother went into GREAT  DETAIL about why and where one should place one's fridge. I have shortened this into the pretty little hint below.

Bottom line, proper placement of your fridge not only allows it to operate more efficiently - but it also extends the life cycle of your appliance!

So to my male followers out there - I hope you found this post more to you standards.

GO OUTSIDE!!!

I haven't written a blog entry for quite awhile. Reality is - trying to balance home and a new business whilst trying to create a social media presence is harder than I thought.

But no worries! I'm gonna play with my kids today! Cheers to the weekend!

Hope you enjoy yours too ;-)

Whap Cocoyea!

I spent the lat few weeks researching what folk remedies or traditions there are with regard to cleaning, and discovered two things. 

Firstly, from my research via the internet it would appear that the four major ingredients used to clean were vinegar, baking soda, lemon and salt! That will be another posting altogether.

Secondly, from my research interviewing our older local population those ingredients were seldom used at all! In fact the most popular tools or ingredients were a cocoyea broom, a scrubbing brush and blue soap! 

Today I will deal with the cocoyea broom.

The cocoyea broom is a broom made from the centre spine of the leaves from a coconut tree branch. These shafts or sticks are tied together and so make a broom. The average household would have two types of brooms - one soft (not very dry with the curls at the end) and one hard (very, VERY dry). 

The soft broom was used for cobwebbing and sweeping the (oftentimes) wooden floors of the home. However the broom could also be used quite safely on tiles and terrazzo floors. The hard one was used for scrubbing - mats, bathrooms and anything that needed a little pep and vigour. The brooms were also used to maintain the exterior of the house - so the yard, roof and walls of the house were also subject to the ministrations from the cocoyea broom.

However, there were other reasons that a cocoyea broom was so popular in the average home - apart from its duties as an essential household tool - it was also used for spiritual and disciplinary measures.

Many a Trini child would've found themselves at the punishing end of a cocoyea broom wielded by his mother, aunt, grandmother or godmother (or as we say here "he mudder, tantie, granny or nenen"). And of course the broom in question would NOT be the soft broom. 

Often times there would be a disciplinary ritual to be played out (and over seven of my interviewees confirmed this ritual). The child in question would be sent to fetch the broom before the punishment was administered - and this going to get the object of your punishment was used as a sort of torture or punishment in and of itself.

The man who found himself in the centre of a series of unfortunate events would also be subject to a beating from a cocoyea broom - administered most times by the self same individuals identified above - if it was home remedy. Sometimes the person would go off and find the nearest Obeah Man (witch doctor) who would use the cocoyea broom as part of the cleansing ritual to rid the person of bad luck. The Mighty Shadow (a local calypsonian) sang a humorous story about the ritual here.

However, if his mudder, tantie, nenen or granny found that things weren't going to well with Johnny she would decide to administer the home version of the ritual and would prepare herself by prayer and fasting and plan for the day of the beating.

It was always important that Johnny never knew of the plan and that he be caught off-guard - usually just as he entered the home. Then his mudder et al would subject him to a furious beating about his body after which he needed to take a cleansing bath - either in the sea or with blue soap - but that's tomorrow's post. 

Thank You!

Sometimes a little support goes a long way...

A lot of the times we don't know how that smile, that hug, that phone call can carry a person through the roughest of times. Sometimes I think we can underestimate or even take for granted the love and support we get from friends and family - even from our dedicated clients who stick with us and go through those teething problems with us - helping us to get it right.

I just wanted to take a little time out to say thank you to my supporters out there - especially Merrell, Priscilla, Michele, Melissa and Vanecia.

Thanks guys for taking time out to let me believe that the impossible CAN happen!

I hope the rest of you take time out to tell your favourite people "Thank You" for their love and support.

And if you didn't see your name here - don't worry you are in my heart.

There Is Only One Me!

For those of you who grew up on daily installations of Sesame Street - you will know that the title of this blog is really a song from (my favourite) childhood show. However for the month of March this phrase became my lament! To say March was hectic is like asking if the sea has salt!

Coming out of it I was reminded why HHCS came in to existence in the first place - we business owners need help! If only there was someone to take care of some of the little details of my life so I could just do my thing!

Well here's your chance guys - until April 30th, 2012 - business owners living in Trinidad have the opportunity to save on their First Time Cleanings with us.

I know it will not cure Cancer - but for a lot of us a clean home goes a long way :-).

After the Fete is Over

Carnival has just come to a close here in Trinidad and though I did not take part in the festivities – there is so much post-event cleanup to do.

Many Trinis who were not out on the streets taking part in the revelry would have chosen to go to a Carnival Camp, took a mini-vacation or may have fallen into the same category as I did – had friends and family over to your home for the entire long weekend.

For those of us in this category – I am sure that Ash Wednesday meets your home looking as if there was a World War fought – especially the bathrooms. Here are some great tips to quickly put your home to rights:

Woman At Work! Post Carnival Clean Up!

1. Call Heavenly Hands and set an appointment for us to do your post-Carnival cleanup! But seriously, here’s how to tackle what appears to be a mountain of work:
2. Go through your guest rooms and strip all the linens and leave your mattresses bare. Open the windows and give all the rooms a chance to air out.
3. If you had tons of nieces and nephews who were bunking with your progeny, let the progeny get involved. Have them strip their beds and open the bedroom windows before they leave for school ( if they are not going to school Ash Wednesday – or if you are saving this for the weekend – better for you – many hands make light work… and a hoarse voice).
4.  Once you have the bedrooms airing out – go straight for the bathrooms. Pick up all the mats that were in use over the long weekend and place them in the wash. Wipe all mirrors and clean the bathroom sink. Make a solution of bleach and water and use this to spray your shower walls – let this soak on the walls while you tackle your other tasks.  Clean out your toilet bowl. Sweep and mop your floors (you can use whatever is your favourite floor cleaner – I prefer those with that have a mild and pleasant scent).
5.  While waiting for the bathroom floors to dry, pop into the kitchen and do your dishes and wipe down the counter tops. Wipe down the refrigerator door, wipe out microwave and stove top (this is all that we are doing for now – a deeper cleaning can be done on the weekend). Sweep and mop those floors and go back to the bathrooms.
6.  In the bathrooms, rinse out your shower stalls from the bleach and water solution. Then place fresh mats on the floor. Go back to the bedrooms.
7.  In the bedrooms, place fresh sheets on the bed and sweep and mop the floors. And you are done!

This is by no means a deep and comprehensive cleaning – but I have found over the years that my entire home feels light and airy after I complete these tasks (and I have had up to 14 children ranging from ages 2 to 16 years in my home at the same time… and at least eight of them are boys!) And these tasks take no more than two hours of your time – three hours of your home is really large or really untidy.

But if you can’t see yourself going through all of this there is always point 1!

Perseverance + Passion – The Makings of A Love Story

This is the week of love (Happy Valentine’s Day!), so I felt it only fitting that I should share about what drives me – what makes me go on – what causes me to persevere:

Perseverance is an amazing thing, that determination to finish what you started. But what causes us to persevere? What makes us go on even when others have given up or say it won’t work? What makes us able to stand alone, despite negativity thrown our way?

I know for me it is passion. It is a deep love for what I do and the lives that I touch whilst doing what I do. This passion is what drives me, what fuels my day – it is what moves me to act. To act even when others would not. To act even when others say I should not.

Passion is defined as “an intense emotion compelling feeling, enthusiasm, or desire for something”. Aside: did you know that the word passion comes from the ancient Greek verb pashko which means to suffer?

So is it that I have a deep love for cleaning? By no means! What I have is a deep love for serving people, for helping them.

When we first began this journey, we wanted to create a business where women in at-risk environments would be able to access an honest and safe means of financially supporting their families. So we began with staff in mind. But in the few months since we started so many things have changed, including the perspective. It’s not about staff – it’s about everyone!

We had a client - an older woman, she was over 90 and said she needed help at home. What we actually gave her was love and support in her final days. She told us over and over about her trips to Africa. She gave us endless stories about growing up in Tobago. She regaled us with the different escapades she enjoyed with friends, most of whom, had already passed away.

It was one of our girls who was with her when she collapsed. It was our girl who rushed her to the hospital. It was our girl who had to inform her relatives of her passing.

So we persevere. We hold on and take it one day at a time. Not for the finish line, not for the bottom line – but for the now. For every person whose life we can touch right now, for every family to whom we can minister. This is our passion. This is our great love. This is why we persevere.

For anyone who has just begun or is in the middle of a great journey – I will tell you to persevere. You never know whose life you will touch. Happy Valentine’s Day people!

Superheroes Anyone?

I was recently inspired by my girlfriend Shelly R’s recent post:

“Wishing I had a clone of me... there is soooo much to do, so little time and only me to get it done, today I'm gonna have to pull out my red velvet cape and get my super woman on... :-)”

I am sure many of us (men included) feel the need to whip out our inner superhero in order to make it through the day/week.

So my next promotion is dedicated to all the superheroes out there:

Of Chickens & Broomsticks

Yesterday I volunteered to help one of my girlfriends clean out her new apartment so that she could move in over the weekend and this led to the most exciting adventure thus far for the year!

She told me it was a cosy, one bedroom apartment located in an idyllic setting. This is how the real estate agent described the apartment to her – this is how she described it to me. Sounds great right? But this is Trinidad! The entire Caribbean is idyllic! When a real estate agent says that to you… be worried!

We arrived at the street that led to the apartment, and though located in Curepe (which is a small town a few miles away from the capital city of Port of Spain) I felt as if I were walking through the village of Moruga (which is about as far away from Port of Spain that you can get in Trinidad).

The entire street had chickens, dogs, ducks and other assorted wildlife roaming freely. There was a LOT of foliage and to top it off we actually had to cross a bridge (yes there was a river) to get to the apartment!

We finally arrived at the yard with the apartment. And I really mean that. It was a yard. With the requisite dirt, stones, grass and three chickens pecking busily about!

Trying to ease my discomfort with unfamiliar territory I jokingly referred to the three chickens as “Sunday lunch” and we started to make all the local jokes regarding “yard fowls” etc. As we got nearer, one of the chickens came towards us sizing us up from head to toe.  I laughed and pointed him out to my girlfriend and started to veer left to avoid him.

Imagine my surprise when he mirrored my change in direction! I paused, and went to the right thinking to myself “this is just a fluke”. The rooster also went right! I stopped walking immediately and started backing up. The more I backed up the more he came forward. And as I was increasing speed – so was he!

My girlfriend, in utter disbelief picked up three stones from the yard and began to pelt it at the rooster. By this time I was screaming at the top of my lungs “what, what, what?” I had no idea the question I wanted to ask, but it was all I could manage.

It was Priscilla, dear sweet Priscilla, who was born and raised in a rural village in Central Trinidad who took the situation in hand.

My girl whipped out the broomstick that we came with and charged Mr. Rooster head on with a war cry that would have put Xena, Warrior Princess to shame.

Just as the rooster and the broomstick were about to be introduced the owner of said rooster came out from seemingly nowhere and scooped him up.

Mr. Rooster

It took us as at least 30 seconds to compose ourselves. We were laughing and crying, breathing hard and buffing the man for not putting a leash on his rooster. He was laughing so hard I thought he might have collapsed.

I turned to my girlfriend and let her know “Never me again!”

Letting Go!

Happy New Year everyone!

Christmas 2011 was Heavenly Hands’ first Christmas ever. To say that it was a baptism of fire would be an understatement. It was my plan to share about all the different cleaning tips we picked up and the many ways we learned to do the work smarter – tips anyone who maintains their own home could put to use.

However recent events, coupled with the birth of a New Year lead me to share a different lesson I learned over the last two months:

October marked the rebirth of HHCS. We shut down all operations during the month of September and started afresh in October. During that transitioning period we carried over a few clients from the “old” HHCS to the “new” HHCS. Clients that we considered “great” as well as a couple we could do without. But I don’t know how many of you remember what it’s like to start a business – but I felt that I would keep both types of clients – if only to help with my bottom line.

I would tell anyone now – DON’T DO THAT!!!

If you think a client is not worth the trouble – then LET THEM GO!

I had a client that was REALLY difficult. She gave a lot of problems every time her monthly bill came along and she was very caustic – not overly so – but enough to make you dread answering her phone calls. And boy could she complain!

The clincher came during the hectic Christmas season.

Cleaning is very labour intensive and one man down can put your schedule in serious jeopardy. Well imagine having TWO members of staff ill! Naturally my schedule – which was planned down to the last second – fell to pieces like a house of cards.

I spent the week reshuffling clients’ appointments and “apology” became my second name. That is until I reached the client in question. I called to reschedule her appointment, profusely apologising for the inconvenience. She wanted to know the reason behind the change – a very fair question. So I went on to explain how dangerously ill two of my staff members had become – one in fact had to be hospitalised.

Her response was a terse “I don’t care if your staff is in the hospital!” and went on to complain about the inconvenience the change made. (By the way, her original appointment was for two weeks before – but her new floors were not completely installed because of shipping delays. So she postponed her appointment not once – but TWICE. And now here I was delaying her appointment by ONE DAY and this was the response.)

Immediately I should have dropped her there and then – but I think that I had become so accustomed to her attitude that I let the entire episode pass. 

Big mistake.

On the day of the cleaning she was so abusive to my staff that two of them were in tears and threatened to leave the company.

An honest, hardworking, loyal worker is not that easy to come by and I needed to make a decision.

And despite all that had gone before I AGONISED over the decision.

I felt that if I let this client go, I would not be able to replace the income she brought in.

I felt that if I let her go it would be some sort of failure on my part.

I felt that because of her influence – I would also lose the business of the households that she had referred.

I just felt afraid.

Then I had to forget my fear and face reality.

If my two girls left I would lose not two members of staff – but MONTHS of training and team-building.

I would lose two relationships I had come to treasure.

I would lose two people who had stood by me when the chips were down and who had believed in my vision enough to tough it out.

No client was worth that. No matter WHAT they contributed to the bottom line.

So I made the call and wrote the email. And I still felt that fear while doing both. But after it was over the relief was amazing!

And God was so good to me that I gained FOUR new clients within the last week! But even if I didn’t I still would not have regretted the decision.

I would say that if you know that there are things that you know that are not good for you and that you should let go – JUST DO IT!

Don’t let your fears keep you from moving forward. Don’t let you fears keep you marching in place.

It’s a New Year people – the least we can do is learn from the mistakes we made last year.