"Me Time" with Pine-Sol

There's something therapeutic about cleaning up, so when I get into the groove of cleaning, I can be like a madwoman sometimes. I turn all the furniture upside down and make sure every nook and cranny is spotless.

I wish I had all the time to clean and organize though. But it's either I have a clean home and the kids are locked up in a room, or I spend more time with the kids and let the house go a little. You know, an ultra messy desk there, toys scattered all over, cute little piles of clutter popping up in some corners. 

Between managing a home and taking care of a family, there is hardly time for "Me Time". In some twisted way, being able to sort out a pile of clutter without the kids bothering me is pretty much the equivalent of Me Time.

So when Mish Aventajado invite me to savor some "Me Time" with Pine-Sol, I was like, hell yeah, I need that!

She had a yoga session with yoga instructor Joanne Santos at SoFit Studio in Le Spa at Sofitel scheduled for us moms,

but since I had to pick up my visa at the embassy that morning, I had to skip this part.

Luckily, even if I missed yoga, I still got to bring home this yoga themed loot bag, heehee. Love the insulated Klean Kanteen, Aquazorb towel, personalized tote bag, note pad, and bottles of Pine-Sol of course.

Better yet, I still made it on time to have lunch with the moms.

And listen to Sofitel Manila's in-house nutritionist and aesthetic doctor on how we can eat and live healthy.

Nutritionist Agnes Tumaneng, RND taught us weight management and how to do calorie counting. Basically, she says we really need to watch what we eat and exercise in order to make sure we reach if not maintain our desired weight.

My my most favorite part of the program was the Detox Talk by Dr. Jade Cada, Aesthetic doctor at Vietura in Sofitel Manila.

I made sure to copy her tips, to share with you:

1. Eat pectin-rich organic apples. Pectin binds to toxins in the intestines to escort them out of the body.

2. Drink freshly-made vegetable juice daily.

3. Drink a large glass of purified water with the juice of one fresh lemon in the morning. Lemons have over 20 proven anti-cancer compounds.

4. Eat at least half a cup of fiber daily.

5. Eat more raw fruits and vegetables. They contain enzymes that aid digestion and improve nutrient absorption.

6. Eat at least three of the best detoxifying foods daily: broccoli, garlic, spinach, cabbage, sprouts, blueberries and ginger.

7. Drink plenty of pure water to help flush toxins from your body. Almost every process in your body depends on proper hydration to function smoothly.

8. Take a probiotic supplement with live cultures on an empty stomach daily (morning or evening works well). The beneficial bacteria kills harmful bacteria and yeasts and helps to heal the intestines.

9. Get at least 30 minutes of vigorous physical activity daily. Sweating is one of the best ways or removing harmful toxins including heavy metals.

10. Colonic cleansing

11. Taking in vitamins and minerals

Print this out so you remember ;)

Oh and remember to check out the new Pine-Sol scents as well!

Apart from the Original Pine, there's now Orange Energy, Lavender Clean, Lemon Fresh, and Sparkling Wave. All are formulated to disinfect and kill 99.9% of germs, deodorize, cut grease, and remove grime.

My friend Kath says she uses Pine-Sol for everything, from cleaning floors, bathrooms, counter tops, the stove to even the interiors of their cars. It's a great surface cleaner that you can use from floor to ceiling, for everything really, even your smelly garbage cans and pet stink too.

Researching on the uses of Pine-Sol, I've actually discovered some pretty valuable cleaning hacks from their site! Click HERE!

Thanks so much Mish and Patty, and Tisha de Veyra and Renelle de los Santos of Pine-Sol for a morning of Me Time well-spent. Happy Disinfecting, Deodorizing, De-greasing and De-griming when we got home too! ;)

Mish Aventajado with Brand Manager for Pine-Sol: Renelle Revilla de los Santos, Director of Marketing for Clorox International Philippines Inc. Tisha De Veyra and Pat Cuyugan

For more on Pine-Sol Philippines, Like their Facebook Page Pine-Sol Philippines. 

The Cleaning Diva Can

I know the house needs serious cleaning when I start sneezing.

We clean the aircon filter on a regular basis. I just replaced the filter on our Blueair. We putter about the house sweeping, dusting and mopping daily of course. But still, no dice. My nose just would not let up. Hey, what to expect when a building is being constructed a stone's throw from the house?

Thankfully, The Cleaning Diva, thanks to my friend Janice, came to my rescue.

The Cleaning Diva is a cleaning company that was started by ex-Citibanker Marivic Arambulo last year. For Php1,500 an hour, they offer professional deep-cleaning services to households and office spaces, which covers:

1) General cleaning - top to bottom cleaning; all surfaces, furniture and fixtures; for houses that have been lived in 

2) Pre move-in cleaning - all surfaces but usually does not include furniture 

3) Post-renovation cleaning - similar to no. 2 but it includes furniture 

4) Pre-event spruce ups - more attention to details on cleaning of the event area 

5) Specialized cleaning - specific items only like mattresses, upholstered furniture, area rugs and carpets, kitchen appliances or a combination of any of these 

Sounds like a dream right?

In my case, it was our mattresses and couches that needed The Cleaning Diva's "touch".

 they rainbow the mattress enhancer top, bottom and sides

not without freshening up the mattress (and pillows) with a lavender and baking soda freshener of course

then, they rainbow the actual mattress top, bottom and sides

The Cleaning Diva "touch", just to point it out, is not light handed at all. It is deep-cleaning, using the high powered Rainbow vacuum system. As all donya households know, the Rainbow vacuum system is equipped with HEPA filters that captures nearly 100% of household dirt and particles, and traps them into the water-logged basin. It comes with numerous attachments which allows you to clean just about anything and everything inside your home. 

Cleaning our actual bed was not exciting enough though.  After all, it's a year old bed, which according to Marivic is still relatively "clean". Things got a lot more interesting with our 6 year old sofa bed.

Seeing all these dust hiding inside all these years, OMG! Can you just imagine what a total sneezefest  this couch has become?

In the 2 hour span of time that The Cleaning Diva team was at home, they also managed to vacuum Berry's bed and this couch in the living room:

 

While chatting with Marivic while she was supervising her guys, I asked her why she went into the business of cleaning. She told me that she personally enjoys cleaning and organizing, and post-retirement, she wanted to start a business that she could easily manage herself.

It is obvious that she loves what she does. She really is very meticulous, pointing out spots that needed extra attention. She would daintily sprinkle the lavender scented mattress and pillow fresheners herself, like a cute cleaning fairy godmother, haha!

Marivic also told me that aside from the use of the Rainbow to rid surfaces of dust, dust mites and allergens; they also do shampoo services for upholstered furniture, mattresses and carpets/rugs, window cleaning (interiors only and exteriors that their ladders can reach), kitchen appliances, and bathroom cleaning (yeah, they can take care of hardwater stains and streaks on glass enclosures).  

They bring all the equipment and cleaning solutions, and use only eco-friendly products.

For general cleaning, Marivic normally does an ocular visit and gives a quote based on the estimated number of hours it takes to clean a home. 

"For specialized cleaning, I have an average time per item and am able to quote the approximate cost to the client, based on her list of items for cleaning", Marivic explains.

What can they clean in an hour? An hour can mean deep clean (DC) of 2 King/Queen mattresses, or DC + shampoo of a 2 seater sofa or DC + shampoo of a medium sized area rug. 

In my case, 2 hours involved cleaning a King mattress, a Queen mattress, a sofa bed and an L-shaped couch. 

Cost of 2 hours cleaning our mattresses and couches = Php3,000

Cost of entering a clean, fresh smelling, dust-free room = Priceless

Plus, I don't even have to buy my own Rainbow, or Hyla. Heeheehee.

The Cleaning Diva

Tel: +632 722 2484
Mobile: +63920 9531931
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/TheCleaningDivaCleaningServices 
Email: marivic.thecleaningdiva@gmail.com