2010 – The Year of Balance

Posted by: Cloud Conrad, VP – Brand Strategies, Maid Brigade, Inc.

"Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance and order and rhythm and harmony." Thomas Merton

Take a moment and take stock of your new years' resolutions. Stick to my budget. Stick to my diet. Stick to my workout plan. Show more patience with the kids. Tell my father I love him more. Take time to mentor my employees. Recycle. New years' resolutions are always so laudable, practical or self-expanding. It seems socially unacceptable to make a resolution to be less productive.

Ladies, this is exactly what we need more of! Permission to do nothing at all. Permission to let someone else do the heavy lifting. Permission to go to a quiet, dark room and just...be. We should each have a quota of "slug hours" each week – time that we don't do anything at all or at least not anything at all that is aimed at world peace, family harmony or carbon credits. We should be made to sit still and be silent. Sort of like a time-out, but without the humiliation or acrimony.

Ironically, being a "slug" IS personal improvement. But instead we fill up our holiday "brag rag" letters with how the children excel at their studies or sports, how we made a difference in the community, or how we earned a promotion at work. Little ink is devoted to how much time we spent meditating or reading People or catching up with an old friend long-distance. But carving out this personal time is vital for balance in our lives. It's important enough to earn a spot up there with the most serious of new years' resolutions.

You are not alone if you feel you deserve a time-out! A recent research study (jointly conducted by Mom Corps and Maid Brigade) found that nearly 3 in 4 women (72%) feel that they work a "2nd shift" - spending a number of hours cleaning and keeping house AFTER spending time in the paid workforce. Yet the study also found that the number one motivator for house cleaning was 'to be able to enjoy my home and relax in it'. Hmmmmm. If someone were to do the housework for me, I would actually have the time to enjoy my home and relax in it!

This is what Maid Brigade does. It's been stated that we are in the business of environmental improvement, home improvement, even health improvement. But what the research tells me is that we are in the personal improvement business. As a house cleaning service we alleviate a huge time burden from our customers and free them up for other, more rewarding activities, as confirmed by the 98% of study respondents that said that having a cleaning service means better balance in their lives.

Going further, there is a definite connection between mental and physical health. Living in a healthy indoor environment contributes to physical and mental well-being. Living in a clutter-free environment helps one feel calmer, concentrate better and have clearer thoughts, and breathe more deeply. If the indoor air quality is poor and/or the indoor environment in general includes chemical toxins, a person's mental or physical health can be compromised, which ultimately affects the other.

There is a growing body of evidence that the chemicals in household products, particularly house cleaning products, bear toxins which can cause health risks as mild as headaches to as severe as cancer. Maid Brigade pioneered the green cleaning movement and leads the industry in green cleaning, with our Green Clean Certified® service.

Make a resolution to find more balance in 2010. Stop working that 2nd shift duty and hire a house cleaning service. Then retreat, recharge, refuel and regroup at the end of the busy workday...in a home cleaned by Maid Brigade.

Retreat, recharge, refuel and regroup at the end of the busy workday...in a home cleaned by Maid Brigade.

Call 888-79GREEN to find Maid Brigade in your area.