Frivolous it might be but I don’t fall out with my tenants because…..

I am impressed Mary and as a man I appreciate my gender limitations when it comes to cleaning!!
I am taking note of your cleaning advices.
In particular I will be loading up with some....coke and I mean coca-cola.
By the way does Pepsi work aswell!?

Also Mary have you thought of doing articles for the Landlord and But to Let magazine which has a 40000 audited circulation.
I am sure the editor would be VERY interested in things you have to say.

Hi Paul

I've given you a Thumbs up for cheek 😉 Hands off my best ambassador matey!

I'm sure it's a great magazine and their awards are very well respected. However, the circulation of our eNewsletter is now fast approaching half a million a week and our Alexa rank today places us at 3,107th busiest website in the UK. They don't have a UK rank but they do have a world ranking at just under 6.5 million Our world ranking is just under 110,000. OK, fair enough, when it comes to it e have a loing way to go to catch up with the world #1 ranked site "Google" but het, for a niche player we are doing OK don't you think?

BTW, I tried Mary's coke idea and it all works, even Tesco's value range. Sorted my blocked shower and furred up kettle for less that a quid. Keep the tips coming Mary (here though please 😉

Regards

Mark

Men fighting over me - its been some time since that last happend!!!

I always clean the tile grout with 50% thick bleach and 50% water. I use a paint roller to apply, leave for a few hours and then rinse (if over the bath area, I just shower it off). Haven't had to regrout for years.

Mary & Glenice

I will be passing the rest of your tips on to my cleaners. Note to all, please keep them coming.

In answer to your question Mary, the only other tip I can add is to cut an onion in half and leave it in the middle of a room to get rid of the smell of fresh paint. Not really a cleaning tip but loosely associated. Many tenants don't like the smell of paint, especially if they have young children.

With all those tips maybe you should start a "green cleaning" agency?

You absolutely right that I prefer not to get my hands dirty. I follow Pareto's theory, better known as the 80/20 rule, i.e. of your results come from 20% of your efforts. Wherever possible I look to outsource and by that I don't mean dumping the crappy jobs onto somebody else. I believe that the true art of delegation begins with identifying which 80% of your time achieves only 20% of the results. Then look to see whether others can be better at it that you are yourself and whether you can be more productive with your time by employing them to do the job for you, thus freeing up yourself to do more of what get's you the results or gives you more time to do the things you really want to do, e.g. travel, family time etc. I also accept that delegation also involves time to train, motivate and monitor. When this becomes to much then I recruit somebody to do that who's better than me and I work with them. That builds a little pyramid. I'm not as good at it as the likes of Richard Branson, his pyramid amounts to 50,000 employees only about 10 of them will actually report him.

I appreciate that I'm drifting off topic a bit here and if cleaning gives you lot's of pleasure and personal satisfaction to the extent that that would be your chosen hobby in retirement then fair enough. If it isn't though, maybe there is an opportunity in their for you? You recently wrote a fantastic article on Maslows heirachy of needs theory and related it to landlords. I guess it's all related to where you see yourself on that pyramid.

Great article. A lot of my tenants drink Coke and would be intrigued, as I am, to see it work. So I'll be geting the tenants to clean for free, probably once once 🙁
Thanks

Francis most tenants are also intrigued about the cleaning powers of coke and they think that it is fun to see if it works. I promise you it does work in just the same way as it takes the green off a coin - most of us have tried that at one time or another?

Mr Alexander I do not see cleaning my properties as a hobby I see it as quality control. Most cleaners just don't understand the difference between cleaning my home and cleaning a tenants home.

Get ready to cringe Mark

If I have vinyl floor covering on a toilet floor - most are tiled now - I need to lift that vinyl and clean the back and the floor to removed the urine. This thorough cleaning also applies to the cistern, pipes and wall behind the toilet. A quick wipe over will not do the job it needs bleach and then it needs to by dried. Cleaning behind radiators, on top of cupboards and doors, under and behind kitchen applicances etc all prevents build up of dirt and dust. Many people have respiritory problems these days and thorough cleaning is important to their health.
In the not to distant future I will look for a person who is prepared to be trained to clean a rented property and I will train that person who would then have excellent skills to sell to landlords.

I have just come home from cleaning therepy in a house I consider this time well spent on my investments. I spent time showing two flats this week and this is also an investment because I let them at a time fo the year that is often difficult. I could get other people to do many things for me but I am not ready to stand back yet and I enjoy what I do.

Mark what is your idea of a nice hobby for an old bird like me?

Hi Mary

I'm not cringing, I'm smiling 🙂

As for hobbies, well you are doing it, sharing your experiences here of course. Finding the time to come to Norfolk to visit your new friend would be nice too 😉

Regards

Mark