I HAVE A NEW BLOG

It’s been a year since I started the Tulip Cleaning blog. I did it to promote my cleaning business and as I kept doing it, I realized that I wanted to talk about more than just cleaning and also that the blog could have a life of its own without the cleaning service attached. Plus Tulip Cleaning is riding on a free platform; who would take this seriously? Now, I’ve moved on to this new, bigger blog, My Tulip Living, so that I can talk about more than just cleaning, because there’s a lot that goes into running a household and turning it into a serene environment that you love.

WILL YOU MISS PLASTIC BAGS?

I know I'm not the only one excited about the ban on plastic bags. Let's make the world a better place for ourselves and for our children. It's true, we can do without this menace. All we have to do is look back to the days when our mums went to the market with a basket; you bought fruits from the mkokoteni guy and he wrapped it all in newspaper, somehow. The ban on plastic bags is looming. And I still find it hard to see the days ahead without juala. Will I miss plastic bags? I don't think so.

POTTY TRAINING ACCIDENTS

I'm a mother of three. My youngest is two and a half; "we" are getting toilet trained now. I can't tell you how excited I am about this. It's a huge milestone. She can say when she wants to go for number two. Unfortunately, number 1 is unpredictable, so we've had to deal with 'accidents' a bit too frequently. Every so often, she would be prancing around with the map of urinea drawn on her pants.

POOP ON A PLATE

Does my title disgust you? It should, because under no circumstances should we have any traces of defacation...faeces...excreta in food that is meant for human consumption, to nourish and boost your health for that matter. So how does it get there? Rather than playing the blame game, I'm here to show that Cholera does not discriminate.

UNDERWEAR CARE: How to Wash Your Unmentionables

Do you love your panties? How many times have you heard the unwritten rule that you should always wear nice and clean underwear? Just in case you were involved in an accident you shouldn't be found in dirty, torn undies... I know, it's not even funny, why would anyone be interested in checking them? People, that's just nasty! But, just in case, I've done some research and here are a few pointers on how to keep them clean while preserving that fabric and colour.

TEA - THAT MAGIC POTION

Lately, I've been nursing the idea of growing my hair... Yet, I don't like going to the salon, it could be because I'm watching my coins...or maybe it's because the cocktail of hair products in use produces a rather potent perfume that's become unbearable for me. So if I do decide to grow these African coilies, I'm going to have to dig up some cheap ways to maintain it at home. In my deep and thorough research I have found an unusual hair conditioner right here in my pantry, TEA.

ADOPTING A GROWN CAT

It's happened. The wait is over. We're new purrents. I am proud to be owned by two beautiful 15month-old gibs, Kaka and Kujo. I remember waiting and waiting for them, on the day of their arrival, feeling like time had stopped. I had only seen them in a photo a few days prior - it felt like they spoke to me. You could say, they chose me, because I stopped my search right there. Would you take in a grown cat? Would you take two?!

FELINE FAMILY: FRIEND OR FOE

Ever heard of the expression "old woman and her cats"? It's not uncommon to find a cucu somewhere that lives with her loyal cat(s). My mom had Whiskers aka Socksy or just paka, who helped keep her grain storage vermin-free. For some reason, the dog has been seen to be man's best friend (referring to the human race). Incidentally, the cat is favoured mostly by the woman. This is possibly a myth, maybe we should take a poll. In my household, my husband is more of a cat person than me.

WHEN THE CAT'S AWAY

We've killed two snakes in a corner of our compound this month alone, crawling down from the neighbour's tree. It's not like the grass is greener on our side, but we have something that's more inviting...rats! I wrote a post a while back about these unwanted guests. I remember how shocked I was to discover that a female rat is ready to mate at 2 months old, and can produce 12 litters of pups per year, each litter with up to 14 pups. That still shocks me.

WHY BOTHER CLEANING?

     

      I loved watching Clean House, hosted by comedienne Niece Nash. I also remember the British TV show "How Clean is Your House" back in the day, and what struck me as a common trait in the homes was how the families were affected by

WHATS IN YOUR CLEANING KIT?

If you’ve been to the supermarket lately, looking for a cleaner of sorts, you will find glass cleaner, tile cleaner, mirror cleaner, bathroom cleaner, kitchen cleaner, multi-surface cleaner and the list is endless. And then there are cloths…dish cloth, tea cloth, microfiber cloth, polishing cloth…

5 WAYS TO GET YOUR HELP TO CLEAN BETTER

So you’ve finally found that perfect house help that knows how to care for your kids. They love her.  She’s wonderful. Now, if only she could improve her cleaning skills… Is it even possible? Are you asking for too much? Are your expectations too high? We are born with different skill sets and are talented in some ways more than others. But wouldn’t it just brighten your world if your Help were great with the kids as well as the cleaning? I’d say it’s worth a try.

PRODUCT REVIEW: KENWOOD Vapori Jet

By now you may have picked up that I like to turn the act of cleaning, from a tedious chore we'd rather delegate, into an enjoyable activity we'd love to engage in. It works for me anyway. That said, I have a certain cleaning appliance you may have fun using: the Kenwood Vapori Jet. Honestly, when I got it, I didn't even know what to do with it. I simply got it because it looked like something I could use, but for what? I honestly didn't know. I'm serious.

NOT TOO YOUNG TO CLEAN

Last night my 9 year old son, Imbwana, came to me and said, "Mom, I've folded the clothes that were on your bed, arranged the books on the side table and spread Noni's bed." (Noni is his 2yo sister). I said, "Wow, that's really good, thank you!" and went about my work. Then he boldly added, "Will you pay me?" He wasn't paid.

CLEANING JUST GOT SEXY

I was on my knees one morning trying to remove stains and dried up glue from ceramic tiled floors. Sure, I had the right thinner that did the job, but it was not fun. The thinner was getting me high...not a good thing while on the job and being on my knees for that long was quite something. The floor was spotless. The owner loved it. I was happy. But do you know what would make me really happy? Watching Mr. Clean do it?

FEEL THE CHANGE

I have said this a number of times in previous posts: I am not a clean freak. And yet I'm always blogging about ways to get cleaner or how to remove this or that stain. So what's all this about? Well, one day things just changed: when I got a tiny little premie called Noni. Noni came into our world straight after New Year's celebrations. All of a sudden very inch of the house seemed dirty or dusty or both - we had to clean up and keep it that way, ALWAYS.

SAITAMA MEME: CLEANING PET PEEVES

Saitama meme has gone viral. I figured I could ride this craze and have a laugh while at it. We all have pet peeves when it comes to cleaning. So here are a few...

BEFORE YOU BUY THAT SPEEDO

I recently attended my kids' swimming gala and was very impressed to see how far they've come, from the paddle pool, to the baby pool and now in the big pool! But I'm rather unimpressed by how many swimsuits we've had to go through.

KEZIAH

Happy International Women's Day! I had to google to see why we celebrate this day. And why is it "International" and not just "Women's Day"? Still pondering that one. Of course, we should celebrate women everyday and not just on March 8th (unless it's your birthday...Juliet, et al). Women make the world go round, so better grease those wheels! Since I don't do it everyday, I want to celebrate the lady that takes care of us, Keziah.

THE USUAL PUNISHMENT AT STATE HOUSE

We are all shocked by the recent revelations of assault and physical abuse at Bush. It's clear that more schools need to get investigated; there is probably worse goings-on in the bundus schools. As I read that article I couldn't help looking back to the days I was in boarding school, in Stato. There was no bullying there and certainly no form of physical abuse whatsoever. Yet obviously, I didn't know how good I had it then.

WHAT THEY DON'T SAY ABOUT NASA

I'm terrible with local politics or any kind of politics. I found out The Trump was the new POTUS perhaps a day after everyone else. Can't wait for the next elections when we'll all be using his own phrase on him, "You're fired!" Recently, when my relas were arguing about NASA in our "Mugoci Crew" whatsapp group, I was quiet the whole time because I wasn't up to date with NASA space station manenos. I had absolutely no clue was this NASA thing was. Things were heating up, but I just wanted silly memes!!!

HOW TO CLEAN YOUR IRON BOX

Ironing clothes is an interesting chore. You either love it or hate it. When I iron my clothes I completely zone out. I get lost in thoughts and projections... and before I know it, I'm done. You don't want to be completely alert when ironing, it's like watching paint dry.

4 SIMPLE WAYS TO CLEAN YOUR FRUITS

When driving through the Rift Valley, you're likely to come to the Molo junction, about an hour past Nakuru. Be careful as you slow down at the bumps, because you'll have roasted maize, carrots, passion fruits, beetroots and veggies shoved into your car window by over enthusiastic vendors. If you just take a glance at the succulent produce, it becomes difficult (if not impossible) to ignore them. The little drops of water on the shinny peel,

5 TYPICAL CLEANING MISTAKES

I know a good number of cleaning services that make over Ksh 100m a year just taking care of other people's s**t. Should house cleaning be a highly technical field? No. Yet, the information I impart below will sound quite rocket sciency for some people. Don't worry, that's why I'm here. That said, cleaning sense is not common sense. Here are 5 things you may be doing wrong:

SORRY I SPAT ON YOU...

Did you know you could get arrested by kanjo for spitting on the street? Ok, so maybe I didn't actually spit on you, but rather I put spit on you. And perhaps I won't do it again, but mama certainly will. And she will do it with love. It was disgusting in the 80s and it's still disgusting in 2017:

TULIP HOUSEHOLD 101: HOME DRY CLEANER

I am NOT a clean freak. I need help. That's why I started my housekeeping service, to help all those busy home owners out there find some sanity in there homes. With this responsibility comes the learning process. Lucky for me, I am also surrounded by ladies who know about cleaning a little more than I do. So now I can share a few tips on the Home Dry Cleaner liquid.

FORM 1 ALREADY?

My niece is joining form one! What the...!!! How old am I? Where did the time go and what have I been doing all this time? I remember 4 or 5 years ago when her mom would complain about how she always lost her sweaters and socks at school. Who loses socks? Why would she take them off in the first place?!! Stacy was a very active girl at the time. By the time she got home from school, her uniform was not uniform with the others.

THE MORNING AFTER BLUES

Is it that day already? Yes it is. There's no other way to go about it but to actually do it (or get us to do it for you). Either way, it has to be done. The partying is over. It's clean up time. Where do you start?

Clearing up a week of party trash needn't be so daunting. If you have no one to help, these tips should be handy. All it takes is time and a positive attitude.