The most exciting news is… IT’S BRIGHT GREEN!!! I’m so excited. I need to trim up a little before my impending holiday, so I’m going to try to not use my trusty scooter and use peddle power instead!
I’m exagerating… it’s not exactly new. It’s a hand-me-down. My partner’s mum, Jackie, gave it to me at the weekend. She didn’t really have much of a choice.. her husband Martin was trying to make room in his shed for his flash new bike. So he offered it to me, I was grinning saying “it’s green! it’s green!”. Then he said, “I’d better check with Jackie, she’s had it years and she loves it”…. Being very polite, she didn’t want to disappoint my excited face.. so we crammed it into the car and left before she could change her mind!
PS. Martin has a flash new bike because he is cycling to Paris. Just the 300 miles! He’s clearly mad, but if you feel like encouraging him in his quest and doing a little bit for charity then you can give a little by clicking here

I can’t wait. After 2 years, the website is starting to look a little tired. Its first incarnation included an online shop. That was removed a while ago, and the big white spaces everywhere are a constant reminder!
So the lovely Dave and Pin at Zone1 are redesigning it and making it look lovely and fresh again.
Should be all glammed up in a few weeks, so check back soon and see how they’ve done!

So, in February, we took the big exciting step of moving out of my back room into a proper grown up fancy office. Well, it was more of a medium sized cupboard, but it seemed posh after fighting for space on my kitchen table knee deep in green cleaning paraphernalia. Anyhoo, it soon became home to Ceri and I.
Well, as always with us, it hasn’t gone smoothly! On Tuesday afternoon we were informed that the very nice people that were renting it to us were going bust.. and that we wouldn’t get our deposit back.. and that we had to be out by Friday. Yes, this Friday. Yes, 3 days notice.
Turns out they’ve done it before and make a habit of taking people’s deposits then chucking them out.
We’ve no idea what to do about attempting to get our deposit back, but we’ll try. I don’t think we stand much of a chance. As a word of warning, the lovely people who have taken lots of deposit money from lots of small business and disrupted us all are called MLS Business Centres.
In a panic, we rang round some of our commercial customers to see if they had room for 2 homeless Green Moppers. A couple of kind hearted souls offered us spaces without needing a deposit. Green Mop customers are the BEST! So in the end we took up one of the offers, and we spent all day today moving offices. I’m so greatful to the lovely Fifth Element people who have taken us in!
We’ll be settled in in no time I’m sure!

I don’t mean to go on.. but I’m going to anyway!
Please can we all try to stop the 3 most unnecessary household things that have become a habit for many.
1. Air fresheners.
2. Bleach.
3. Anti-bacterial products.
I’ve already gone on and on (and on and on..) about why not to use these as well as alternatives. So I just thought I’d remind you all to give em up! We don’t need to pollute our homes in order to keep them clean.

So close and yet…
We very nearly got our first franchise off the ground. It didn’t quite work out unfortunately. I was disappointed, but the lovely lady decided to go it alone. I’m sure she’ll do really well, but it’s a huge shame we’re not going to be helping her out.
I completely understand her decision and admit that when I first started Green Mop, I was very determined to go it alone and build my own business from scratch. I can even remember saying out loud “it’s cleaning.. how hard can it be”.
Oh I was SO naive!
I’d never run a business before.. or employed anyone, negotiated contracts, been a sales person or an accountant, done any marketing, been a boss or supplied quotes, provided customer service, chased payments, been responsible for health and safety… the list is HUGE!
I had done a bit of cleaning! But that is only part of what makes Green Mop a business. The learning curve was (and still is) very steep. To have had help with all the other elements at the beginning would have been a big advantage.
Oh well, we wish her the very best of luck in her cleaning business and genuinely hope that it works for her. She’ll work hard and be very successful, I’m sure. (I still think teaming up with Green Mop would have seen her hit the ground running though!)
So, meanwhile, we’ll be seeking out other quality candidates to become our first Green Mop franchisee! We want there to be Green Moppers keeping homes and workplaces clean and green all over the country!

We do have some lovely customers you know. One of them is Life Water. They’re an interesting company, check them out here. They’re responsible and green.. just our kind of people!

After swapping home made washing up liquid recipes (yes, really!), Sophie at Life Water sent me a link showing how a local artist created something lovely from recycled Life Water bottles at the Beachdown Festival. Have a look at this video of the recycled art and let me know what you think!

Oh my oh my. We are SO proud to have won the Argus Eco Award for Green Business.

So Ceri, Sharon and I all went to our first ever award do. I had to dig out my old interview suit from my IT days (shiny elbows, ill fitting trousers, and ripped lining in the jacket), Ceri had to wear high heels (she was walking like she’s been riding a horse for 4 days), and Sharon was sporting her best dangly earrings (bling!). We were wined and we wered dined (Barefoot Wines and Due South were 2 of the sponsors!).

Then the awards ceremony started. Our category was 2nd to last, so my nerves were frazzled. I got all psyched up as our category loomed, then the compere said “let’s take a break for the raffle”! Jeeeeeepers..

I’d bought some raffle tickets, and foolishly agreed that Sharon, Ceri and I would share any prizes (although Sharon and I decided that if we won the surfing lesson, Ceri could have that all to herself!). There was huge excitement when we won the £250 shopping spree at Churchill Square… that we’re going to share (sulk)!

Then, back to the awards.. We were up against Nigel’s Eco Store and the Cycling Gardener, both lovely and deserving local Green Businesses. The sponsor of the award was Neilson Active Holidays , and their big cheese read out that we had won.

I can’t tell you how pleased I was! There was a big cheer (even louder than when we won the shopping spree!). Sharon and Ceri had decided to make as much noise as possible (the free wine helped!).

And so we are now Green Mop - the Award Winning green cleaning company!

The Green Moppers have worked so very hard in the last 18 months. Ceri and Sharon in particular have helped so much to make us a success. Green Mop struck lucky when those 2 agreed to be the core of the team. All the girls and boys, both past and present, that have pulled on the Green Mop t-shirt and got stuck in making homes and workplaces clean and fresh have all contributed to the great reputation we have earned. Gen, Alice, Sophie, Jo, Joe, Johnny Sparkles, Hettie, Maria, Apphia, a big thanks.

And our lovely customers. Thank you to those that took the time to nominate us in the first place! And thanks for choosing us to be your cleaners and helping our small green and ethical business to thrive in Brighton and Hove.

Thanks also to the Argus and the sponsors for putting on such a great do. We did have fun!

One last thanks and then I’ll shut up! Thanks to my friends and family for putting up with all the Green Mop trials and tribulations. Josie has to put up with most of it! But Josie and Teen are always there with advice and help and ideas. My family are so proud and supportive and encouraging.

Anyway, back to reality… there’s cleaning that needs doing, so better get on..

Ooo it’s all change here at Green Mop Towers.

Many of our regular customers will already know Ceri Jackson who’s been working with me pretty much since Green Mop began last year. Well, as our little company grows, we’ve decided to split the responsibilities of Commerical and Domestic Cleaning Services.

Ceri will now take care of all our Domestic customers. And I’ll be concentrating on the Commercial side of our business.

As we continue to grow, we need to make sure that the service we provide maintains the high standards that us Green Moppers and the customers expect.

We both still get stuck in and do a lot of cleaning ourselves, so you will still see us scootering about with our feather dusters sticking out of our rucksacks!

And we both want to thank all our customers for helping our little business thrive! We’ll both continue to strive to keep your homes and offices clean and green!

I don’t want to show off or anything…. BUT we’re very proud to have been nominated for an Argus Eco-Award in the Green Business category!

There are some great eco businesses in our area, so I’m not sure how we’ll get on! But it is just great to be nominated. You can see a full list of the nominees and more info here www.theargus.co.uk/ecoawards

Fingers crossed!

Do you know all the amazing things you can do with plain old Baking Soda? Betcha don’t! I know, I know, how exciting can Baking Soda be? To begin with back in the day it was one of the few products available to all that multi-tasked like no-body’s business. It was used on everything from upset stomachs to brushing teeth. These days of course, a lot has changed, but what we do still do is overpay for a host of products that either charge extra because they contain Baking Soda as an ingredient or do the very same things that Baking Soda can do. The following is a list of 10 1/2 amazing ways to incorporate Baking Soda into your everyday beauty routine.

1. Acne Mask Combine baking Soda with just enough purified water to form a thick paste. Plaster the paste on acne prone areas and chill out for 10-15 minutes. Rinse with cool water. Repeat daily and revel in the results after just 1 week!

2. Smelly Hands Yuck! If your hands have acquired an odor for some reason mix 4 parts Baking Soda with 1 part water add to hand soap. Rub mixture together in your hands with a little bit of water. Rinse, repeat and smell a lot better!

2 1/2. Smelly Feet Double yuck! Soak tired, smelly feet in a basin of warm water mixed with 5 tablespoons Baking Soda. Awe, it’s relaxing and kills the odor!

3. Shampoo buildup on hair Add 1 tablespoon Baking Soda to your usual shampoo. Lather. Rinse. Repeat, and say goodbye to nasty buildup!

4. Callused Rough Skin Mix 3 parts Baking Soda with 1 part purified water to form a thick paste. Massage into callused rough skin in a circle motion. Repeat daily, follow with moisturizer of your choice.

5. Skin Irritations Windburn? Sunburn? Poison ivy? 3 parts Baking Soda with one part water. Create the miracle paste. Scoop and pat onto irritated areas, sit back and let it dry, repeat as necessary.

6. Relaxing Bath Oh its been one of those days! Sit back and relax in a hot Baking Soda soak. Just add 3/4cup of Baking Soda to your bath and relax those stiff muscles away.

7. Fingernail Discoloration If your like me you use your poor fingernails as tools! After awhile they can start to look dingy and discolored. Add 1 part Baking Soda to 2 parts water. Soak your grimy nails in the mixture for 5 minutes. Follow up by dipping your nail brush into the mixture and scrubbing the really harsh stains away.

6. Dentures, Retainers, Mouth-guards Add 3 teaspoons of Baking Soda to warm water. Soak assorted mouth wear until water runs cool.

7. Toothpaste Mix 3 parts Baking Soda with 1 part salt. Add 3 teaspoons of glycerin. Add 10 to 20 drops of your flavoring of choice (I like peppermint or cinnamon oil). When your ready to use it add just enough water to make a paste and scrub away.

8. Odor killing Mouthwash Add 2 teaspoons Baking Soda to 4 ounces of purified water. Swish and gargle in mouth swirling through teeth. Spit don’t swallow!

9. Facial Exfoliant See my post below on the Baking Soda Facial!

10. Facial Scrub Here’s a great weekly face scrub. Mix 4 tablespoons Baking Soda with 1/2 cup oatmeal in your blender. Add enough water to make a paste. Apply to face, gently rubbing into skin in a circular motion!