The Stigma of Green Cleaning Products

Green cleaning carries with it a dark shadow.

Of course I'm being dramatic, but there's usually a little truth in jest. Many green cleaners are reported not to work as well as normal cleaning products. And this is true. A green cleaner cannot do what bleach or ammonia does, but does it have to? No. You see, there is but one difference between normal, and green cleaning agents:

Time.

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Most people don't have time to clean their home everyday. I know this from experience, trust me. Hell, Budget wouldn't exist if it people had all the time and energy in the world to clean up their abodes. So, typically when someone cleans, the dirt, dust and grime of daily living can build up, and most people don't want to expel the effort to spend extra time cleaning with a green product. And I can understand that! But it's not the product's fault. It's what it's being used for.

 

Look Familiar? Source

Heavy duty cleaners, I'm talkin' the toxic, no nonsense cleansers, usually have no problem cutting through all sorts of nasty stuff. But green products, on the other hand, usually require a little time and elbow grease. And that's where the problem lies. Honestly, it would be best for one to maintain their home regularly with green products, opposed to just deep cleaning their home with them once every few weeks. The convenience of one stop shopping, multi-surface cleaning products is immense. But they come with a price.

So when someone goes to clean up their house with green agents, they might find that the product is working that well. Why? Two reasons. The product could literally be useless. Let's not discount that. Second, green products aren't meant (in my experience) for super tough, caked on, baked on grimy jobs. Sure they'll do the trick if you have the muscle and patience, but most people don't. Hence, they turn to harsh cleansers to do the job more quickly.

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You see, green cleaning products can disinfect. Vinegar, for example, can. Hydrogen peroxide too, but the harsher disinfectants found in more powerful household cleaners which contain monstrous disinfectants that slay bacteria and other undesirables from any surface. But, how much is too much? According to this article, too much disinfectant lead to the creation of "Superbugs" in some hospitals; anti-biotic resistant microbes that resist most forms of conventional treatment.

Evil Superbugs! Source

As we pound these bugs with harsh disinfectants, they start to...fight back.Natural cleaning agents, however,  simply don't pack the punch bleach, or ammonia does. They still clean surfaces and make them safe to use, yes, but they don't obliterate all germ on contact like bleach does. And this isn't a bad thing! We have an immune system for a reason, people! If we are killing all the germs around us, our immune system simply won't encounter and destroy dangerous microbes often enough. And when one does make it in, it is typically a Superbug that can make you super sick. Hell, you don't need a peer reviewed journal to tell you that. It's just common sense.

So don't give up on green cleaners. They work, they really do, and they are safer for your health in the long run. Of course, there are some situations (medical, handling raw meat, bio-hazards, etc) where total disinfection is needed. But around the house, do you really need to wage war with disinfectants, bleach, ammonia, and other toxic chemicals?

Think about it.

Remember the Fallen in Boston

Terrible. Absoltuely terrible.

By now, you've heard all about the events that occurred during the Boston Marathon this week. The violence, the death, the pain. And if you're anything like Budget, you are holding the victims of this awful attack in your thoughts, and wishing them well.

Violence, my friends, will always be around us. Evil. But don't lose hope.

There are more good people in this world than bad. A lot more. Unfortunately, the bad gets way more attention than the good, and that can sometimes make us jaded, cynical, fearful, calloused. But this is not the way to go.

Violence will always be a part of humanity. There are some people that simply...want to hurt others. But in spite of all this blood and death, there are people that were on the scene during the attack, helping the injured, helping the emergency crews on scene. These are the good people. And this reminds me of a quote I saw recently on the internet:

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And this quote holds true. There are always more people willing to help than to hurt. Create than destroy. And in these dark times, such hope can keep the soul of humanity alive. So. Without pradling on any more, please stay safe. Keep your eyes open, and don't be silent. If something doesn't look or feel right, say something. You could save someone's life that way.

Be a helper. Not a harmer.

*Strength, peace, and love to all those affected by the bombing during the Boston Marathon from everyone at Budget.*

Praise in the Workplace- Yes It's Important

Morale is the intangible asset that makes a business flow smoothly. Of course, money, resources, equipment and the like are all important too, but take a second to consider this. What is a company without its people? And I mean everyone, from the hourly worker in the trenches to the President/CEO in the branch office 1000 miles away. Sure, you can have employees, and sure they'll work for you. But how much will they want to work for you? How much will they take before they just give up?

Don't be that guy.   Source

Praise, attention, a simple thank you, good job, etc are absolutely invaluable to worker performance. I know because when I'm praised for doing a job well done, or being there when no-one else could be, I want to work harder! I want to get better, work harder, and really give it my all. Think this is all a load of new-age, touchy-feely, progressive crap? Read on.

Feeling...unappreciated?  Source

For those of you that just want the cold, hard facts, here ya go: THE FACTS. It's dry, but informative. I found myself getting bored, so I looked at another link instead. This one was more cut to the chase- it outlines the feelings and desires of an average employee, and basically tells you (the reader) what you may be doing to ruin their productivity and destroy morale all around the office. No matter what, overall employee morale comes down to management. Of course, there are some employees that don't want to do anything, or will simply have a bad attitude no matter what. But these people are the exceptions, opposed to the standard.

On the other hand, too much praise can be bad as well. In another article I found, praising employees too much can cause a number of adverse outcomes that hurt the productivity of the worker, and the company. According to the article, too much praise can inflate egos rather than encourage independence and confidence. The praise can also become empty and meaningless, more annoying than encouraging I would suspect.

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Giving praise is something that should come naturally, I think, and isn't a scripted event, or a policy in some in the tome that is an employee handbook. I found this article too, addressing some of the common myths, or misconceptions about praise. Evidently, some people just don't know how to tell others that they're doing a good job. And that's okay. Not everyone is demonstrative, but having that in mind, I want to discuss my final point.

Motivation is personal. A person cannot be motivated to do something well. They can be forced, intimidated, asked, but motivation is something that comes from within. Real, honest to goodness praise strengthens, and inspires motivation. Period.

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So if you deem yourself not as the touchy feely type, that's fine! Sometimes, all employees (including myself)  are looking for is a "thank you" when a report get done early, or a "good job!" when they've really worked hard and tried to make their work mean something. You don't have to give them a hug or read em' a poem, you know.

A simple thank you usually does the trick.