Thursday, February 11, 2010
Cleaning Furniture the Bettina Way
copyright the Bettina Network, inc. 2010
Several months ago, we received a telephone call from a host family in the Bettina Network whose home is open for bed & breakfast guests.
She had an exciting experience cleaning and polishing her furniture. Not many of us get excited over such things these days. It has taken a couple months for us to share this with you because we were afraid to try her suggestion to verify her results. We've done that now and it is actually, really exciting.
She cleans and polishes her wood furniture every six months. How she does it is what's at issue: she mixes olive oil with the juice from 1/2 lemon and rubs this into her wood furniture.
Having been conditioned by the petrochemical crowd and their fantastic marketing, we thought this would be a disaster. We asked a few people to try it before we set out on this project and their results were astounding - so, our turn.
We mixed one cup olive oil with the juice of 1/2 lemon, used 0000 steel wool and set about rubbing our furniture. Once we rubbed the furniture with the 0000 steel wool, (always in the direction of the grain), we wiped off the oil and the steel wool residue with a soft cloth and went back over the furniture with plain olive oil. We let the furniture dry overnight.
The next morning I fully expected to find little animals feasting on the oil residue and an oily ugly mess, but instead the excess oil soaked into the furniture and left a hard beautiful sheen. The results are phenomenal. The furniture is clean, bright, and has a shine that is real. Not greasy, nor slimy, nor anything like that, just a good, clean, hard, dry sheen.
The side benefits from this furniture cleaning and polishing expedition came when we looked at our hands. No rubber gloves were needed because we were using olive oil and lemon juice - neither of which would hurt us if it touched our skin. Our hands were beautifully soft because they had been nourished by the olive oil we used as furniture oil. Another benefit came from the house not smelling of petroleum distillates, a really foul smell. I sniffed around in the evening and couldn't smell anything. We asked bed & breakfast guests if they smelled anything when they came in, they said no - nothing. I was concerned because I didn't want the house to smell like a salad dressing, but that didn't happen. The house had a nice, clean, fresh, smell.
A variation on this came from trying a substitute of lemongrass essential oil for the lemon juice. That is an essential oil which we've found has side health benefits. The results were not as dramatic as when we used the olive oil and lemon juice combination, but still very good. The smell was a major difference - probably because of the lemongrass essential oil - the house had a fresh, light sort of lemony smell. We didn't pick that smell up with the olive oil and lemon juice but then lemongrass oil has an old wives tale with it which claims it is an excellent insecticide, so maybe that explains the smell.
Copying from an article on the internet "Lemongrass essential oil is analgesic, anti-microbial, antiseptic, astringent, bactericidal, carminative, deodorant, insecticidal, sedative, nervine and a tonic; in aromatherapy, lemongrass oil is used to treat acne, to repel insects such as fleas, lice, ticks and mosquitoes, to relieve muscle pain, indigestion, fever, disease, headaches, stress and nervous exhaustion."
Read more at Suite101: Lemongrass Essential Oil: The Properties and Uses of Lemongrass Oil in Aromatherapy http://aromatherapy.suite101.com/article.cfm/lemongrass_essential_oil#ixzz0fEJAqYes
We are going to ask all Bettina homes which offer bed & breakfast to use olive oil and either lemon juice or lemongrass essential oil to clean their furniture in the future. We can't see anyone objecting. The benefits are - less money spent on furniture polishers; no need for rubber gloves to clean your furniture; does not compromise your health; nice fresh, clean smell; beautiful furniture and possibly an insecticide side-affect; AND its benefits to the environment are immense.
Afterthoughts: The 0000 steel wool for the initial cleaning was our idea and it is not something that is a necessary part of cleaning the furniture. We are the only ones who used the 0000 steel wool, everyone else rubbed the olive oil and lemon juice combination onto their furniture with a soft cloth and rubbed the furniture until it was clean. They also wiped off the olive oil and lemon juice combination and followed that with rubbing plain olive oil into their furniture as a second step. Everyone let the oil dry overnight for an added benefit instead of wiping off the excess oil immediately and went over the furniture the next morning with a soft dry cloth. We all also found that the oil was gone from the furniture the next morning and the hard, dry shine was in place.
TO RESPOND TO THIS BLOG email comments to info@bettina-network.com
TO LEARN MORE about the Bettina Network, inc. try www.bettina-network.com
IF YOU ENJOY OUR BLOG, USE OUR SERVICES TO BOOK YOUR ACCOMMODATIONS WHEN YOU
TRAVEL!!! 1-800-347-9166 inside U.S. or 617-497-9166 outside or inside the U.S
Several months ago, we received a telephone call from a host family in the Bettina Network whose home is open for bed & breakfast guests.
She had an exciting experience cleaning and polishing her furniture. Not many of us get excited over such things these days. It has taken a couple months for us to share this with you because we were afraid to try her suggestion to verify her results. We've done that now and it is actually, really exciting.
She cleans and polishes her wood furniture every six months. How she does it is what's at issue: she mixes olive oil with the juice from 1/2 lemon and rubs this into her wood furniture.
Having been conditioned by the petrochemical crowd and their fantastic marketing, we thought this would be a disaster. We asked a few people to try it before we set out on this project and their results were astounding - so, our turn.
We mixed one cup olive oil with the juice of 1/2 lemon, used 0000 steel wool and set about rubbing our furniture. Once we rubbed the furniture with the 0000 steel wool, (always in the direction of the grain), we wiped off the oil and the steel wool residue with a soft cloth and went back over the furniture with plain olive oil. We let the furniture dry overnight.
The next morning I fully expected to find little animals feasting on the oil residue and an oily ugly mess, but instead the excess oil soaked into the furniture and left a hard beautiful sheen. The results are phenomenal. The furniture is clean, bright, and has a shine that is real. Not greasy, nor slimy, nor anything like that, just a good, clean, hard, dry sheen.
The side benefits from this furniture cleaning and polishing expedition came when we looked at our hands. No rubber gloves were needed because we were using olive oil and lemon juice - neither of which would hurt us if it touched our skin. Our hands were beautifully soft because they had been nourished by the olive oil we used as furniture oil. Another benefit came from the house not smelling of petroleum distillates, a really foul smell. I sniffed around in the evening and couldn't smell anything. We asked bed & breakfast guests if they smelled anything when they came in, they said no - nothing. I was concerned because I didn't want the house to smell like a salad dressing, but that didn't happen. The house had a nice, clean, fresh, smell.
A variation on this came from trying a substitute of lemongrass essential oil for the lemon juice. That is an essential oil which we've found has side health benefits. The results were not as dramatic as when we used the olive oil and lemon juice combination, but still very good. The smell was a major difference - probably because of the lemongrass essential oil - the house had a fresh, light sort of lemony smell. We didn't pick that smell up with the olive oil and lemon juice but then lemongrass oil has an old wives tale with it which claims it is an excellent insecticide, so maybe that explains the smell.
Copying from an article on the internet "Lemongrass essential oil is analgesic, anti-microbial, antiseptic, astringent, bactericidal, carminative, deodorant, insecticidal, sedative, nervine and a tonic; in aromatherapy, lemongrass oil is used to treat acne, to repel insects such as fleas, lice, ticks and mosquitoes, to relieve muscle pain, indigestion, fever, disease, headaches, stress and nervous exhaustion."
Read more at Suite101: Lemongrass Essential Oil: The Properties and Uses of Lemongrass Oil in Aromatherapy http://aromatherapy.suite101.com/article.cfm/lemongrass_essential_oil#ixzz0fEJAqYes
We are going to ask all Bettina homes which offer bed & breakfast to use olive oil and either lemon juice or lemongrass essential oil to clean their furniture in the future. We can't see anyone objecting. The benefits are - less money spent on furniture polishers; no need for rubber gloves to clean your furniture; does not compromise your health; nice fresh, clean smell; beautiful furniture and possibly an insecticide side-affect; AND its benefits to the environment are immense.
Afterthoughts: The 0000 steel wool for the initial cleaning was our idea and it is not something that is a necessary part of cleaning the furniture. We are the only ones who used the 0000 steel wool, everyone else rubbed the olive oil and lemon juice combination onto their furniture with a soft cloth and rubbed the furniture until it was clean. They also wiped off the olive oil and lemon juice combination and followed that with rubbing plain olive oil into their furniture as a second step. Everyone let the oil dry overnight for an added benefit instead of wiping off the excess oil immediately and went over the furniture the next morning with a soft dry cloth. We all also found that the oil was gone from the furniture the next morning and the hard, dry shine was in place.
TO RESPOND TO THIS BLOG email comments to info@bettina-network.com
TO LEARN MORE about the Bettina Network, inc. try www.bettina-network.com
IF YOU ENJOY OUR BLOG, USE OUR SERVICES TO BOOK YOUR ACCOMMODATIONS WHEN YOU
TRAVEL!!! 1-800-347-9166 inside U.S. or 617-497-9166 outside or inside the U.S
Labels: Bettina Network Info, Making Connections
Friday, January 1, 2010
What I like most about Bettina homes!
I read your update on adding computers to Bettina homes. I call only Bettina's when I travel and because of my research I mostly travel to Harvard Square Cambridge. I wouldn't stay anyplace else. When you leave home you leave all your conveniences. I like to play the guitar when I get home from a tough day. When I get to Cambridge, the home where I stay has a guitar which I take over and take to my room and play it evenings. I've met other people who stay in your homes because they have access to other musical instruments. Another house in Harvard Square has a harp which people can use. I've been there to see friends staying there so I've seen and played the harp (sort of). I met a woman there who plays beautiful harp - jazz harp, that was quite a while ago. She played a brief concert for us and I will never forget hearing her. Don't remember her name!
Your network is really a fantastic way to travel.
Thanks for your holiday greeting. Keep up the good work and lots of luck in 2010!
A reader (no name please)
editors note: Whenever we receive an email or phone call or etc. We put your notes in Bettina's Blog, but we don't ever put your name or other identifying information unless you tell us its alright to do so.
TRAVEL!!! 1-800-347-9166 inside U.S. or 617-497-9166 outside or inside the U.S
Your network is really a fantastic way to travel.
Thanks for your holiday greeting. Keep up the good work and lots of luck in 2010!
A reader (no name please)
editors note: Whenever we receive an email or phone call or etc. We put your notes in Bettina's Blog, but we don't ever put your name or other identifying information unless you tell us its alright to do so.
TO RESPOND TO THIS BLOG email comments to info@bettina-network.com
TO LEARN MORE about the Bettina Network, inc. try www.bettina-network.com
IF YOU ENJOY OUR BLOG, USE OUR SERVICES TO BOOK YOUR ACCOMMODATIONS WHEN YOUTRAVEL!!! 1-800-347-9166 inside U.S. or 617-497-9166 outside or inside the U.S
Labels: Bettina Network Info, Guest comments and talents, Making Connections, Reader Feedback, Travel Bettina Style
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Changes in Bettina Homes
copyright 2009 The Bettina Network, inc.
In 2010 you will find wonderful changes in Bettina homes for your added comfort and need for ever more elegant surroundings. The major change is around technology. All Bettina homes have broadband internet access - the kind which has a very fast response time, doesn't need a telephone dial-up and is accessible to you in your room at no extra charge. That broadband includes wireless internet access in all homes. In some homes, you have immediate access to the wireless by simply turning on your computer; in others, where your host family is super-security conscious, your computer IP number is entered into the security system and you then have immediate access to the internet. Eventually, that kind of secure access will be common across the Bettina Network.
The change about which we are most proud is now YOU HAVE ACCESS TO A COMPUTER, at no extra charge, as well as internet wired and wireless when you stay in a Bettina home. You may request a computer when you make reservations and you will find one in your room when you arrive.
Some are computers without lots of bells and whistles; others are totally equipped with what you wish you had at home. On the plain vanilla computers, you will have to sign into your home/office computer and use your programs remotely. You will be able to access your email on the computer in your room. In other homes, the computers are complete with every little thing available. The difference is the level of technical competence of the host family. As those host families become more comfortable and knowledgeable about their increased technology offerings, those computers will be upgraded and other things will be added. Although, some host families, who are technologically challenged, have so many technical people staying as guests, they tend to have better equipped computers because of their guests contributions to their knowledge and they have added other little gadgets like iPod docking stations.
We are constantly working to keep our position ahead of the pack. Its no fun doing business when you are running with or slightly behind everyone else. It is not about offering cheap service at a cheap price, that has never been what the Bettina Network is about. - It is about offering quality, convenience, luxury, an elegant and very green lifestyle as economically as we can possibly offer it, with both our guests and our host families surviving and thriving nicely.
We had some interesting side developments in 2009. One couple - who met in a famous Bettina home in Harvard Square Cambridge - are now engaged and planning a wedding in June: one Bettina host family is helping them plan the wedding; and they are going to be married by another Bettina host family member, but unfortunately not in a Bettina home, in their family home - which we would love to add to the Bettina Network. A family, who stayed in Bettina homes for many years, lost a loved one and a Bettina host family member, who had been involved in the last months of life with the family, was at the funeral and officiated. Another Bettina host family member, who is a photographer/videographer produced a beautiful documentary, which is available in Bettina homes if you would like to see it and/or buy it.
Several guests registered their talent with the Bettina Network and we were able to find work for them -painting, sculpting, photographing, musicians, etc. Concerts are now being held in a couple homes where the families are professional musicians. Its great for the family member because they have an audience on which they can try a new program, before they present it in a public concert, and great for the guests who see and hear musicians perform, up close, able to ask questions, talk about what they've heard and enjoy an hour of beautiful music.
We are very happy about the direction in which we are moving and hope you will let us know how we can improve to better suit your needs in 2010!
One disappointment was to see our motto - "Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares" - being prominently used by an Inn in Cambridge in their advertisements. We keep hearing that imitation is the highest form of flattery, so we will take it as such and know that we must be succeeding in what we do or we wouldn't be imitated. We know our guests are discerning and know the difference between follow-the-leader and the real thing.
Happy New Year! May you think of us first and foremost during 2010 and beyond!
TRAVEL!!! 1-800-347-9166 inside U.S. or 617-497-9166 outside or inside the U.S
In 2010 you will find wonderful changes in Bettina homes for your added comfort and need for ever more elegant surroundings. The major change is around technology. All Bettina homes have broadband internet access - the kind which has a very fast response time, doesn't need a telephone dial-up and is accessible to you in your room at no extra charge. That broadband includes wireless internet access in all homes. In some homes, you have immediate access to the wireless by simply turning on your computer; in others, where your host family is super-security conscious, your computer IP number is entered into the security system and you then have immediate access to the internet. Eventually, that kind of secure access will be common across the Bettina Network.
The change about which we are most proud is now YOU HAVE ACCESS TO A COMPUTER, at no extra charge, as well as internet wired and wireless when you stay in a Bettina home. You may request a computer when you make reservations and you will find one in your room when you arrive.
Some are computers without lots of bells and whistles; others are totally equipped with what you wish you had at home. On the plain vanilla computers, you will have to sign into your home/office computer and use your programs remotely. You will be able to access your email on the computer in your room. In other homes, the computers are complete with every little thing available. The difference is the level of technical competence of the host family. As those host families become more comfortable and knowledgeable about their increased technology offerings, those computers will be upgraded and other things will be added. Although, some host families, who are technologically challenged, have so many technical people staying as guests, they tend to have better equipped computers because of their guests contributions to their knowledge and they have added other little gadgets like iPod docking stations.
We are constantly working to keep our position ahead of the pack. Its no fun doing business when you are running with or slightly behind everyone else. It is not about offering cheap service at a cheap price, that has never been what the Bettina Network is about. - It is about offering quality, convenience, luxury, an elegant and very green lifestyle as economically as we can possibly offer it, with both our guests and our host families surviving and thriving nicely.
We had some interesting side developments in 2009. One couple - who met in a famous Bettina home in Harvard Square Cambridge - are now engaged and planning a wedding in June: one Bettina host family is helping them plan the wedding; and they are going to be married by another Bettina host family member, but unfortunately not in a Bettina home, in their family home - which we would love to add to the Bettina Network. A family, who stayed in Bettina homes for many years, lost a loved one and a Bettina host family member, who had been involved in the last months of life with the family, was at the funeral and officiated. Another Bettina host family member, who is a photographer/videographer produced a beautiful documentary, which is available in Bettina homes if you would like to see it and/or buy it.
Several guests registered their talent with the Bettina Network and we were able to find work for them -painting, sculpting, photographing, musicians, etc. Concerts are now being held in a couple homes where the families are professional musicians. Its great for the family member because they have an audience on which they can try a new program, before they present it in a public concert, and great for the guests who see and hear musicians perform, up close, able to ask questions, talk about what they've heard and enjoy an hour of beautiful music.
We are very happy about the direction in which we are moving and hope you will let us know how we can improve to better suit your needs in 2010!
One disappointment was to see our motto - "Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares" - being prominently used by an Inn in Cambridge in their advertisements. We keep hearing that imitation is the highest form of flattery, so we will take it as such and know that we must be succeeding in what we do or we wouldn't be imitated. We know our guests are discerning and know the difference between follow-the-leader and the real thing.
Happy New Year! May you think of us first and foremost during 2010 and beyond!
TO RESPOND TO THIS BLOG email comments to info@bettina-network.com
TO LEARN MORE about the Bettina Network, inc. try www.bettina-network.com
IF YOU ENJOY OUR BLOG, USE OUR SERVICES TO BOOK YOUR ACCOMMODATIONS WHEN YOUTRAVEL!!! 1-800-347-9166 inside U.S. or 617-497-9166 outside or inside the U.S
Labels: Bettina Network Info, Travel Bettina Style
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