Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Ironing Tips

Do you sometimes feel like your clothes look even more wrinkled after you iron them? The following tips and guidelines should help make your ironing go more smoothly.

Ironing Time-Savers
  • Do your ironing in the bedroom. You'll be able to use the bed to sort your laundry, and you'll have hangers close at hand in the closet.
  • Cut your ironing time by putting a piece of aluminum foil under the ironing board cover. The foil will reflect heat so you're actually ironing from both sides at once.
  • Progress from articles or garments needing the lowest temperature to those requiring the highest.
  • For a perfect fit, place your ironing board cover on the board while it's still damp, and let it dry in place.
  • Ironing
    Raspberry Laundry and Dry Clean Services
    To avoid creases, place a rolled up towel in a sleeve before ironing.
    ­To prevent wrinkles, keep moving freshly ironed surfaces away from you.
  • To prevent collars, cuffs, and hems from puckering, iron them on the wrong side first.
  • Iron double-thickness fabric on the inside first, then on the outside.
  • Acrylic knits can stretch out of shape if moved when wet and warm. Press each section dry, and let it cool completely before moving it on the ironing board.
  • When pressing badly wrinkled corduroy, hold the iron just above the garment and steam the fabric thoroughly. While the corduroy is still damp, quickly smooth it along the ribs with your palm.
  • Revive the nap of velvet or corduroy by pressing it right side down on a piece of the same fabric.
  • If you don't have a sleeve board, insert a rolled-up towel in sleeves so they can be pressed without leaving creases. Or make your own sleeve board from a cardboard tube covered with soft fabric.

    ­
  • Quick spray starch can be made at home by slowly adding 1 tablespoon cornstarch to 2 cups water. Stir until the starch is dissolved, and pour the blend into a clean spray bottle. Spray fabrics lightly when ironing. 
  • IroningRaspberry Laundry and Dry Clean Services
    Use paper clips to hold pleats in place.
    ­­Restore a shiny look to chintz by ironing the fabric right side down on waxed paper.

  • To keep from giving your wash-and-wear garments a sheen when you do touch-up ironing, turn the clothing inside out and iron the wrong side.
  • To remove wrinkles from a tie, insert a piece of cardboard cut to fit its inside. Cover the tie with cheesecloth, and press lightly with a steam iron.
  • To avoid flattening embroidery or eyelets when ironing, iron them face down on a thick towel.
  • Hold pleats in place with paper clips when ironing. Be careful that the clips don't snag the fabric -- particularly if it has a loose weave.

Sunday, August 19, 2012

How to Start Your Own Work at Home Wash and Fold Service


There are many work-at-home business ideas that don't occur to most people. One of them requires no special skills and very little start up money. Moreover, everything you need to operate this business can be found in your laundry room. Not sure what I'm talking about? Here's a hint: you already do it and probably have been for years. I'm talking about starting your own wash and fold service.

Laundry. So simple to do, yet most people hate doing it. For you, it can provide an extra income.

Many stay at home parents (SAHPs) looking for a work at home (WAH) job or business probably don't think of a wash and fold service as an option. It certainly wasn't something I thought of initially when I was looking for something to do from home. But after trying a few different opportunities and being disappointed with each outcome, the idea of a running home-based wash and fold service was born. It took some work and a few trials and errors, but now I clean clothes once a week and gross 20,000 a month. Not bad for just cleaning clothes!

I'm going to share with you how I began my home-based laundry service, Raspberry Laundry and Dry Clean, and give you tips that would have saved me a lot of time. I'll include a step-by-step guide as well as ideas for marketing. Starting a home laundry service is a great way to make extra money without having to sacrifice a lot of your time!

Take Care of the Legal Stuff
You'll need to check with your state on potential licensing and registration requirements. There will be a sales tax you'll need to pay on a frequent basis; it is imperative that you know what the sales tax is in the county you will be operating in. You'll also need to establish how you will be organized; Sole Proprietor, Partnership or Corporation.

Open a Business Checking Account
I strongly recommend keeping your laundry business and personal transactions separate. Although not necessary, it is easier come tax time to report your earnings and expenses if they are not commingled with your personal finances.

Set up Your Record-Keeping
You will need to keep track of several things including:
  • Laundry clients
  • Payments received
  • Expenses
  • Mileage
This does not mean you need to go out and purchase fancy financial software- What i did is i buy a columnar notebook and list all the expenses and receivables.

Arrange the Method and Terms of Payment
Determine your payment terms. Will your clients pay you before services are performed or after?  These are policies you'll need to establish prior to taking on clients. Almost all of my clients prefer to pay cash.
You'll also need to determine how much you will charge your clients.

Make a Website
Some may argue that this step is not necessary, but I'd have to completely disagree. You do not have a brick and mortar store like the Laundromats, so your website, in a sense, is your store. You need to have a way for clients to find you and get information about your services. You can accomplish this goal by creating a website. Weebly s is a free web design site that is very user-friendly.


Market Your Services
There are several online and offline ways to market your services; I'll begin with online marketing.

When it comes to creating your online presence, you're going to have two options: free marketing and paid marketing. I use a combination of both to promote my wash and fold service. Free marketing would include listing yourself on free directories such as Google Places and Yahoo! Local. Sulit and olx  is another great source to advertise your laundry service for free. Paid marketing includes sponsored ads you see on a search engine results pages. The top dogs are Google Adwords, Yahoo! Search, Microsoft Advertising and Facebook Ads. There are many more free and paid online marketers, but use this as your starting point.

Social media marketing is an imperative piece to your marketing efforts. Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn are just some of the available social sites. You don't need (and won't have the time) to create multiple accounts--a Facebook Page is sufficient to begin. To get clients to "Like" your Facebook page you could offer an incentive such as money off their first order.

Online marketing requires only time and a computer. For offline marketing you're going to have to do a lot of walking and talking. First thing you'll need to do is create an attention-getting flier. Fliers are a cheap way to promote your business and if there's a local college campus, you can expose yourself to hundreds of potential clients every day. Make sure your flier has an attention-getting headline and print it on vibrant colored paper.
Include pull off tabs at the bottom of your flier containing your:
  • Business name
  • Phone number
  • Email
  • Web address (if you have one)
Business cards and flyers are another marketing tool you'll need for those times when you are talking with a potential client.




Make a list of local companies that could use your service (spas, doctor's offices, day cares, restaurants) and contact them either by phone or in person. You don't have to make it a pushy sales pitch. Just give a quick introduction about yourself and your laundry service, coupled with how your service can benefit their business.
Here's a little insider information that I've used to win over business clients: you are less expensive than big, commercial cleaners and you don't require lengthy contracts. Most large commercial cleaners require at least a year's contract and will charge for multiple items, such as fuel and processing. Knowing this information can give you something attractive to offer potential business clients.

Lastly, you'll need to talk about your business as often as you can. Networking is a very powerful tool. You never know when you'll run into someone who just happens to need your service or knows someone that does.

Ready...Set...Launch!
Now you are ready to go live with your business. Please be patient and understand that Rome wasn't built in a day. You will need time to grow your business. I didn't get my first client until 2 months after launch and believe me, I was starting to think I never would. After that first client I grew to 4, then 8, then 12. As a stay-at-home mom, I was making great extra money by just doing laundry out of my home. Now I help other stay-at-home parents accomplish the same thing through my company Raspberry Laundry and Dry Clean Services.

For more details you may call 0917.447.4068 or simply visit our site www.raspberrylaundry.com



How to clean your upholstery?

When you know how to clean and care for your upholstered furniture it will retain the look that made you fall in love with it in the first place. With proper cleaning, care, and maintenance, it is possible to have all your upholstery looking its best for a long time. It pays to be consistent, and it’s not hard to do.

Vacuum

Vacuum your upholstered furniture weekly for general cleaning and to remove surface soil. This also prevents dirt from becoming embedded into the fibers.
You can also use a brush to gently whisk the dirt away. Make sure to always use a soft bristled brush so that you don't snag the fabric.

Spot Clean

While regular care does a lot for your upholstered furniture's maintenance, accidents will happen. Blot any spills immediately with a clean folded towel: never rub, but blot gently. Sometimes this is enough to get rid of the stain completely, especially if the fabric has been pre-treated with a fabric protector.
Always test in an inconspicuous area before you use any product for spot cleaning, and check the manufacturer's instructions to see if you need a water based or solvent based cleaner. It is best to use a mild cleaning product. Apply with a soft brush in a circular motion to work into the fibers, then vacuum when dry.

Avoid Sunlight and Pollutants

Too much sun can damage your upholstery fabric, causing it to fade and even fray. Try to position it so that it doesn’t sit in the sun for extended periods of time. This is especially true for silks.
Airborne pollutants such as fumes from cooking or smoke can also harm your fabric. It isn’t always easy to avoid that from happening, however, proper ventilation can help. It can also help with odor control, as upholstered furniture can easily absorb odors.

Call a Professional

It is best to have a professional clean your upholstered furniture every couple of years or so. Experts recommend having this done on a regular basis and not wait for it to get visibly dirty. The dirtier a sofa or chair becomes, the harder it is to restore to its original glory.

Contact A Professional to do the cleaning for you 358-1375 / 3918115 or visit www.raspberrylaundry.ph.tc 

How to Fix White Clothes That Have Turned Pink


Panic time?
A load of fresh white clothes can quickly be turned into a load of wet pink clothes with only one red shirt slipping into the washing machine. However, those clothes can be saved and turned white again.Turning them white again can be accomplished with bleach and hot water as long as it is done immediately.

If the stains were caught before the clothing was put into the dryer, put the wet clothing to the side and fill up the basin with hot water.
Add one cup of chlorine bleach to the hot water and add the pink clothing to the basin.
Cover it with plastic for a day or until the pink residue has been totally removed. It is also best if you would place the basin into direct sunlight.


Monday, March 26, 2012

Raspberry Laundry & Dry Clean in Ortigas Center Pasig City

Raspberry Laundry is currently building another laundry in Goldland Millenia Tower in Ortigas Center Pasig City. The shop will be a reception site only and will be a satellite for laundry pick-up and drop-off.

Raspberry Laundry will also cater seminars on putting up a laundry business.The Shop will have its retail laundry chemicals and personal care products.


For pick up and delivery schedule within Ortigas Center you may call us at 0917.447.4068

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Raspberry Laundry Kiosk











Raspberry Laundry is currently building its kiosk concept in C. Raymundo Ave., Pasig City. The kiosk will be a reception site only and will be a satellite for laundry pick-up and drop-off.

The Raspberry Kiosk's design shows off Raspberry's new character by being both modern and functional.

Watch for the opening of Raspberry Laundry C. Raymundo Avenue on October!