5 Must-Clean Spots for Fall

Though everyone knows about “spring cleaning”, making sure your home is thoroughly cleaned in the fall is pretty important too. Once the weather cools off, we’ll all be heading inside to get cozy. Snuggling up on the couch will be a lot more pleasant without the dust bunnies. Feeling excited about the upcoming holidays is a stress-free way to enter the season of many celebrations. 

Here are the must-clean spots in your home for the fall:

The Pantry

It may sound like a daunting task, but cleaning out your pantry is an absolute necessity every once in a while. It’s best to take everything out and throw away any food items that have expired or gone bad. Vacuum the shelves to clean away crumbs and dust, and wipe them down with an all-purpose cleaner. When returning all of your pantry items to their proper place, ensure all opened items are sealed properly so they don’t spill and leave your pantry a mess all over again.

The Closet

The fall season brings cooler weather, and now is the perfect time to make the switch in your wardrobe. Go through your summer clothes and donate any that no longer fit or that just aren’t your style anymore. Vacuum closet floors, baseboards, and door panels, and dust shelves before putting your boots, scarves, jackets, and other fall clothing into the closet.

The Curtains

One of the nice things about warm weather is that it allows us to open the windows in our homes and let in the breeze. The downside to this is that pollen and dust can get in through the window screens and stick to your window coverings. After summer is over, throw them in the wash and clean them according to the material they are made of.

The Refrigerator

Just like you did with the pantry, remove everything from your fridge and toss any foods that have expired. Check all of your produce for freshness and make a list of what foods, drinks, or condiments your family is getting low on so you can grocery shop more confidently. Wash all shelves and drawers to remove spills and sticky spots.  A clean refrigerator is a great way to be prepared for the upcoming holiday meals and leftovers.

The Carpet

You’ll be spending more time indoors as the cooler weather comes. Giving your carpets a deep clean will ensure your living spaces are cozy, fresh, and stain-free as you wait for warmer weather to return next spring. Not up for the challenge? Don’t deny your carpets a thorough clean and call your local home carpet care professional.

Looking for a Cleaning Company in Eldersburg, MD?

You deserve to spend less time maintaining the household cleaning and more time relaxing and enjoying life! Immaculate Clean is your best resource for residential cleaning in Maryland. We’ve been serving our community of busy homeowners since 2004 and continue to satisfy our clients with consistent service with excellence. Contact us today and make sure to inquire about our “pre-holiday stress relief” specials!

3 Tips for Staying on Top of Your Laundry

We’ve all done it before, at least once or twice, and for some of us, it’s almost a lifestyle. We’re busy doing things around the house and haphazardly toss a dirty t-shirt or wet towel into the laundry room, reassuring ourselves that we’ll take care of it later when our current mental to-do list is completed. By the following week, that t-shirt has morphed into a terrifyingly gigantic, and perhaps even threatening, pile of dirty laundry that seems to be as impossible to deal with as Mt. Everest seems to climb.

It’s a fine feeling to avoid the chore of laundry while we’re busy with other things, whether it’s getting dressed for a fun night out or scrambling to get the floors vacuumed before the kids get home from school and turn the house upside down all over again. “One less thing to worry about today,” we tell ourselves, promising to tackle the laundry another day, or even later that same evening if we’re feeling extra ambitious.

Yet when the final chore on our mental checklist is completed, do we run to the laundry room? We’re willing to bet you “accidentally” forgot about the laundry and fell onto the couch with an exhausted, audible sigh instead on more occasions than one.

So how do we quit this endless cycle of watching the laundry pile up for days or weeks and having to dedicate what feels like an entire day to doing the 6 loads of laundry that finally came crashing down all over the floor, telling us that our washer and dryer could sit empty no more? Here’s what we’ve got:

Tip #1: Make a Weekly Chore List – For YOU!

Many of us tackle things better when they’re written down on paper. Make yourself a weekly to-do list and split household chores up evenly throughout the week so that you avoid days where you’re overwhelmed with too much on your plate. Checking things off the list can be rewarding in itself, and seeing the things you’ve accomplished on paper can motivate you to do even more.

Tip #2: Get Help from the Kids

Children tend to enjoy helping out with “adult” tasks. They might not necessarily love laundry, but folding is a relatively simple chore that kids can handle if they are given direction. If you’re more comfortable handling the laundry yourself, give the kids some of the simpler tasks you find yourself spending time on when you should be attending to the mountain of laundry that awaits you.

Tip #3: Hire a Cleaning Company to Handle the Rest

If monotonous house cleaning tasks are keeping you from taking care of the laundry on a regular basis, lighten the load by hiring a professional cleaning company to take care of everything else. Say “goodbye” to vacuuming, dusting, sweeping, and scrubbing and “hello” to fresh, clean clothes and a spotless laundry room!

Looking for a Professional Cleaning Company in Maryland?

Immaculate Clean has been providing superior cleaning services to thousands of homeowners for over 15 years. We work with our customers to find the best cleaning schedule that best suits their needs at a fair and affordable price. Contact us for a free estimate or for more information about our “laundry with light cleaning” service plans. We’ll help you get your laundry under control.

3 Ways to Prepare Your Home for Cleaning Day

Hiring someone to clean your home is an awesome way to enjoy a sanitary space without having to sacrifice your free time. To make sure that you’re getting the most out of your house cleaning services, we’ve put together some helpful tasks and tips to help us help you. Let’s take a look.

Don’t Clean Before the Cleaners

When we come into your home, we’re going to focus on cleaning and sanitizing. To do that, we need to make sure that obstacles are minimized. A home that is picked up and tidy prior to our arrival enables us to work efficiently while bringing consistently effective results.   But please, don’t “clean before the cleaners”. Cleaning is our job, and we’re really good at it!

Let Us Know What Rooms Cause Your Family The Biggest Challenge

Do you feel like you can handle the brunt of the routine weekly maintenance cleaning of your home, but just wish you could “get a little help from your friends” in those high traffic areas that take too much of your time?   Bathrooms and kitchens always feel like they never stay clean for long? We can customize your service plan to only address the areas that you would rather not have to tend to. We are here for you and ready to go to battle for you, fighting those dirt and germs that never seem to stop.   With professional grade equipment, tools and cleaning agents, there’s no job to difficult. Turn to your friends at Immaculate Clean. Our staff is trained to tackle the toughest jobs. They are equipped with the right tools that will get the results that you have wished for. Imagine how proud you’ll feel when those unexpected guests pop in on you and your home has been maintained by the professionals.

Make Sure Your Furry Family Members Feel Comfortable and Not Afraid

At Immaculate Clean, our entire staff loves animals. In fact, most of us have furry family members of our own.   This is why it is very important to us that your furry friends feel safe and secure on day of service. We also want our staff to feel safe and secure.   Make sure that any questions or concerns are addressed at time of hire in regards to your pet’s(s’) favorite place to rest and play. Our goal is to ensure that everyone living in your home has a positive experience. We’ll make sure to address any concerns at time of hire.

Ready for The Pride that Results from an “Immaculate Clean” Home?

We’re ready to help bring a whole new level of harmony into your home.   You deserve it and we’re prepared to deliver a consistent level of service excellence.   To learn more about how we serve our clients, contact us today. We look forward to meeting your needs and improving your quality of life.  Life’s way to short for busy homeowners to stress over the cleanliness of their home. Immaculate Clean is here to help. There’s a pride that results when you place your trust in the hands of the professionals.  We hope you’ll choose to experience this for yourself. Your family will thank you for taking back your free time to spend it doing what you and your family enjoy the most.

Lose the Guilt: We ALL Deserve a Professional Cleaning Service

For many of us who grew up in the 70s and 80s—I think they call us Generation X—the idea of paying someone to clean our house is something that takes some getting used to. Many of us saw our parents and grandparents fulfill traditional roles, with the dads working full-time outside of the home, while the moms stayed home and kept house. Hired help of any kind was usually seen as a luxury reserved for the wealthy, or for large, blended TV families like the Bradys who required a full-time Alice. Well, times have changed. The way families spend their spare time has changed. Our focus and priorities have changed. If your perception is still that you can’t afford or don’t deserve to hire a cleaning service, it’s time for that mindset to change as well!  

Full Time Workers Deserve a Cleaning Service

If you work full time outside of the home, especially if you’re a parent, you already know how limited your spare time is. Evenings and weekends are filled with kids’ activities, and you barely have time for your own personal life. The last thing you need to worry about is fitting in time to scrub the floors and dust the light fixtures. If you can outsource the cleaning to someone else on a regular basis, you’ll get more sleep and you’ll have more time to spend on your family and on yourself. Please don’t fear that you are setting a bad example for your kids, either. There will always remain plenty of household chores that you can enlist their help with.

Full Time Parents Deserve a Cleaning Service

If you are a stay-at-home parent or work-at-home parent, you might be especially hesitant about whether you should outsource your housecleaning. Please: don’t feel guilty. Unless you are one of those rare people who loves to clean and who is extremely organized, sometimes living in the midst of the messes all day long makes it even more difficult to stay on top of them. It’s overwhelming enough to try to keep up with today’s parenting duties. Think about it: June Cleaver did not have to run the Beaver to play dates, soccer practice, Cub Scouts, piano lessons, and karate, and she wasn’t trying to run a business out of her home or be the PTO volunteer of the year. She had plenty of spare time to set her hair, scrub toilets in her apron and kitten heels, and shake up a martini to hand to her husband at the end of his long, hard day at the office, all while Wally and the Beav were outside messing around with that rascally Eddie Haskell. Now, I don’t know that the world of the Cleaver family was really an accurate depiction of life in the 1950s, but for many people and for many years, it represented an ideal for housewives to aspire to. It’s long past time to let that ideal go.

Elderly People Deserve a Cleaning Service

If you have elderly parents, they may be of the generation that has an even harder time accepting paid help to clean their home. But they are the ones who may need it the most. I have a 93-year-old mother-in-law who is still living independently. She is in amazingly good health for her age, but pushing a vacuum cleaner or scrubbing a bathtub could be dangerous for her. A regular cleaning service keeps her place sanitary and germ-free and helps to keep her floor space cleared of objects she could trip over. It’s not a luxury; it’s truly an important safety consideration.

Who Can Afford a Cleaning Service?

Most of us can’t afford to hire an Alice to live with us and cook and clean for our family each day. But fortunately, there are options that can make housecleaning fit into even the tightest budget. Immaculate Clean offers many different levels of service, and are flexible enough to consider your budget and your individual cleaning needs. They offer one-time cleanings and recurring service options ranging from weekly, biweekly, or monthly. So, what are you waiting for? Lose the guilt and call Immaculate Clean today: 410-549-0727. To paraphrase Oprah, “YOU deserve a professional cleaner! And YOU deserve a professional cleaner! You ALL deserve a professional cleaner!”

5 Tips for Tackling Your Holiday To-Do List

If you read my blog post last month, https://immaculateclean.com/blog/tis-the-season-for-holiday-stress/ you already know that I have been stressing about this year’s Christmas preparations since before Halloween. After much careful analysis, I’ve concluded that most of that stress is due to the fact that the holiday “To-Do” list in our house looks much like this:

Our New Blogger, Karen Walker

Now introducing the new writer for our blog—Karen Walker! Karen Walker is a freelance writer, wife, mother, and admitted “serial clutterer” on a mission to perfect the art of juggling a work-at-home career with parenting and maintaining a household. She blogs about first world problems and more here: www.lifeinanutshell.blog. She will be writing blogs for us moving forward, in fact here is her first post. Be sure to stay tuned and continue the conversation with her blog posts on our Facebook page.

“Selling a Home is So Much Fun,” said No One Ever

My parents are selling their home. It’s not exactly my childhood home. In fact, it’s more than that. I moved a lot as a child. From Ohio to Poughkeepsie, Miami to Buffalo, and a longer stay in NJ. That’s what we did with a Dad in sales. I didn’t mind, really. It helped me to be adaptable or, at least, that’s what I tell myself. It may have just made me antsy and always looking for a change. Either way, I survived all of the moving, but one place always stayed the same. We spent summers at the lake. Back then, we owned a cabin. I called it my “summer house” to friends, but with no HVAC, phone (yes, that was before cell phones), television or washer and dryer, it really wasn’t more than a glorified cabin. And, I loved it. When my father retired, he and mom moved to the lake. It was shocking, to say the least. Mom was never a fan of it up there. Then again, what mother of three children would be without a phone or a TV? And, don’t get her started on the lack of a washer and dryer. I’m sure she spent at least a full day each week at the local laundromat. Somehow, however, Dad convinced Mom to buy an actual house at the lake, and there they have lived for the past 20+ years. The lake has continued to be the place we go. The kids, the grandkids…we all gather there for the 4th of July and any other occasion we can coordinate. Aunts, uncles, cousins, friends…they’ve all been there with us. It’s our happy place. Our home. And, now, they’re selling it. Lakes are beautiful, calm, and serene. They’re also a lot of work. The docks, the boat, the beach…it’s all hard to take care of. So, mom and dad are looking for a simpler life in an “active adult” community. Now, the fun begins.

The Nitty Gritty

“Selling a home is so much fun,” said no one ever. On the contrary, it’s work. A lot of work. And, stressful. And, let’s not forget, emotional. Most people focus on the work, and the stress. Those are the parts that wear us down, or so we think. But, the reality is, the logistics of selling a home are manageable. All we need to do is find the right people to help us.

Realtor

It starts with the realtor. A realtor is someone we have to trust. We have to believe they are working for us. Of course, every penny matters to them. It’s how they make a living. But, if they’re good at their job, each house is one of many. A realtor’s goal should be to make their clients happy. Happy clients refer realtors to friends. Smart realtors understand this. So, look for a smart, good realtor and that part should go rather smoothly.

Repair Person

Of course, no home is sale ready from the get go. A realtor can help to identify the things that obviously need repair. We also know all of the hidden issues like the loose faucet, receptacles that don’t work, and floor boards that are exceptionally squeaky. Our teenagers helped us to discover the latter one when they came in after curfew. A good handyman, or contractor if the problems are really big, can help us make the repairs. Some of us lucky people may have a handyman in the house. (Note: this is not the time to build your spouse’s ego by reassuring him he’s handy. Make sure he actually knows how to fix things.) Many of us may actually be the handymen, or should I say, handywomen. When preparing to sell a home, we shouldn’t go crazy fixing everything. We should focus on the things that may pop up as potential buyers are walking through the house. The inspection will come later. That’s when they’ll decide what needs to be fixed. If it doesn’t come up, don’t worry about it. They’ll discover it eventually, but that will likely be after they’ve signed on the dotted line. It’s their problem then.

Cleaning Service

The really fun part comes when the showings begin. That’s when we have to figure out how to clean up all of the kids’ toys, get the dirty dishes out of the sink, and get the sleeping baby out of her crib all in a matter of minutes because a realtor is down the street and his clients just noticed your home. The mad dashes out of the house are bad enough, but keeping the house clean day after day is enough to drive any parent of young children absolutely mad. This is a good time to let go of the ego, and remember there are people to help with this too. It might be impractical, and far too expensive, to have a daily cleaning service. But, if there was ever a time to splurge on it weekly, now’s that time. And, don’t forget, most cleaning companies offer deep cleaning and moving cleaning services, too. These can absolutely take the pressure off as we deal with all of the other details of selling a home.

Other Services

Other services to look for when listing a home might be: decluttering companies, storage units, moving trucks, and lawn services. Don’t forget a good massage therapist for when things get too stressful. In general, it’s important to remember that we sometimes have to spend money to make money. And, when it’s a matter of our sanity, the services are absolutely worth it.

The Emotional Factor

The only service we really can’t hire, is the one that removes the emotional factor from selling a home. That’s the truly hard part. Saying good-bye to our happy place is like saying farewell to a best friend. It’s letting go of the ties that bind us, the comfort, and the familiarity. It’s letting go of a part of us. Despite the frequent moves, nothing prepared me for letting go of the one constant in my life. I know it’s the right thing for mom and dad. I know new adventures await us and we will find a new happy place. Hopefully, anyway. But, saying good-bye will be the hardest part for sure. Fortunately, we have one last 4th of July. I think we may need to stock up on tissues.

Remembering the Crazy Days of Motherhood

  The amazing, Dawn Fiscella, Owner of Immaculate Clean, recently suggested I write about how crazy life can be for us moms. She’s right. I know that. I remember it well. The thing is, it’s not my life anymore so I was struggling with how to write about it. Then it occurred to me, that’s the point. My life is different now. But, how, and why, did it change? The answer is rather simple. I stopped. I stopped running around like a chicken with my head cut off. I stopped saying yes to everything that was asked of me. I stopped feeling guilty about saying no. I stopped caring if I was everyone’s image of the perfect mother. And, I stopped beating myself up for my failures.   Yes, the answer is simple. But, how I got to it was a lot more complicated. It’s not like I set out to change the craziness of life. I wasn’t searching for the answer to slow it all down. And, in all honesty, I’m not sure I’d want to go through it all again. Yet, I am absolutely thrilled to be where I am today. There was a time when I was a married, business-owner, mother of three who got the kids off to school in the morning, went to the gym, and spent the next five hours in her store. The second half of my day started when the kids got home from school. I somehow fed them and then spent the rest of the afternoon and evening running them around town. Bedtime came after they were all asleep and the house was at least livable. Of course, there were also the dogs to take care of, and so on, and so on. I’m sure this describes most of you. Especially those of you with younger children, and the energy to keep it all going. It’s definitely become the norm of parenting. Of course, it doesn’t really get any easier when the kids get older. Their activities get more intense, issues more significant and your worry level skyrockets. The overall craziness seems to intensify. That was my life until other things started to get in the way. First of all, I got divorced. Divorce changes things. As a parent, it changes how much time you have with your kids and who is responsible for what. It forces you to let go of some things. You’re pushed to allow your ex to handle things that you would have otherwise. When you’re going through divorce, you’re also an emotional mess. It gets easy to say no to things because you know you’d be worthless at getting it done anyway. Besides, you really don’t want to have to force your miserable self on anyone so it’s easier to just stay away. And, since your kids are now the product of a broken family, how bad is it if you forget to send their lunch to school? Seriously, most people expect it. “You’ll have to excuse them…Their parents are going through a divorce.” The comments seem harsh at first, but after a while you learn to just go with it. It makes things easier. Of course, shortly after getting divorced, I developed a major hip problem. When you can’t walk very well, it’s difficult to do much. Again, it makes it very easy to say no. And, when you have a full brace and crutches after surgery, people don’t even bother to ask. The pressure to work out every day also diminishes when walking is a challenge. That gave me at least an extra hour or so each day to do whatever else I needed to do. Over the next few months, I moved, stopped working, and two of my kids went off to college. All of these things brought more challenges and stress, but they also put things in perspective. Life is complicated. There is no doubt about it. And, it is oftentimes overwhelming and seemingly out-of-control. But, if we stop, if we take a deep breath and figure out what’s really important, life can be even better. Yesterday, I took my daughter to soccer practice, in her cleats. Of course, it was an indoor practice on a gym floor where cleats are not allowed. A few years ago this would have totally stressed me out. I would have been yelling at my daughter, flying down the highway to pick up her sneakers and rushing back just so she could join the group for the last twenty minutes of practice. This time, I looked at her, said, “oops,” and asked her if she was staying or coming home with me. I have learned that the kids will survive despite my failures. In fact, they might learn from my mistakes. And, I’ve realized that whatever activity they are involved in now, may not be their passion in a few more years. To get all upset over a missed practice, is really pointless. I understand now that if I say no to something, someone else will say yes, and it will get done. And, I’ve learned that I may not be a perfect mother, but I love my children with all of my heart and I’m doing my best. So, yes, parenting can be crazy. And, there are probably a million ways to slow it down. (Hiring a cleaning service is certainly one way!!) Hopefully, all of you can find easier ways to do so then I did. But, whatever it takes, try. It’s far more enjoyable.

A Different Perspective on Cleaning

  I’ve been spending a lot of time on the floor lately. It’s the only place I can truly stretch all of my aching muscles. One of the many joys of getting older. As I was laying there today, I started looking around. Big mistake! From the upright perspective, my house seemed rather clean. Definitely not the case from the floor. It started to make me wonder…what’s really hiding in places I can’t normally see? I decided to get some evidence. Armed with my cell phone and a selfie stick, I started taking pics of surfaces I generally ignore. Here’s a look at some of what I found: View from above an island pendant   From the top of a table lamp   Close-up of a wall air conditioning unit   Close-up of a bathroom air vent   And, of course, there were the socks, dust and other miscellaneous items under the beds. Now, I’m not lucky enough to live in the service area of Immaculate Clean. Even if I did, I wouldn’t expect they would always clean all of these surfaces. The reality is, it would take anyone an extraordinary amount of time to clean every inch, of every surface, and it could get expensive to have it done on a regular basis. But, once you get up, and down, and start looking around, you realize it might be time for a deep clean. Another option would be to get an estimate for some add-on services. Of course, it’s always an option to climb a step-ladder or crawl under the furniture and do it yourself. Now that I’m aware of the dirt that’s hiding, it’s time to get rid of it. Hopefully, the next time I’m on my floor I will not be distracted by all of the dust under the nearby cabinet. The sit-ups and leg lifts are far too important.

Just Say ‘Yes’ To Hiring a Cleaning Person

  Many of us struggle with the decision to hire a cleaning person. It seems so extravagant to some. Others, like my mom, worry if anyone can actually clean up to our standards. It might be a matter of trust, awkwardness, or money. Whatever it is, there’s a lot to consider before employing someone to clean our homes.   Personally, I’ve always used two main criteria: 1) How busy am I; 2) How much ‘’extra’ money do I have. The assumption was that the busier I was, the more money I had coming in, and, therefore, I could justify hiring a cleaning person. The problem is, I’m now less busy than I have been in years, and have far less money, but my need (or is it a want?) for a cleaning person is just as great. It’s time I face the fact: I just don’t like to clean. Is that enough reason to indulge in the luxury of having someone do it for me? I believe the answer is yes, and here’s my rationale:

Why should I hire someone to do something I can do myself?

Well, I can grow vegetables, but I buy them at the store. I can cook, but I often go out to eat or have food delivered. Heck, I can do all kinds of things that I hire others to do for me. Why is it wrong to hire someone to clean? I suppose it goes back to the days of class privilege. It seems wrong to make someone do something as undesirable as clean up after me or my kids. I’m sure few people grow up saying they want to clean for a living when they grow up. But, it’s work. It’s admirable, hard work. My hiring someone helps them to have a job. What’s wrong with that?

What if they don’t clean up to my standards?

There’s nothing that says I can’t clean before or after the cleaning people are here. It just makes my job easier. They may not wipe the baseboards as often as I would like, but if that’s all I have to do this week, it’s a lot easier than cleaning the whole house. And, there’s always the reality that I can just ask them to do things differently.

Should I trust someone in my home?

Word of mouth is pretty valuable when hiring someone to work in my home. If a friend trusts them, shouldn’t I? In this day and age of online reviews, it’s also easy to see what others have to say. Hiring a reputable company, like Immaculate Clean, makes the process even more secure with insurance and background checks for their employees.

Can I really afford it?

I suppose it comes down to two other questions: how much do I value my free-time; and, how much do I care if my home is a mess. For me, I place a huge value on my time to do things with my kids. And, when I’m not with them, or working, I’d much rather be meeting up with friends or doing a DIY project than cleaning the house. As for having a messy house, I don’t mind stuff as much as I do dirt. I can pick up the stuff in a matter of minutes. The dirt takes a lot more time and effort, and it’s what really bothers me. There’s honestly few better feelings than walking into my home when it’s just been cleaned by someone else. For me, the answers to these questions justify my hiring a cleaning person. It’s time I do so. For the rest of you, you might have more questions before making your final decision. Visit the Immaculate Clean FAQ to help you decide. Or, call them at 410-549-0727.