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Is Your House Scary?

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During this time of the year, many of us decorate our homes to reflect the fall season and Halloween. If the intention is for your house to be scary, that’s cute, but it’s not cute if there are things in your home that may be dangerous or costly. Let’s look at some of the things that are not cute about a scary house.

Dirty or Damaged Fireplace

Fireplaces that are not maintained on a regular basis can have creosote buildup that can cause a chimney fire. Wood burning fireplaces without the proper screen can have embers pop out into the home and create a fire. Have your fireplaces checked for safety.

Alarms

Fire, carbon monoxide and gas detection alarms should be tested often and new batteries installed each year. This is easy to forget, but essential for your family’s safety.

Tripping Hazards

Clutter in a home can create an opportunity for a devastating fall. An estimated 9,500 deaths of older Americans are associated with falls each year. Clear your traffic areas of loose clutter, keep things picked up off the floor and if you have rugs, make sure they are secure and that the corners and edges are not raised.

Mold and Mildew

The corners of showers, shower doors and frames, window tracks in and around the kitchen and bathroom sinks, under the sink, refrigerator doors and seals, ceilings and walls above the shower are all places that mold can grow. Mold is the culprit for many of the illnesses we suffer from such as allergies and asthma. Have these areas thoroughly cleaned and sanitized on a regular basis.

Old Food

Do you remember to check the dates on the food in your fridge and freezer? It’s easy to think that if it is frozen, it is probably okay, but there is an expiration date on everything. A good time to check all the dates is when you have a complete clean-out of the fridge and freezer.

Pet Waste

As much as we love our pets, their waste can carry disease and germs. If you have a pet who is not house trained well, the urine can get trapped in the carpet and flooring and create a very unhealthy environment. Make sure kitty boxes are cleaned daily and sand changed out often. Have carpets cleaned by a licensed professional and train the dog.

Inadequate Lighting

How many times have you stubbed a toe while finding your way around the house at night? Whether it is inside or outside, make sure there are plug-in night lights or solar walkway lighting to prevent running into something, banging your head or tripping.

Emergency Kit

It doesn’t take a lot of money, time or space to create a three-day emergency kit with first aid, non-perishable food, a change of clothes, flashlights, medicine, candles, radio and water. It all fits nicely in a trash can on wheels in case you need to get out of your home quickly in a storm, earthquake, fire evacuation, loss of power or any other emergency.

 

These are just a few things to consider when deciding if your house might be scary. Enjoy the fall season safely and make sure the only things scary in your house are the decorations. QCBN

By Lucy Leyva

Lucy Leyva is the proud owner of MTO Janitorial LLC, and Prescott Maid to Order LLC, both local cleaning companies based out of Prescott Valley, serving Northern Arizona since 2005. For any cleaning inquiry, please contact us at 928-772-0004 and/or visit our website at mtojanitorial.com.

 

Pets: Part of Our Heart, Home

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Here at Prescott Maid to Order, we know how important our furry friends are to our clients.

We see it every day in the homes of the people we serve. Often we find that the kids are all grown up and the companionship of the pets in these homes is paramount to the lives of our clients. Because of this, we offer pet sitting as part of our list of services and have designed a program called Prescott Maid to Order’s Forever Home Program. I’ll talk a little more about the program in a minute. But first, here are a few interesting facts about the health benefits animals bring to their humans. Owning a pet:

Decreases stress
Lowers blood pressure
Eases pain and anxiety
Lowers cholesterol
Improves mood
Helps people socialize
Prevents strokes
Monitors blood sugar levels for diabetics
Prevents allergies and improves immunity
Helps children develop

Our Forever Home Program is in conjunction with Yavapai Humane Society. The website “Mighty Cause,” states, “Every day, 9,000 pets are killed in American shelters. However, the Yavapai Humane Society bucks that trend. YHS is the safest shelter in Arizona and among the safest in the nation, with a lifesaving rate of 97%.” What a great opportunity to serve.
In an earlier article a year or two back, I talked about community service in business, stating, “While trying to grow a business, many companies locally and nationwide are seeing the value in serving their community and the world at large. Whether it is on a large or small scale, the value of volunteerism, contribution and service is of unlimited worth.” We are involved in several causes in our community, with this being just one.

So, what is the program about?

We will feature a dog or cat (sometimes both at the same time) and post an ad anywhere we can get exposure for it, on our Facebook page, our website and several community pages. Often, it will be a pet that is older, maybe has been there longer or may not be the one that will get adopted quickly. We will post and repost as long as needed to try to get the word out, not only about that particular pet, but the cause of finding homes for any of the pets in YHS. When someone responds to one of our ads, either to us directly or to the Humane Society and then adopts our “featured” pet, we will in turn sponsor the fees. How fun is that! We ask people to “share” the ad to their page and to their friends so that the word will spread.

Our homes not only put a roof over our heads, but house and protect those we love, including our critter kids. It’s where we make memories, enjoy our quiet time, recuperate from a long day at work, celebrate with those we hold dear and much more. If you have been considering the companionship of a new pet, we encourage you to check out our Forever Home Program on our website or Facebook page and visit the Humane Society. We love our clients and we love our pets! QCBN

By Lucy Leyva

Lucy Leyva is the proud owner of MTO Janitorial LLC, and Prescott Maid to Order LLC, both local cleaning companies based out of Prescott Valley, serving Northern Arizona since 2005. For any cleaning inquiry, please contact us at 928-772-0004 and/or visit our website at mtojanitorial.com.

Understanding the Customer, Home

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When I visit a home to find out how we can help someone with cleaning needs, I will usually ask, “How can we help you?” I may need to change my approach because often the response is, “Well, I want my house cleaned.”

As simple and obvious as it may sound, there are actually a lot of variations in types of cleanings, houses, people and their specific needs. For example, a single gentleman living alone with no pets may want the very basics and with little frequency. “Just do my floors and clean the bathrooms.” My next visit may be someone who wants a more frequent, very detailed cleaning, and with a lot of instructions. Some may not even know what they are looking for, but just know they need help.

We have to take into consideration that some people may like or want to do certain things, like dusting their prize collection of knickknacks, figurines, glass vases or statues. It’s important that a cleaning crew knows the specific needs and wants of each individual person we serve. Specific instruction as to how they want a surface or room cleaned is valuable. The customer should feel confident that there will not be damage and that the surface, such as a high quality wood floor or a special type of kitchen counter, is being properly cleaned and treated with care. This is their home, it’s personal. Very few services out there are as personal as someone coming into your home on a regular basis, being around your children, pets and touching your stuff.

Giving up a job such as house cleaning is sometimes difficult for someone who has taken pride for many years in the work he or she has done to make the house a home. It’s uncomfortable to admit to needing a little help, unlike all the years before. With that in mind, a cleaning crew needs to be aware of and place importance on the requests and desires of the customer.

So, what are the basics? A good cleaning of the bathrooms including toilets, counters, sinks, showers, tubs, glass doors, mirrors, light fixtures and floors. In the kitchen, all the outside surfaces, counters, sinks, outside of appliances, stovetop and inside the microwave. In the living areas and bedrooms of the house, dusting of the furniture and cleaning the floors.

How about the deeper stuff? Along with all of the above, someone may want all the fans cleaned, the baseboards scrubbed, the light fixtures cleaned and shined, the cabinets oiled, the blinds cleaned, the inside of the oven and the refrigerator cleaned, the pot shelves dusted. How about the tops of those kitchen cabinets?

Regardless of the depth and instruction on the particular job, the company that does that job needs to understand the customer, understand the instructions, genuinely care about the home and take pride in the work.

Wishing everyone a wonderful summer! QCBN

By Lucy Leyva

Lucy Leyva is the proud owner of MTO Janitorial LLC, and Prescott Maid to Order LLC, both local cleaning companies based out of Prescott Valley, serving Northern Arizona since 2005. For any cleaning inquiry, please contact us at 928-772-0004 and/or visit our website at mtojanitorial.com.