All these national days

Many sites show us national celebration or awareness days, real or not, and they are usually good for a laugh. Today's day was listed as "Men Make Dinner Day," which was no exception to the laughing rule.

There's a lot to unpack with this day. First, it assumes that men don't generally make dinner. I don't know about you, but my husband is the main chef at our home. I used to be the head chef, but I pulled back as the kids grew up. Now my husband is learning how to make bread, cultivate mushrooms, and can tomatoes, among numerous other cooking skills.

Second, this day assumes that a man is in the family home. Families are made up of single mothers, single fathers, moms, dads, grandparents, etc. To assume a man is part of the family equation seems a bit naïve.

[Coughs, steps off soapbox, looks around self-consciously]

However, the idea of recognizing that people do work hard at work and home and meals is valid. So instead of celebrating "Men Make Dinner Day," let's instead celebrate "Everyone Works Hard Day."

I think it's a little more realistic.

Did you ever want to be an artist?

I think that most of us at one time or another harbored a goal to become an artist. Whether in kindergarten or we majored in an art-based discipline in college, I know that I had dreams of standing in front of a blank canvas with a palette of colors and a brush in hand.

Unfortunately, my artistic skills are less than desired. My brush strokes are less happy trees and more, uh, blobs of color?

Regardless of the final product, I do have fun making my blobs of color. They will never hang in a museum or even on my wall, but the experience of making them, blasting my music, and drinking my diet coke, is definitely something I won't give up.

The problem, however, is finding the time to do this. I find that with my business, my life is pretty busy. Therapists stress "self-care," to which I laugh whole-heartedly. (I have an inkling that a lot of therapists aren't very good at self-care either!)

But painting blobs on a canvas is fun.

I don't have much of a solution for myself, but I do have an excellent solution for all of you. (I bet you know what's coming!)

 We, at Lorie Stuart Cleaning, can help. We can come in and give your home the basic clean or a full, deep clean, giving you more time to put blobs of color on your canvas.

Clean Your [Virtual] Desktop Day!

I was looking for a file on my computer the other day and I couldn't find it. I minimized all my windows to recognize that my computer desktop is a mess! I have folders on here from 2015 that have no reason to exist anymore. And I recognized that I didn't have any way of finding anything on my desktop. Which kind of defeats the purpose of using a computer to make your life a bit easier.

So, I cracked down on myself and spent the next hour or so cleaning up my desktop. Now, when I look at the desktop, I see clean, open space and an organized way to find everything I need to find.

And then I called my friend and told her about this major accomplishment. My friend sighed loudly on the phone and began lamenting about her office space.

Well, let's just acknowledge that her husband put in a new laminate floor in her office, and she painted the walls from a humdrum gray to a nice, cheery yellow. That room was once her daughter's bedroom and the closet is full of stuff she left when she moved out, and this room has kind of become a space to put the things that everyone doesn't seem to know what to do with.

 And it's never really been organized well.

I don't know about you, but I do best when my environment is clean. There is something about the clean space that helps me clear and clean my mind and allows me to continue to work as effectively as possible.

I reminded my friend that I own this amazing business that not only cleans but organizes as well. And she agreed to hire us to come and help her out.

Now that space is clear and comfortable and my friend reports that she is more productive, which is important as she works from home.

Do you have a space like this? We can help.

Wife Appreciation Day

Okay, this may not be an actual holiday, but it’s still worth recognizing the wives of the world! (I use the feminine wives to mean men and women who fit this moniker!)

This day is generally celebrated on the third Sunday of September and is a day to recognize wives for how important they are and how they make everyone’s lives better. Wives are generally the first to offer their help and support to their spouses and they often are strong for everyone.

Wives are often in charge of shopping, cooking dinner, washing, taking care of bills, all the things that need to happen to have a successful home life. And many of these wives can do this while holding their own jobs.

So celebrate your wife with a cleaning from Lorie Stuart Cleaning. Let us help you take some time off of your wife’s hands so she can focus on more important things.

Labor Day!

Today is Labor Day, which, according to the Department of Labor, is a celebration of the social and economic achievements of American Workers. Interestingly enough, the holiday was created when labor activists pushed for a federal holiday to recognize the many contributions workers have made to America’s strength, prosperity, and well-being. 

We spend this day with family and friends, sometimes bbq-ing, sometimes just enjoying the seemingly last Monday of the summer. Labor Day has become a day when we recognize the changes that come with the fall – school starting, weather getting colder, and more time spent indoors (usually).

Labor Day is still celebrated in cities and towns across the United States with parades, picnics, barbecues, firework displays, and other public gatherings. For many Americans, particularly children and young adults, it represents the end of the summer and the start of the back-to-school season.

Once the kids go back to school, it gives us time to recognize the chaos and disorganization that reigned all summer.

Lorie Stuart Cleaning not only cleans, but we also assist with organization!

Mystery Solved: Cleaning Before the Cleaners Arrive is Helpful!

One of our newer clients told us a story of friends who used to rush home to clean their house before the cleaners came. She thought it was so funny, but when she decided to hire us to clean her home, she realized what this couple was doing. They were, and our client is now, getting stuff off the floors and counters for us to clean thoroughly.

Whether or not you do this will depend on your goal for having us come to help you out. If you want us to help you with dishes and laundry, we can do that, but we most likely won't get to thoroughly clean all of the bathrooms or get all the vacuuming done.  We get it. Sometimes you aren't going to get to dishes. They'll be in the sink, waiting for someone to get them cleaned. We can 100% help you with those. OR, if you ask us to ignore them, we will.

Generally, though, our clients tend to have us do the same things each week. Floors, kitchen, bathrooms, etc. So, what can you do to help? What can you do to maximize our time in your home? One of the biggest things that help us is to pick up the clutter.

Main living areas:

• Move things from the floors to the couches or coffee tables

• Put toys into bins

• Shoes into cubbies or bedrooms/closets

• Put away books, remote controls, knitting, crafts

 Kitchen/dining/office areas:

• Dishes out of the sink

• Homework/office work placed in easy-to-move piles

• General clutter cleaned up 

Bedrooms/Bathrooms:

• Clothes and towels off of floors

• Makeup, hairbrushes, hair product put away

• Put away toys and other things from tubs and showers

• Books/chargers/etc. off of side-tables 

To get the most thorough and detailed cleaning done for the allotted time we have at your home, it helps if you can do the items above before we get there. Tossing things onto beds and couches is helpful. Taking your items from your bedside tables and putting them on the bed helps as well.

BUT, if you need help picking up, sorting, decluttering, and organizing, we can do that! We want to get down and dirty (or clean, lol) with all of the surfaces we can.

Basically, just pick up the clutter. Leaving a note with your priorities is also really helpful. We only have a set time in your home, so we want to be as efficient as possible.

Give us a call, and we can make your life easier and your home sparkling!

2020 was a weird year (and a challenge!)

A little late, but Happy NEW Year!!  Have you EVER been happier to say that?!

What a weird year 2020 was! As with all adversity in our lives, I think we ask ourselves . . .

 "What did I learn?"

Well, being stuck in the house more than ever, we sure got to know our immediate family better! Did you have more time for introspection? Did you realize that your choice to not be a teacher was for a reason? I bet you learned that you do know how to cook after all!

 That slowing down really was needed. Although I don't know about you, but toilet paper was on my mind often.

How about those masks? I swear I walked halfway across every parking lot before I realized I left my mask in the car. Then forgot to take it off in the car until I was almost home!

But . . . I did notice that because my mouth was covered with my mask, I listened better and saw things I did not usually see. Sometimes it was someone that needed to be heard or someone that could use my help. I could still tell when someone was smiling because their eyes lit up, and the smile lines were more noticeable.

I also noticed the stuff sitting all around me in my house. I was so used to seeing it, I didn't see it anymore. It was everywhere! The stuff was on all the surfaces and in every closet and along the walls and stairways . . . and eventually seemed to close in around me. It was saying, "Dust me," "move me," "Store me."

I recognized that I didn't need all of these things and could live free-er without so much stuff everywhere that kept grabbing my attention. Enough was enough. I cleared my whole house of those extra things, and oh boy, I feel so much better being free of it all!! My mind was more focused, and I felt lighter! Without all the dusting and moving of those things, I also found more time to do the things I felt were more important.

I challenge you to give it a try. Start small. One drawer at a time. One pile at a time. How many sets of measuring cups do we really need? And remember, you also help your community when you declutter. All those unnecessary items are donated so people who really need them can use them.

With all of that freedom, the possibilities are endless. Then you will be ready for early spring cleaning, and if all goes well, we can get out of the house and be doing the things we haven't been able to do in over a year! FREEDOM!!! Perhaps the new theme for 2021?

LOVING Love

Who doesn't LOVE Love?  The idea of it.  The reality of it.  The beauty of it.  And the 14th of February every year we get the chance to celebrate it!  So the big question is who will be your Valentine?  Are you thinking chocolates, flowers, love letters?  Well why not give your love something sparkly.  Something shiny.  How about the gift of CLEAN!  Instead of the traditional go-to's on this day of romance, try something better!  Scrub a few extra dishes for your woman.  Wipe down those baseboards for your man.  Or better yet, let us do it ALL for you.  Give the gift of Lorie Stuart Cleaning and make this the BEST Valentines yet!