Bring Winter Linens out

If you like cozy beds like I do, change from light cotton sheets to all-cotton flannel and swap your lightweight bedspread to a heavier duvet. To stay ahead of the laundry task, I recommend having at least 2 sets of summer and winter bed sets. This will keep you from being tied to the washing machine and if we are doing your home maintenance we will always have a fresh set of linens for your bedding. If you’re budget minded, you can frequently find great deals at Ross.

Dust Ceilings, Walls, and Baseboards

It’s a good time to banish summer dust buildup. Use your vacuum’s long brush attachment on ceilings, walls, baseboards, and woodwork. Also, try using your mop on baseboards. If we are cleaning your house, you can rest easy since this is part of our regular cleaning service.

Remove Winter Clothes from Storage

Pack up summer clothes and linens, and replace them with cool-season items. This simple step really keeps your closet organized. If you are already busting at the seams for storage space organizing items into seasons can help you manage your space. Try using under-bed storage bins from Target for an inexpensive way to stow away seasonal items. If the thought of organizing and possibly purging your clothing leaves you running for Chamomile tea and a fireplace, we’re here for you.

Clean Out the Pantry

Are you a summer only griller? If so, you probably have a good supply of items in the pantry that won’t be touched until next spring. Go ahead and toss spices that are more than six months old or no longer fragrant, and while you’re at it stock up on staples such as flour and sugar for holiday baking.

Clean the Oven

Prep your oven for holiday cooking and baking. If you don’t have a self-cleaning oven, use your favorite oven-cleaning solution. For either type of oven, racks should be hand-washed and dried before replacing. Thankfully for our clients this tough job is taken care of with their initial deep cleaning.

Whatever fall house cleaning tasks are in order one thing is certain, my clients don’t need to worry about it :). When Simply the Best Cleaning takes you on as a client, the first step is a deep cleaning. Then with routine maintenance your home will always sparkle. Let Simply the Best Cleaning’s maid service bring a clean peace to your home, it’s as simple as contacting me.

In case you missed it, here are some other great house cleaning tips.

Aloha,
Leilani

Spring Cleaning History

Typically, spring cleaning refers to the yearly act of cleaning a house from top to bottom which takes place in the first warm days of the year or spring. It has also come to be synonymous with any kind of heavy duty cleaning or organizing.

It’s possible the origins of spring cleaning date back to the Iranian Norouz, the Persian New Year, which falls on the first day of spring. Iranians continue the practice of “khooneh tekouni” which literally means “shaking the house” just before the New Year. Everything in the house is thoroughly cleaned, from the drapes to the furniture. A similar tradition is the Scottish “New Year’s cleaning” on Hogmanay (December 31), a practice now also widespread in Ireland, New Zealand, and to some extent North America.

Another possible origin of spring cleaning can be traced to the ancient Jewish practice of thoroughly cleansing the home in anticipation of the spring-time memorial feast of Passover. In remembrance of the Jews’ hasty flight from Egypt following their captivity there, during the seven-day observance of the Passover memorial or remembrance, there are strict prohibitions against eating or drinking anything which may have been leavened or fermented with yeast. Jews are not only supposed to refrain from leavened foodstuffs (known in Hebrew as chametz), they are expressly commanded to rid their homes of even small remnants of chametz for the length of the holiday. Therefore, observant Jews conducted a thorough “spring cleaning” of the house.

In North America and Northern Europe, the custom found an especially practical value due to wet climates. During the 19th century in America, prior to the advent of the vacuum cleaner, March was often the best time for dusting because it was getting warm enough to open windows and doors, but not warm enough for insects to be a problem, and the high winds could carry the dust out of the house. For the same reason, modern rural households often use the month of March for cleaning projects involving the use of chemical products which generate fumes.

Wherever the term spring cleaning originated one thing is certain, my clients don’t need to worry about it When Simply the Best Cleaning takes you on as a client, the first step is a deep cleaning or spring cleaning. Then with routine maintenance your home will always sparkle. Let Simply the Best Cleaning’s maid service bring a clean peace to your home, it’s as simple as contacting me.

Aloha,
Leilani

Imagine getting a top to bottom house cleaning and then having your home maintained on a regular schedule. Think of all the time you would have to enjoy the beautiful Napa Valley and its quaint little towns like Saint Helena and Yountville. When is the last time your refrigerator was cleaned out, how about your stove and what about cleaning under the sofa? More than likely, those and other house cleaning chores hang like a dark cloud over any upcoming free time you might have.

Until you are able to contact me for some help moving from House Cleaning Napa to Doing Napa, here are some nitty-gritty tips that may ease your burden, of course the best starting place is getting organized which I touched on in another post which you can read here.

House Cleaning Napa Tips | the Kitchen:

• Wipe up spills in the refrigerator as soon as you notice them, and if you have time, do the rest of the shelf or any sloppy jar bottoms.
• Go through just one refrigerator or pantry shelf and toss anything that’s past the expiration date, that you’ll never use again or that’s less than a single serving.
• Toss the jumble of unused takeout disposable containers, glass jars and condiment packages you’ve collected.
• Wipe fingerprints off all the kitchen cabinets.
• As you cook, rinse dirty utensils, pots and pans and put them in the dishwasher. You’ll have the kitchen in good order when you sit down to eat, and you’ll have less to clean up after dinner.
• Ease the weekday morning rush by setting the table for breakfast before you go to bed. Put out cereal boxes, sweeteners and other nonperishable items. Prepare the coffeemaker and set the timer.
• If the dishwasher’s not full, add burner covers or small shelves from the refrigerator — anything that needs washing.
• While you’re talking on the phone or waiting on endless hold, clean out five to seven unwanted, unused things from the kitchen junk drawer or pantry or your purse.

House Cleaning Napa Tips | the Bathroom:

• Store a floor duster with disposable cloths in a closet near the bathroom. It will be easy to grab the duster and go over the floor during the week.
• If you use disposable makeup cloths to wash your face, rinse and reuse them to quick-clean the sink, counter or floor.
• After your family finishes brushing their teeth or shaving, use a dry terrycloth hand towel on the mirror and bathroom faucets to wipe away spots of lather so they won’t build up.
• Before getting out of the shower, clean the stall or tub and tiles with a squeegee.

House Cleaning Napa Tips | the Family Room:

• Go through magazine and catalog piles and discard outdated issues, three or five at a time. Toss junk mail daily.
• Vacuum just the high-traffic sections of the floor or carpet and do the other areas later.
• Before you go to bed, do a fast pickup: Put remote controls in a basket, tidy newspapers and loose papers or put them in the trash, clean off the coffee table, plump pillows and fold throws.
• If your children’s plastic toys look dirty, grab the worst two or three and clean them with a wet wipe or a paper towel moistened with rubbing alcohol.
• Quick-clean artificial flowers with the upholstery attachment of the vacuum cleaner.
• Vacuum lamp shades (turn off lamp before you dust) and the back of the TV.
• To freshen throw pillows, put them in the dryer, one or two at a time, on the air cycle.
• When you’re done vacuuming the floor and baseboards, use the upholstery attachment to dust one bookshelf.

That’s all for now,

Contact Me for help :), I come highly recommended.

Leilani

Imagine getting your home cleaned from top to bottom and then maintained on a regular schedule. Think of all the time you would have to enjoy the beautiful Napa Valley and its quaint little towns like Saint Helena and Yountville. Maybe there’s just one closet that’s been hanging over you like a dark cloud, I can help you get organized and have that closet be a ray of sunshine in the new year.

Until you are able to contact me for some help, here are some tips for you:

Organized Living Tip 1 Keep Flat Surfaces Clutter-free:

Papers, books, brochures and magazines tend to accumulate on flat surfaces all around the house, and the family room is no different. “You need a household information center, and the family room may be where that happens,” says Julie Morgenstern, author of Organizing from the Inside Out. In fact, the family room is often more cluttered because it’s a central gathering place in the house. A two drawer lateral file is Morgenstern’s ideal recommendation — on average she says that’s really how much paper it takes to run a home. If you don’t have the floor space, a stackable file cart will do.

Make a quick sweep of all flat surfaces by piling papers in a bin, then sorting and purging as necessary. Take a vow, and get your family to follow it, to put papers in files rather than on the coffee table.

Organized Living Tip 2 Control Out-of-Control Cords:

Until the world goes wireless, we’ll forever be stuck with tangled cables behind our entertainment centers. Fortunately, there are several options for taming cords in the family room. The most attractive is the slim Cableyoyo. It neatly coils up to six feet of cord and comes with an adhesive backing that sticks onto nearly any surface. A cable caddy usually sticks onto a desktop (or behind the TV console) and has a space for several cables to clamp into. Your cords will still dangle freely, however, so a cable zipper, which encloses all the cables in a tube, might be the best bet.

Organized Living Tip 3 Create a Play Zone:

If toys are taking over your family room, it’s time to put them in timeout. Unused corners of a family room transform into great play areas because the walls serve to block encroaching clutter. Corners are also good areas to put a small bookcase or children’s table. Add rolling bins for toy storage so your child doesn’t have to feel confined, but is encouraged to pick up after he or she is done playing.

That’s all for now.

Happy New Year Napa, Leilani

Imagine your weekends being freed up for the things you enjoy doing like hiking, reading, spending time with your family, or taking a drive through the Napa Valley.

You do not have to imagine any longer, it can become your reality. It’s simple, call Simply the Best House Cleaning today and get regular house cleaning scheduled so you can start enjoying your weekends!

Let me help you and take some of the “load” off your shoulders…
I have over 11 years experience and come with great referrences. I love children and animals.

Give me a call!! (707) 934-5812

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