Mini Mops House Cleaning

Family Owned and Operated Service You can Trust since 1975

Contact Us:

(559) 264-6677
estimates@minimopsinc.com

House Cleaning … Who’s At Home Taking Care of It?

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Mini Mops House Cleaning blog - Dad Taking Care of the House CleaningQuick … who’s the first person you think of when you think “house cleaning”?

Most of us think “Mom.” But it isn’t always the “lady of the house” who’s in charge of keeping the house clean anymore.

In our 38 years of providing professional house cleaning services to homeowners in the Fresno/Clovis area, we’ve increasingly answered initial inquiries by men, coordinated cleaning priorities and schedules with husbands, and maintained a clean and healthy home to meet dads’ high expectations. (And trust us, dads can be just as demanding as moms — sometimes even more so.)

Earlier this year, Parade Publications reported that “the latest Census shows that 32 percent of dads regularly care for their children (up from 26 percent in 2002), and among those with preschool-age kids, one in five dads is the primary caregiver. In households where mom works, that figure rises to nearly one in three.”

And in addition to caring for the kids, these dads are also cleaning the house … and that involves more than just taking out the trash!

Mini Mops, Inc. has seen this shift in our clientele as well. We work for stay-at-home dads, bachelors, single dads, and other solitary men. Our male clients like our systematic method of house cleaning as well as the exceptional results that our professional house cleaning crews can achieve in their homes.

We’re more than maids, we’re house cleaning professionals … and our results speak louder than any marketing message.

So we’d like to suggest that you surprise Dad with a gift certificate for house cleaning this Father’s Day. He’ll enjoy the time he reclaims as his own (that time that he doesn’t have to spend cleaning), AND he’ll get an exceptionally clean home (because we really know how to clean)!

Certain restrictions do apply — for example, the house to be cleaned must be located in our service area. Please call our office — (559) 264-6677 — for more details.

Until next time … Keep it clean!

18 House Cleaning Gifts Mom Will Appreciate for Mother’s Day

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Mini Mops House Cleaning Gift for Mother's Day

Mother’s Day gifts can put people in a panic …

What can I get Mom that will be meaningful? That she’ll like? That she doesn’t already have?

We understand the dilemma! So to help, we’ve put together a list of ideas. Some are appropriate for even young children, while some are geared strictly to adults. Here’s our list, in no particular order:

1 – Vacuum the house
2 – Clean the water spots and toothpaste splatter off the bathroom mirror
3 – Clean all the toilets
4 – Polish the kitchen and bathroom faucets
5 – Dust the pictures on the walls
6 – Wash the woodwork (doors, baseboards, window sills, etc.)
7 – Wash the windows
8 – Scrub the kitchen floor
9 – Clean the oven
10 – Make the beds
11 – Fluff the throw pillows
12 – Clean and vacuum under the beds
13 – Dust the ceiling fans
14 – Wash light fixtures
15 – Dust blinds or shutters
16 – Vacuum drapes or valances
17 – Clean the outside of the front door

You can do any or all of these things yourself, of course. But another option — one that we can help you with — is to give Mom a gift certificate for professional house cleaning.

18 – Give her a Mini Mops gift certificate to have it all done professionally

But even beyond the gift you give her, we hope that you’ll make Mom’s special day one that’s full of happy memories that she will treasure forever.

And remember …

“God could not be everywhere, so he created mothers.” ~Jewish Proverb

31 Things to Love About Spring

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Mini Mops House Cleaning blog - things to love about spring - spring flowers

It’s spring … a season traditionally associated with hope and new life as nature awakens and blooms surround us.

So today, let’s celebrate all that spring brings us, including …

1 – Flowers
2 – Wonderful weather
3 – Birds singing
4 – Walks in the park
5 – Baseball
6 – Easter
7 – Mother’s Day
8 – Memorial Day
9 – Family barbecues
10 – Kites in the sky
11 – School carnivals
12 – Block parties
13 – Golf tournaments
14 – Cause races
15 – Bike rides
16 – Wildflowers
17 – Spring break
18 – Street fairs
19 – Farmers markets
20 – Field-fresh strawberries
21 – Hammocks
22 – Morning coffee outside on the patio
23 – Alfresco dining
24 – Walking the dog
25 – Vegetable gardens
26 – Kentucky Derby
27 – Pretty hats
28 – Sandals
29 – Going barefoot
30 – Opening the windows for fresh air
31 – Spring dresses

Of course, since we’re in the professional house cleaning business, we here at Mini Mops also celebrate Spring Cleaning … but we understand that not everyone loves that as much as we do!

I’d love to see any additional things you’d add to the list of things to love about spring. Please leave a comment to tell me what’s on YOUR list!

Until next time … Keep it clean!

Quick and Easy House Cleaning When You’re Faced With Unexpected Guests

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Has this ever happened to you?

Unexpected guests. Or maybe it’s a planned event, but time has gotten away from you …

You were going to call the house cleaners for extra help in getting the house spruced up. But you didn’t.

Now it’s Friday, and your guests are arriving Sunday!

Mini Mops House Cleaning blog - yikes, unexpected guests

YIKES!

WHAT DO YOU DO?

First of all — Relax. One way or another, things will work out. They always do.

It may be too late to call in the professionals, but here are some quick and easy things you can do on your own:

1 – Put away the clutter. If it will take too much time to actually put things away where they belong (or to sort through piles of “stuff”), go for this “quick fix” — put everything in a box, and put the box in the trunk of your car right before guests arrive. You can sort through the box and put things away at your leisure after your visitors leave.

2 – Close the doors to any “extra” rooms. If your visitors won’t be going in your home office, the laundry room, or the kids’ bedrooms — shut the doors and don’t worry about those rooms! They may need to be cleaned, but not at crunch time before guests arrive.

3 – Freshen up the bathroom, but don’t deep clean. Clean any splatters off the bathroom mirror. Wipe down the counter and the sink. Pour some bleach or vinegar in the toilet before you go to bed, let it sit overnight and flush it in the morning (this is a quick way to freshen the toilet, but not a substitute for a thorough cleaning and disinfecting). Close the shower curtain if you have one. Put fresh, clean towels out.

4 – Do a quick dust of furniture at or below eye level. “Out of sight, out of mind” is perfectly acceptable in this situation!

5 – Run a dust mop over hard-surface floors. Spot clean only the obviously dirty or sticky spots. Especially if children are involved, clean floors will not stay that way long anyway.

6 – Leave the kitchen alone! Most gatherings involve food of some sort. The counters and table become littered with plates, bowls, pots and pans. If you’ve already de-cluttered (step 1), you’ve done enough. It’s going to get dirty soon anyway.

Please note: We do not in any way suggest you use these tips to replace a regular cleaning regimen! These are for true “visitor emergencies” only!

In a quick-fix cleaning “emergency,” if your guests can’t see it, it’s not important! And really, your guests are probably there to spend quality time with YOU, not your house.

After they leave, call the professionals and get the house thoroughly cleaned for your own enjoyment … and maybe as a reward for surviving the “crisis.”

If you have any other quick-fix cleaning tips, please share them in a comment below!

Until next time … Keep it clean!

How To Clean a Toilet in 5 Simple Steps

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Mini Mops House Cleaning - Clean ToiletCleaning the toilet …

It’s a dirty job, but someone has to do it. If that someone is you, here are some simple steps to follow to get the job done right.

1. Gather your supplies:

• Protective eye goggles
• Gloves
• Toilet brush, scrub brush, or pad scrubber
• Cleanser and disinfectant of choice
• Rags or paper towels

2. Prep the toilet:

• Remove items that may be on the tank lid to prevent them from accidentally falling.
• Remove items on the floor around the toilet.
• Lower the water level in the toilet bowl by turning off the water supply valve and then flushing the toilet.

3. Clean and disinfect the exterior of the toilet:

• Using your disinfectant of choice (vinegar, bleach, or other commercially-available product), wipe down the entire outside of the toilet — top and sides of tank, top and bottom of lid, top and bottom of seat, all sides of base.
• Scrub heavily soiled areas as needed.

4. Clean the toilet bowl:

• Wearing protective eye goggles and gloves, apply your cleanser of choice.
• Starting up under the rim, scrub the entire bowl with a toilet brush, scrub brush, or pad scrubber.
• Pay special attention to the water line where stains can develop.
• Turn the water supply valve back on, and flush the toilet to rinse the bowl after it is clean.
• Wipe down the exterior of the toilet again if any cleanser or water from the bowl splashed out when you were cleaning.

5. Clean the floor around the toilet:

• Scrub the floor around the toilet with your floor cleaner of choice.
• Rinse with a mixture of vinegar and hot water.

Remember to clean the toilets in guest bathrooms or other unused areas of your home as well as those in the commonly used bathrooms.

To keep your toilet cleaner in between these thorough cleanings, periodically pour 1-2 cups of white vinegar in the bowl and let it sit overnight, then flush in the morning.

Cleaning a toilet is one of the necessary cleaning tasks that help keep your home safe and your family healthy. We suggest thoroughly cleaning a toilet at least once a week, more often if it is noticeably dirty.

Do you have any tips or suggestions to add? Please leave a comment below!

Until next time … Keep it clean!