Mini Mops House Cleaning

Family Owned and Operated Service You can Trust since 1975

Contact Us:

(559) 264-6677
estimates@minimopsinc.com

31 Things to Love About Spring

By

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

By

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

By

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!

Show Your Home Some (Maintenance) Love

By

Mini Mops House Cleaning - Love Your Home“I love you” is easy to say. Just three little words.

But how do you show that you mean them? How do you make the words meaningful?

We all know how to show a person love … treating them with care and respect, being gentle and nurturing, building them up when they’re feeling down, attending to their physical needs, caring for their well-being …

Shouldn’t we be doing the same things with the homes that we love?

Treat Your Home With Care and Respect

Punching holes in walls or slamming doors so hard that an adjacent window breaks would be extreme examples of how NOT to care for or respect your home. Gouging the floors, chipping tile, denting woodwork are other examples. Preventing this kind of careless or malicious damage to your home is the best and easiest way to show it care and respect.

Be Gentle and Nurturing With Your Home

This goes to the type of cleaning products you use. In general, the more natural the product, the better it is … for both your home, and for you! Strong, harsh chemicals can be damaging if used improperly, and there is almost always a gentler, safer alternative that is just as effective.

Build Your Home Up When It’s “Down”

Homes need to be repaired from time to time. Age, wear-and-tear, natural elements … all of these factors can cause damage to a home. Sometimes major structural problems, and sometimes relatively minor aesthetic issues. But they all should be addressed and fixed with routine maintenance and periodic repairs when necessary, because even small issues can grow into bigger, costlier problems if ignored or neglected.

Attend To Your Home’s Physical Needs

A home’s physical needs have to do with cleanliness. Things get dirty and need to be cleaned. It really is that simple. A clean home gives you and your family health benefits as well as emotional well-being, but cleaning a home can also help it retain its value and extend the lifespan of its components.

Care For Your Home’s Well-Being

If you’ve done all of the above — if you’ve prevented careless damage, used safe cleaning products, performed routine maintenance and repairs, and kept it clean — you’ve cared for the well-being of your home. In return, you can expect it to provide safe, comfortable shelter for you and your family.

So have we missed anything? Is there anything else YOU do to show your home some love? Leave a comment below and tell us!

Until next time … Keep it clean!

24 Tasks for Your “Fresh New Start” Winter House Cleaning

By

Mini Mops House Cleaning - green check markSo you’ve decided to give your home a Fresh New Start by doing a big cleanup this winter. Now what? Where do you start?

To help you, I’ve put together a checklist of winter house cleaning tasks that you may want to tackle. They’re in no particular order, but I have divided them into two major categories: “Deep Cleaning Details” and “Appliance Care.”

Here you go:

DEEP CLEANING DETAILS

1) Wash all the woodwork — door frames, baseboards, windowsills, etc.
2) Vacuum drapes and curtains
3) Clean the exhaust fans in your bathrooms — Have you looked up there lately?
4) Clean your HVAC (heater/air conditioning) vents — By the way, when was the last time you changed the air filter?
5) Wash the blades of your ceiling fans
6) Wash the windows — including the tracks and the screens — Hiring a specialist is worth it for this one!
7) Move the furniture and clean the floors (and walls) under and behind everything
8) Wash the light fixtures — Take them down to do the best job of this!
9) Wash whatever’s washable — blankets, pillows, throw rugs, bath mat
10) Clean the decorative items up on those high shelves and ledges
11) Get your carpets and upholstery professionally cleaned
12) Clean the outside of your front door

APPLIANCE CARE

1) Run the filters of your stove hood (usually a metal mesh) through the dishwasher to clean them
2) Clean the inside of the fridge — walls, shelves, drawers … the works — with a mixture of 1 c. white vinegar and 1 c. warm water
3) Clean the inside of the oven
4) Clean your dishwasher by running a cycle with just 1 c. white vinegar poured into the empty machine
5) Thoroughly clean your microwave — inside and out, all around
6) Clean under the burners of your stove (if you have that type, usually electric)
7) Move the fridge and clean the floor it stands on, as well as the walls behind
8) While the fridge is out, vacuum the coils
9) Wash your dryer’s lint filter — actually WASH it with a little soap and warm water
10) Wipe the inside of your washer, especially around the wash tub of a top-loader
11) Clean the motor compartment of your vacuum (or take it in for service)
12) Use vinegar to clean your coffee maker (but check your owner’s manual first)

Remember, you don’t have to do all of this yourself! You can hire professional house cleaning help or enlist the help of family members.

So, tell me — do you have something on YOUR list that I left off mine? Tell me in a comment below!

Until next time … Keep it clean!