Fall Cleaning is Not Just for the Outside of Your Home

September 15, 2015 By Michele Peterson

If you have trees around your home (yours or your neighbor’s), you have lots of fall cleaning to do once the leaves start falling. The leaves need to be raked from the yard and flower beds, swept off the patio and walkways, and cleaned out of rain gutters.

It’s just as important to take a close look at the inside of your home and do a thorough cleaning. After all, fall is when people start congregating indoors once again. The holidays are around the corner, and you may have guests dropping by to visit.

And with busy summer schedules, you may have cut corners and let some of your housecleaning go by the wayside. If you did, you’re not alone. It happens to the best of us!

But now’s the time to get your home back into “mother-in-law’s coming over” shape. Here’s a checklist of fall cleaning tasks:

Dust each room from top to bottom. Start from the top because dust will naturally fall as you go, and you don’t want it falling on the surface you just cleaned.
Take mounted light fixtures down and wash them.
Clean ceiling fan blades.
Cobweb every corner of every room. Don’t forget the corners of the floor, especially if those corners are behind furniture.
Move furniture and thoroughly clean the floors. Get the carpets professionally cleaned, or at least vacuumed with a powerful vacuum. Scrub hard-surface floors on your hands and knees to get them thoroughly clean.
Clean all of your woodwork — doors, door frames, baseboards, window sills, etc.
Wash items that have sat and collected dust that has now turned into grime.
Of course, if you haven’t kept your kitchen and bathrooms cleaned, those rooms need a top-to-bottom scrubbing, too.

Fall cleaning quickly can become overwhelming, but don’t let it! If you don’t have time, physically can’t do the tasks, or simply don’t want to do all this yourself, you DO have options!

One option, of course, is to call Mini Mops and have your home professionally “fall cleaned” (spring cleaning in the fall). Another option is to complete one room at a time yourself until the entire house is cleaned. Yet another option is to recruit friends and family to help with a “cleaning party.”

Whichever option you choose, a fall cleaning gets you ready to face the holidays — and holiday guests — with a smile. So jump in and get it done now.

Mini Mops, Inc. is a professional house cleaning company serving residential and commercial clients in the Fresno-Clovis CA area since 1975. We are currently accepting new clients. Please call (559) 264-6677 for more information.

Protect Your Home, Keep Your Family Safe From Fire!

October 10, 2014 By Michele Peterson

House on fire to illustrate Mini Mops House Cleaning blog post on fire safety

Fire kills 4,000 and injures 20,000 Americans each year, and U.S. fire departments respond to 1.5 million home fires each year … according to the U.S. Fire Administration.

We don’t want you to be one of these statistics!

You should have working smoke alarms in each bedroom and on each floor of your home to alert your family if a fire should occur. But here are some steps you can take to protect your home and prevent a fire from starting in the first place …

Home Fire Safety Checklist:

 Check electrical appliances for loose or frayed cords. Do not place wires under rugs.
 Check for outlets overloaded with plugs; including TVs, game consoles, computers, and printers.
 Install GFCI (ground fault circuit interrupter) outlets in your home; especially near water in your bathroom, kitchen and laundry room.
 Check that the bulbs in your home light fixtures are the correct wattage.
 If any appliances spark, smell unusual, or overheat, replace them or get them repaired by a professional.
 Check that lamps and nightlights are not touching any fabrics (bedspreads, drapes).
 Be sure that electrical blankets are unplugged when not in use. Check for frayed or loose cords and any odd smell. If you detect a problem, replace the blanket immediately.
 Supervise children around the stove and microwave.
 Candles should be out of reach of children and pets, and away from curtains and furniture. Never leave candles unattended.
 Get an annual inspection of your furnace or heating system.

(This checklist is from the National Safety Council. View, download, and print the complete document at http://www.nsc.org/safety_home/HomeandRecreationalSafety/Documents/HomeFireSafetyChecklist.pdf)

‘Tis the Season … For Spring Cleaning!

March 26, 2014 By Michele Peterson

Spring Cleaning Checklist from Mini Mops House Cleaning

Spring is here! And along with the beautiful weather, flowers, and fun holidays, spring also means it’s time for spring cleaning.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the notion of spring cleaning (or if you know someone else who is), remember that we’re here to help! You don’t have to tackle this chore all at once, and you don’t have to do it alone.

Here are some suggestions for getting your spring cleaning done AND keeping your serenity intact:

1. Make a list of all that needs to be done. Some examples are (this list is by no means complete, but it will give you an idea):

Wash the woodwork (door frames, baseboards, windowsills).
Move the furniture and clean the floors (and walls) under and behind everything.
Vacuum the drapes and valances.
Clean the exhaust fans in your bathrooms and your HVAC (heater/air conditioning) vents.
Wash whatever’s washable — blankets, pillows, throw rugs, bath mats.
Clean the decorative items up on high shelves and ledges.

2. Prioritize the tasks on your list. Put the most important things at the top of the list, so you can focus on getting those done first.

3. Determine what you need help with and what you can realistically do yourself. Ask yourself … is it worth your time as well as the toll on your body to do your spring cleaning tasks yourself, or is it better to outsource and delegate those tasks to someone else?

4. Assign tasks either to yourself or others. Break your master list into separate lists for each of your helpers. This keeps everyone focused on their own part of the big picture.

5. Start with just one thing if you have to, but get started. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, and spring cleaning begins with a single task. Remember to call us if you need our help!