Have a Stress Free, Mess Free Life – Home Cleaning and Organizing in Los Angeles, CA

Murphy’s Oil Soap has a new formula, for wooden and laminate floors, that doesn’t have to be diluted. No more waiting for floors to dry!

Do you have a box of old photos that are just jumbled together? Maybe the oldest ones are older than you, and your mom just kept tossing new photos in there, promising to put them all in an album someday. And now you inherit that box, and what do you do?

Well, first of all, you scan them. And save them to disk as well as, or even instead of, on your hard drive. But before you do that, here’s a few ways to sort them.

– You don’t need six identical photos of the family standing at the edge of the Grand Canyon. Just pick the best shot, scan it, and toss the rest. If a photo is blurred or badly framed or flawed in some other way, you also don’t need to keep it (unless it’s the only photo you have of this one person).

– You should have written some of these people’s names on the back! Well, too late now, but don’t be shy about asking family members, or the friends you are still in touch with, to ask, “Who would be a bearded guy standing on our back porch in Denver holding a pumpkin?” That’s what you take photos for anyway: to keep memories alive!

– Who was the self-appointed papparazzo in your family or group? If you know the majority of photos were taken by one person, call and ask if they want them. People often react badly when you offer them photos of themselves with bad ’70s hair. But the person who held the camera was presumably taking pictures of people and events they wanted to remember, so give them first right of refusal! And extend the offer to others, if you know of any others who might be interested.

– And finally, have fun! I love seeing amateur photography through the ages, from black-and-whites to those thick, white-bordered early color shots, to thin Kodaks, to Polaroids, to glossy color. Almost as much fun as watching hairstyles change!

One thing I’m concentrating on a lot lately is light fixtures. Globes, glass shades, paper shades, the jewels on chandeliers…Gotta keep ‘em clean and free from dust. Many times I’ve wiped down a ceiling light and watched the output increase by about five foot-candles

For paper shades, if they’re really bad, first go over them with the brush attachment to the vacuum cleaner. I’m serious: that’ll remove the loose dust that comes easily. Then, fold a paper towel in fourths, wet it, and squeeze ALL the excess moisture out. Slowly wipe down every inch of the shade. As soon as one side of the paper gets dark, turn or unfold it to a clean side. And, of course, change to a clean paper as soon as all sides have been used.

Glass shades are usually made to come off safely. You can wipe them down with a damp sponge or dip them in soapy water, depending on how ingrained the dust/dirt is. Ceiling globes may be hard to reach, as well as to remove, so if the best you can do is to reach it with a feather duster, that’s better than nothing. But if you can reach and remove it, beware the dead flies/moths that may be gathered there. You’ll still be glad you got rid of them, though.

And chandeliers. I recommend soaking a dust *cloth* (not a paper towel) in glass cleaner. Hold it over your hand like a glove and palm each jewel briefly. It may seem overwhelming at first, especially if it’s a large chandelier, but by the time you’re halfway through, you’ll be able to see where you started.

And if you have exposed light bulbs, don’t forget to dust them as well! I have several clients who have that dressing-room-mirror style of illumination: rows of large bulbs on a mirrored surface. Keep the mirror clean, and light will bounce off it like a Superball!

All this will send light to every corner in your house. Don’t let dust and dirt keep you in the dark!

A dry mop, because one of my clients wants me to sweep her hardwood floors, but I don’t think I should use a broom with plastic bristles. A cellulose sponge for washing walls. A squeegee for washing large windows. And a rectangular bucket for mopping, because my new mop is too large for my round bucket!

The two ladies up north know a guy who lives with his hoarder daughter. They claim the house is a disaster area, but I haven’t seen it yet. They’re going to bring me there next time I go up. I’ll give an estimate, and then hopefully start a new project! Furthermore, two people online want to engage me. Cool!

Added to my kit a toothbrush, a putty knife and a paintbrush. Used all three at one job. Toothbrush for getting the crud out of the front of the dishwasher, paintbrush for dusting action figures, and putty knife for scraping squashed crayons out from sliding-door tracks. Anything I use once becomes permanent!

Got a call last week to work in Granada Hills. Ten minutes later, got another call from North Hollywood. While I was at the Granada Hills job, the client’s friend stopped by, saw me and wanted me to work for her the next day. All that, plus another client in Burbank my roommate set me up with! Hopefully, some or all of these will become regulars. Anyway, couldn’t have happened at a better time — right before Christmas!

My name is Sandy Leonetti, and I am a top-notch cleaner and organizer!

Whatever your needs are, I can meet them.

– Basic cleaning and tidying. If you don’t have time for dusting, sweeping, dishes, laundry and so forth, call me.

– Deep cleaning. Has it been years since the curtains have had a good wash? Or since anyone’s tackled the garage? Call me!

– Reordering and organizing. If your kids have so many toys you no longer know what belongs to who…if your laundry room is so full you can’t find the dryer…if you’ve forgotten what’s in those boxes on the high shelves…Call me!

(Note: I don’t throw out; I only help you sort. It’s your stuff, and I want to help you get the most use out of it.)

Phone: 818-568-0871

Email: service@stressfreemessfree.com