​During winter months some people experience increased levels of depression called Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). According to the Mayo Clinic, Seasonal Affective Disorder can be categorized as depression and mood changes caused by fluctuations in the weather. Those affected may spend more time in bed, feel sluggish and tired, have increased senses of hopelessness or worthlessness, and sometimes even experience suicidal thoughts. However, this phenomenon is not unique to those suffering from mental health issues. In general, it’s very common for weather patterns to determine one’s mood or emotion.

For instance, on a rainy, dreary day, filled with dark clouds, and cold winds its customary to snuggle up in a warm blanket, turn on the tube, and drink a nice glass of warm something. Yet, during warmer, sunnier, days there is a sense of having to go out to “enjoy the day”, spend time with loved ones, and reel in the fresh air. The light, fresh air, and general sense of pleasure increases a feel good chemical in the brain called serotonin, which supports positive mental health. The Mayo Clinic recommends light therapy as an effective method of counteracting the dark characteristics of winter months. For example, painting your room a lighter color, adding sunlight to a dark room, or even cleaning and/or organizing an area can help to decrease depressive emotions. 

​One of the most effective methods of cleaning the home, and feeling a sense of accomplishment and clarity is to purge items that are no longer needed. Go through your closet and remove those old dresses/suits you haven’t worn in years. Look through your old shoes and donate them to goodwill. Take a junk drawer or two, purchase some organizers, and turn a rainy day into a cleaning staycation! The thrilling result of a clean, organized, and fresh area will help to increase serotonin levels that support good mental health. Check out these organizers from Shein.com . Happy Cleaning!!!

For offices that don’t have daily janitorial services, maintaining a clean space is of the utmost importance. When trash cans are not changed, kitchen and breakrooms are not fully cleaned, and limited vacuuming/sweeping increases the accumulation of dirt and debris on the floors. However, there are a few tricks that can be employed by all to ensure the office remains neat and tidy between cleanings.
​

1. Leave a box of #Lysol disinfectant wipes in the kitchen and bathrooms to quickly clean sinks, counters, and around toilet bowls after each use.
2. Put food in the kitchen trash only. Personal desk trash cans should never be used for food, drinks, or anything that can attract pests.
3. Purchase low costs dusting wipes like #Pledge wipes, or even less expensive brands from the #DollarTree. Wipes can be used to remove dust from desks and certain appliances/electronics. (Always check the product specifications before applying any cleaning agents)
4. Leave extra trash bags in breaks rooms to encourage workers to empty cans in between cleanings.
5. Ask employees to clean microwaves after each use. Having #Lysol wipes handy can help with this too.​
   

Maintaining a clean office is not just the job of the Janitorial company, but everyone. Employing these simple steps can definitely make a difference in the cleanliness of your office.

 

By: Andrea Moore

​     When I was growing up in the 1980s Saturday mornings were the best. I would get up at 7:30 am, make myself the largest bowl of fruit loops cereal, and sit in front of the television for 3 hours of Fred, Barney and the rest of the cartoons that displayed for youth my age. While this was happening, my mother happily turned on her old Southern spirituals and dusted and swept to her favorite gospel tunes. After having my breakfast I would join her, and would be anxious to do so. Me and mom would mop the floors, she would let me dust the furniture with “the spray” as I called it, and we would wipe down every inch of our home. Soon, the house smelled like pine sol and lemon pledge, a smell that still brings back fond memories.

     Unfortunately now my Saturday mornings are filled with meetings, charitable events, and appointments. Saturday morning housework has turned into spot cleaning to ensure my house is not completely destroyed. However, there are still dishes in the dishwasher, clothes in the hamper that need to be washed, and I’m sure my daughter’s bathroom trash is about to take itself out.

Furthermore, my inability to “clean like my momma”, really begin to weigh on me and I started questioning my mothering skills. Shouldn’t my floors be clean enough to eat on? Shouldn’t everything have a place? Shouldn’t every inch of my house shine and glow like my mommas?

     These questions haunted me until I looked at my now 70 something year old mother and viewed her new life. She is now retired, gets up at noon, has lunch, goes back to bed or completes charitable or schoolwork, has dinner, cleans her items, and back to bed. Her routine from my youth has completely changed. Not only because of her age, but also because life has changed.

​     For lunch she can call doordash, so there is no cooking or cleaning. Sometimes her community events are online, sometimes she must leave the house. Even her church services can be viewed online now. Subsequently, I had to look at my life and take some of the strain off of myself. Its 2023, where television stays on 24/7, people can contact you for work from anywhere, at anytime of day, and since there is so much to do in life now time is very limited.

​     Therefore, I look at my life and take a sigh of relief. I am a business owner, mother of 2, grandparent of 3, mentor, accountant, cleaner, advocate, speaker, and more. So, the fact that I may not be the best homemaker is something that I can now get over!

1. A dead alligator!!! – Now, the Oakwood Resort doesn’t say what, where, when or why... but I am sure it's one heck of a story. ​

​References:
18 Crazy Things Found By Hotel Room Service - Eww Gallery | eBaum's World (ebaumsworld.com)
(20 Weird Things Guests Have Left in Hotel Rooms | Oakwood Resort)
8 hotel workers reveal the most disturbing things they found while cleaning out rooms (cosmopolitan.com)
 

Nevertheless, as a residential cleaner I had to swallow my fears and learn to work around household animals. But not only dogs, their feline companions always felt like they smelled my fear and stalked me. Once I went to a friends barbeque and I swear their white, blue eyed cat sashayed next to me, flung his fluffy white tail of my shoulder and dared me to move. From then on I felt the animal world was watching me and could sense my anxiety and was ready to pounce at anytime.

However, one of the first memories that dispelled this myth was working for a client named Mr. Sullivan and his dog Hershey. Hershey was an old, dark brown, golden retriever that was around 10 years old with arthritis.  The animal could barely move so I had to frequently clean around him, even lifing his tail to vaccum the floor. When I first encountered the animal I was so afraid I nearly fell backwards. He stood about knee level and sat up straight, right by the door. Well, as I was about to take off for the hills he sniffed me a little and laid down. It then occured to me that maybe these furry friends are not so bad. 

I learned that like people many animals have different temperaments, but for the most part as you clean homes and the pets learn you and you them, relationships are formed and alliances are built. The one eyed cat in the picture is from one of our office buildings. The staff leaves cat food around the offices so to me he is one of the crew members as well. If he is hungry he will come up to the door, I will feed him, and he will be off. I enjoy Captain Jack as I call him, and our encounters definitely make me much more comfortable around animals. 

Yes, COVID is upon us and appears to be here to stay for a while. Unfortunately, that means we are spending more time in the house, we have become professors to our little ones, and we have transformed into caregivers to our elderly. Our lives as busy working adults with packed schedules, heavy business travel, and various meetings and events have been replaced with virtual birthday party planning, homeschooling preparation, and restructuring our budgets in response to a not so great economy. Subsequently, if we never thought about planning for uncertain times before, 2020 has proven NOT to be one of those times.

The Coronavirus is real and is killing populations as large as small towns within the US and abroad. Consequently, trying to resume life as we knew it before 2020 is not only a dream, it may be dangerous. Therefore, we as adults have to take the unordinary steps of preparing for a new world with uncertain conditions and unknown futures. Basically, we have got to get our stuff together and take control of our destinies because as we have seen, we may not be able to rely on our leaders when the resources start to dry up!

HOW TO START PLANNING FOR UNCERTAIN TIMES:

1) GET LIFE INSURANCE
There are many forms of life insurance that you can secure for your family. There is term life, which insures you for a certain period of time and is usually lower priced. Or, whole or permanent life, which protects you forever and can be quite costly. Nevertheless, if something were to suddenly happen to any member of your family you want to be protected to stop a financial catastrophe compounded with a death. Read more here: At Nerd Wallet.
 
2) UPDATE YOUR HOUSEHOLD BUDGET 
In business it is prudent to complete an annual budget, and use that budget throughout the year to stay on course financially. Nevertheless, as we have seen with the coronavirus your plans and finances can change rather quickly. With over 40 million unemployed in the US many of us have seen our incomes go from 60 – 70k to 10 or 20k overnight.
 
Therefore, we must change our spending patterns to weather these storms. Maybe you don’t need cable now for $200 per month and can deal with just Netflix for may around $25 or less. Instead of eating out 2-3 times per week, maybe try just on Sunday. No one is saying that changing your lifestyle will be easy, but during this time it may just save your life.
 
3) ADD ANOTHER STREAM OF INCOME 
I hear you. You lost your job or they reduced your pay by 50%. They stopped the increased unemployment benefit. You are deciding weather to pay your rent or buy food for your family. You are stressed because your car is about to be repossessed. Your savings….what savings! Sometimes there is just nothing you can do with what you have. So what is the answer you ask, get MORE! Let’s face it, in America WE NEED MONEY. There is just no getting around that.
 
Subsequently, navigating this new America means increasing our streams of income to supplement a less than stellar job market. For example, do you have time to help someone grow their business online? Maybe you can work a few hours per day as a virtual assistant. Do you like social media? Maybe there are freelance blogger positions. Do you have a car or do you have free time? Drive or be a shopper for Instacart. Do your research and go forth and produce!
 
4) DEDICATE 2 HOURS OF “SOCIAL MEDIA FREE” TIME PER DAY 
About 4 months ago while vigorously typing an infuriating response to someone on Facebook about why some entrepreneurs are wildly successful and others are not, I found myself remarking that, “rich people are not fussing on FB because they are out making money”. At that time to my dismay, I immediately identified with the less successful people that spend hours and hours on social media trying to explain their fruitless points to other less successful people. I would literally spend 2-3 hours on social media; 2-3 HOURS!
 
I surmised that I could have written at least 2 blog posts, called over 10-15 potential cleaning customers, or just took another certification for my business in the time I opted to chat. All the time I spent on social media was counter productive to my development as a successful Janitorial entrepreneur. Consequently, I took Facebook and my other favorite social media platforms off my phone. I dedicated time to reading value added stories and searching for topics that helped grow my business during my free time. The change helped increase my productivity in my business which ultimately led to an increase in revenue.
 
5) HAVE A FAMILY MEETING AND PLAN YOUR FUTURE 
And I am not just talking about the adults. Your children are important and vital members of your family. Not only that, they are your legacy and may one day have to assume responsibility for the family. Furthermore, children have the same feelings, desires, wants, needs, etc. as adults. Although they are not adults yet, they are working towards it. By having a family meeting to discuss everyone’s goal and objectives you are aligning your family for success and providing each member the support, guidance and protection they need to thrive! 

So there you have it. My tips for planning in uncertain times. Now give me yours!