Exterior House Care

Things you can have done to the exterior of your home without having the service providers enter your home. (COVID-19 adjustments).

This is not a complete list of some of your exterior home needs but more of a list to help you figure out what you can get done during this COVID-19 pandemic. As always, do your research on the service provider you are thinking about using before you schedule your service. Reviews are a good way to help you figure out if that particular service provider is right for your project.

1-If you have a deck, rear or front, this is the time to get it inspected and re-stain or seal if needed. Catch small repairs early to avoid expensive costs later. The same goes for your wood privacy fence.

2-Remulch your flower beds or garden beds.

3-Get your roof inspected to catch small issues before they turn into huge, more expensive issues.

4-If your house is painted, inspect to see if it is time for a refresh. If you have vinyl siding or brick, take a walk around your home to see if there is a need for pressure washing.  Also, check your driveway and sidewalks to see if they need to be pressure washed.

5-Get your gutters inspected and cleaned of their fall and winter debris.

6-If you have and use your fireplace on a regular basis, this is a good time to get your chimney inspected. For this one, the service provider may need to come inside to inspect the inside of the chimney from the fireplace.

7-Inspect your garage door and its components to ensure they are in proper working order.

8-Does your driveway need to be repaved? This would pertain more so to those in rural areas who tend to have extensive driveways/roads to enter their property.

9-Powerwash your home, driveway, decks, etc.

10-Get some much-needed landscaping done. 

11-Great time to get your windows cleaned (after the pollen leaves of course)!

The Forgotten Zones

The forgotten zones are the areas and places that we tend not to think about during our daily routines of living in our homes.  We walk by them and don’t even think twice about the goodies that lurk there or we say “I will get to that later” but we never do.  When you have an odor in your home and you have no clue as to where it is coming from, it may possibly be coming from one of these zones! Below is a list of some of the common places that are considered the forgotten zone that we never really clean or think about cleaning until we either have to move an item out of the way to replace it, paint or remodel.

Bathroom exhaust fan, bathroom air vents, behind/underneath appliances, behind/underneath furniture, top of the refrigerator, crumb tray on the toaster oven, keyboards/laptops, light bulbs (dust), top of the ceiling fan, shower curtain/liner, remote controls, kitchen trash can, garbage disposal, kitchen backsplash, lint catcher in the dryer, the washer and dryer, house plants (real/artificial), light switches/covers, doorknobs/handles, air ducts, window screens, vacuum filters/canisters, warming drawer underneath the oven, pet beds, litter boxes, throw pillows, mattress cover, duvet cover.

Challenge yourself by taking the time to write all of the forgotten zones in your home and be sure to add them to your cleaning schedule!

Junk Mail Overload

Most days when you get the mail out of your mailbox, it is full of sales advertisements, coupons, catalogs, and credit card offers.  Good ole “JUNK MAIL!”  For most, this is a big issue, and part of the main reason they have so much paper clutter in their home. 

Listed below are a few resources for you to look into in order to help ease the burden of receiving so much “JUNK MAIL” in your physical mailbox and e-mail inbox. I do advise that you do your research to make sure the company/item you are using to opt-out of a variety of things is legitimate and that their site is secure if you are sending your request online.

https://www.optoutprescreen.com/

DMAchoice.org:  https://dmachoice.thedma.org/static/about_dma.php

https://www.ims-dm.com/cgi/optoutemps.php

Spectrum:  https://www.spectrum.com/policies/your-privacy-rights-opt-out.html

https://www.donotcall.gov/

https://catalogchoice.org/

https://www.ecocycle.org/junkmail

DISCLAIMER:  In no way is Hook Cleaning & Organization Services receiving endorsements of any kind from any of the above-mentioned resources.

Unsolved Mystery?

It’s laundry day.  You have the laundry sorted, you have all your supplies, you are ready to get this task started and completed.  Laundry is done,  You sit down and fold all the laundry to put things away and realize half of the socks are missing!  You know you started with matching pairs so you look inside the washing machine–nothing.  You look inside the dryer–nothing.  You look around both machines and can’t find the missing socks.  You give up looking and continue to finish the laundry.  On your next laundry session, you have the same issue.  

This seems to be a never-ending issue.  So, how do you make it stop?  MESH BAG!  Yes, you read that correctly.  They come in varying sizes and most are labeled for use with delicates.  Be sure to use a zippered mesh bag and not one with a drawstring. 

The best way to utilize the mesh bag is to make sure each person has a bag for their socks to be used on laundry day.  This works really well for infants, kids, and the no-show style socks.  Washing the socks inside of the mesh bag is a guaranteed way to make sure all the socks that go in the washer and dryer come out when the laundry is complete.  

An item as simple as a mesh bag can help you eliminate the stress and headache of trying to find those missing socks and eliminate having to constantly buy socks to replace the ones you lost!  Give it a try and let us know how it works for you!

Who Goes First

This is the age-old question that can vary from person to person, place to place, and expert to expert.  Do you vacuum first then dust or do you dust first and then vacuum.

 At the end of the day it is easier to dust from top to bottom and then vacuum; if you are doing them both during a routine cleaning session. Sometimes you may dust on one day and then vacuum another day.  In the perfect world and perfect scenario, it is recommended that you dust first and then vacuum.  However, my suggestion is to do what works best for you, your home, and your schedule.

The most common issue with vacuuming first is the reappearance of dust/dirt on the items you recently dusted.  The best way to avoid this issue from happening should you vacuum before you dust is to perform PROPER MAINTENANCE on your vacuum cleaner.  YES, maintenance.  This is one of the major appliances that gets neglected the most as far as maintenance is concerned. Most vacuums are used until they no longer work which typically happens from uncleaned filters and canister which leads to loss of suction and more stress on the motor.  It is important and I always recommend to clients to clean the filters and canister of their vacuum to get the longest life out of it and to avoid the reappearance of dust/dirt onto your furniture and floors.  This can be done by following the manufacturer’s instructions on how to properly maintain your vacuum or central vacuum system.

Overall, effective vacuuming can only work if maintenance is done on a regular basis.  So regardless if you dust first then vacuum or vacuum first then dust, the end result will be the same with a poorly maintained vacuum.  As stated above, do what works best for your home and schedule.  

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