Spring Cleaning: Part 2

Last week we looked at several ideas related to Spring Cleaning and today I want to add a few more to the list. I went to the Day Worker Center of Mountain View today to see how they could help someone who wanted to whip their house into shape. It turns out that they would be an excellent resource for residents. Starting next month, the Day Worker Center will have a “Green House Cleaning” certification process for their workers to become properly trained in the art of cleaning house the green way. This certification and training will focus on the greenest possible methods of getting the job done with simple everyday products, instead of harmful chemicals. There will be 20 students attending the course so you will easily be able to hire someone who knows how to clean your house using environmentally friendly cleaning methods. But for now, there are plenty of people who specialize in cleaning house. This week a Mountain View resident who lives in a large 3 story house hired 2 ladies from the Day Worker Center to clean his entire house for his wife as her Valentines Day present. What a nice, unexpected surprise that must have been for her.

The Day Worker Center also has people who have specific skills that you might not expect. Herman is a plumber and has all of his own tools, and Walter was just hired to dig precise trenches in a Mountain View yard and they needed to be exact measurements. He also needed to work around existing sprinkler pipes. The employer was very happy with the work. Mission accomplished. There are also people who are excellent cooks who could make enough food to fill your freezer. That would be fun to have a freezer full of homemade Mexican food and all you had to do was warm it up.

My point is that our Day Worker Center has an army of perfectly skilled, trustworthy people who are waiting for employment. Both parties involved work with management to negotiate the terms of employment. Everyone knows exactly how long the job should take and what the pay will be. Each employer is called afterwards to see if they were happy with the quality of the work. The pay is usually 11 to 15 dollars per hour. I’ve hired people to help with several large projects. One particular man, Felix, was very helpful and he worked with me almost everyday for about 2 or 3 weeks. I love that Mountain View has this incredible non-profit organization right in the middle of our community.

Part of spring cleaning might be painting a room or 2 in your home. Dunn Edwards Paints has been in Mountain View for many years and they can connect residents with professional contractors. They know the contractors and will be able to tell you about the work they do. In one visit to the store you can make your paint color selection and get the contact information for someone who can do the job correctly. I’m not implying that the last time you painted you did it incorrectly; I’m just saying that there are professionals out there who can probably do it in a mere fraction of the time it would take someone else.

If you are serious about cleaning, you may be in need of some way of removing debris or trash. Our city offers us several possibilities. You can order a debris box (dumpster) through Recology and have it placed in your driveway for a week. So easy to simply throw everything in a dumpster as opposed to trying to haul it all away. The professional organizer that I spoke with last week, Amanda Kuzak, told me about having a dumpster placed outside the window of a 2-story home that she was working on. She could simply throw junk out the window of the home and fill the dumpster without having to walk down the stairs. I love that!

Or you can request an “On-Call Appointment” through Recology. Residents are allowed 3 of these per year. Recology will come to your home and pick up 3 large, bulky items for free, up to 3 times per year. They’ll remove sofas, mattresses, washers and dryers for free. There is a charge for removal of computers, televisions and refrigerators.

So there you have it. Let’s all get to work and get rid of unwanted paperwork filling old metal file cabinets, organize a closet or two, get rid of old furniture and household items, and have a fresh coat of paint applied to the living room. It’s time to tidy up Mountain View.