The humidity of the summer season has set in, and it’s time to settle in for a hot couple of months. It can be difficult to feel like doing much when it’s so warm outside, so here are some ways to help prep your home for summer, courtesy of top Houston maid service, Maid in the Shade.

Scent Refresh
The humidity of summer can magnify any unpleasant odors outside, and even leave your home smelling less than pristine. Do a scent refresh by using an oil plugin, strategically placing candles or potpourri around the house, or using a scented wax burner. There are a wide variety of different home scent options to choose from, in hundreds of different types of scents to suit your mood, or the atmosphere you wish to create. Just remember to not leave any candles burning unattended!

Closet Cleanups
Messy closets can lead to dust, dirt, and worse, pest infestations. In addition to all of that, they can cause a real headache. Start small and reorganize your closets a bit at a time, sorting through one or two tubs per week. This is less overwhelming than tackling a huge cleaning task at once, and still gets the job done. Soon, your clean closets will be bright, inviting, organized spaces.

Of course, the very best way to welcome a new season is with a sparkling clean home. Schedule a cleaning from Maid in the Shade, a top Houston maid service with years of experience making homes shine. We will help get your house in tip-top shape, and alleviate the stress of clutter and mess.

For more lifestyle tips and articles, or to schedule your cleaning and to learn more about Maid in the Shade, visit our website at www.maid-houston.local or call 713-665-6243.

Mother’s Day is almost here, the one special day set aside for you to show your mom, or mother figures in your life, just how much you care. Top Houston maid service Company Maid in the Shade values all mothers, and offers a few suggestions on ways to make this Mother’s Day extra special.

Spa Day
Treat your mother to a relaxing, indulgent day at the spa! There are a wealth of delightful spas around the Houston area, many of whom offer special packages designed just for Mother’s Day. A day at the spa is a great way to ensure that your mom has a day that is truly just about her, where she can relax and unwind.

Gift Basket
You are the one that knows your mom best, and a handcrafted gift basket is a fabulous way to combine many of mom’s favorite things into one delightful package. Stuff the gift basket with treats like chocolate, rich coffee, scented soaps and lotions, and gift cards to her favorite shop or restaurant, and you’ve got the perfect Mother’s Day gift.

Quality Time
Of course, there are few things that mothers enjoy more than spending real quality time with their children. Provide long-lasting memories and make your mom smile this Mother’s Day by taking her out to lunch or dinner, or make a day out of it and go shopping, out to eat, and maybe even to a movie. Your mom will absolutely love the attention and time dedicated just to her.

The Gift of Photographs
Speaking of memories, nothing preserves a moment better than a photograph – and gifting your mom with a photo album or printed photo collage is a magical way to show her that you really care. Many websites have thoughtful gift guides that will help you choose the perfect gift.

Fresh and Clean
Fewer things bring better peace of mind than a clean, sparkling house. Lift the burden from your mother and let Maid in the Shade, a top Houston house cleaning services company, take over her cleaning duties! We can make arrangements with you to surprise her with her cleaning service, or to work out a regular cleaning routine that will not only make her day, but her whole year. The gift of housecleaning is truly the gift that keeps on giving!

For more lifestyle tips and articles, or to schedule your Houston house cleaning and to learn more about Maid in the Shade, call 713-665-6243.

It’s a brand new year, and for many of us, it’s a whole new approach to health and wellness. Top Houston maid service Maid in the Shade has collected five fabulous healthy eating tips in Houston, to help you stay committed to your health goals and eat healthy in 2018.

Cook at Home
As challenging as it can be to cook every day, making your meals at home is a great way to control exactly what goes into your food. Restaurant meals invariably contain much higher levels of fat, sodium, and carbohydrates than homemade meals. Plus, meal planning and prepping ahead of time can help establish a routine, and make you less likely to reach for fatty foods.

Don’t Drink Your Calories
We all need our morning latte, or a sweet afternoon pick me up, but it’s important to watch how much caloric liquid is consumed throughout the day. If you can’t give up your coffee addiction, look for ways to cut sugar and fat – like subbing out nonfat milk for whole milk, or going with sugar-free syrup.

The Importance of Color
It can be overwhelming to try and measure out exact amounts of food to calorie count. Simplify things a bit and focus on a good variety of color in your food – bright fruits and veggies especially! A well-balanced plate will provide beauty and health benefits.

Don’t Deny Yourself
While it is important to restrict fatty or unhealthy foods, completely denying yourself of any indulgence can often be counterproductive. In fact, banning any one food can cause you to crave it more. A far healthier alternative is to treat yourself every so often, and stick to a overall healthy diet and regular exercise.

Hydrate!
Every diet and wellness plan reiterates the importance of drinking lots of water. Staying well-hydrated has a plethora of amazing health benefits, everything from better skin to shinier hair. Plus, water makes you feel full, so if you start to have a late afternoon craving, satiate your stomach with a full glass of cool water.

For more lifestyle tips and articles, or to schedule your cleaning and to learn more about Maid in the Shade, visit our website at www.maid-houston.local or call 713-665-6243.

The beginning of the year is always a great time to evaluate the “stuff” that’s lying around in our homes.  We tend to acquire more items during the holidays and as we are heading into springtime our nesting urges kick in and we start feeling the need to downsize.  Here are some fantastic ideas to help get the “less is more” ball rolling!

1. Birthday rule “get one, toss one” – This is great, especially if you have kids.  It’s super easy to accumulate items so with every birthday gift received (adults too), you must get rid of or donate something else.  A tit for tat if you will.
2. Give away 1 item each day for 1 year – Sometimes jumping into a large project like de-cluttering your house, can be a bit overwhelming for some.  With this tip you simply pick 1 item a day and either donate it, give it to a friend or colleague or just toss it out.  That’s 365 things in 1 year that will be gone from your house for good.  That’s quite a lot!
3. Mark the date – By marking a specific room on a specific date on your calendar, it mentally prepares your brain for the challenge ahead.  It is also a great way to systematically knock out the smaller pieces of a much larger puzzle.
4. Put on a yard sale – This Spring put on a yard sale and make a spot in your garage or another room in your home to store donated items that you can sell at your garage sale.  Putting on a garage sale can be a lot of work but if you start on it weeks ahead of time with sorting and tagging, you will be that much farther ahead when the actual date rolls around.  Plus, you can put a little extra money in your checking account when the yard sale is over.
5. Invest in a labeling machine – Putting labels on boxes and containers saves time and keep things organized.  This is especially helpful when kids go to put items away.  They will know right where to put an item and eliminate any stragglers.
6. When de-cluttering a house, have 3 boxes with you in in each room.  1 for trash, 1 for saved items and 1 for donated items.  This helps prevent people from moving 1 stack to another and keeps the perspective on the task at hand.  Remember to keep track of the items you are donating.  This can be a pretty sizable tax write off for the following year’s taxes.

Learn more about Houston Maid in the Shade, and schedule your cleaning service today! Visit our website at www.maid-houston.local or call 713-665-6243.

I, like many others, am on the go and don’t have a whole lot of extra time devoted to cleaning and organizing.  Here are some great tips that take very little time but REWARD big!

• As soon as you walk in the door, have a large wicker basket that is designated for just shoes.  This way you will know where all shoes are located and keep the floors a lot cleaner by not tracking in dirt!
• Set your kitchen up in “Work Stations” and then put all the equipment you need for a particular station in those designated areas.  For example,   I have a coffee station in my kitchen.  I put all mugs, coffee pods, coffee devices all in one area for quick access and this way I’m not bumping into anyone during the morning rush.
• De-clutter hair products in the bathroom by purchasing a plastic tub that is large enough for all your hair products and accessories but small enough to fit under the bathroom counter.  When doing your hair, you can simply pull out the tub and have all your hair styling tools at your fingertips! This means NO messy counter tops to battle with!
• Living rooms are often the main focal point in homes.  Ours truly gets “lived” in.  As much as I like the space being utilized, I don’t like the piles of papers, books, toys and magazines that end up taking over the coffee table.  Invest in a functional coffee table with drawers and/or shelving to keep items organized and out of the way.  If a new table is not in the cards, purchase some inexpensive baskets (I have even found some great ones at a second hand store) to put under the coffee table top to act as a new home for the clutter.
•  Rushed mornings?  Try prepping all lunches, book bags and clothes the night before.  This cuts out any confusion or clothing dilemmas that arise from not knowing where things are at.  It seriously saves time, energy and headache!

By implementing these easy steps, I guarantee life will run smoother and seem a lot more organized!

Learn more about Maid in the Shade, and schedule your cleaning service today! Visit our website at www.maid-houston.local or call 713-665-6243.

Tidy Upholstery – To get the stubborn pet hair, lint and other tiny particles off of your upholstery use either duct tape, or a rubber glove to skim the surface and rub away debris easily.

Window Cleaner in a Pinch – Out of window cleaner? Fill a bucket full of water and add 1-2 drops of dishwashing liquid (Dawn works particularly well).

Removing Smells from Towels – Have some towels that don’t seem to smell fresh even though you have just laundered them? Trying washing them again in water only. Smells often remain when an excess of soap was not fully rinsed.

Kitchen Floor Scuff Marks – Commercially purchased magic erasers are good for getting scuff marks off of floors, but if one of those is not available a regular pencil eraser works great.

Cleaning Awkward Bottles – Get those hard to reach nooks and crannies inside bottles by filling with denture cleaner and letting soak over night.

Clean Votive Candle Holders – Decorating with an abundance of votive candles can be so beautiful, but getting the stubborn wax out can be a real bear. For the easiest method freeze the candle holders for a couple of hours and the wax will shrink and pop out easily.

Learn more about Houston Maid in the Shade, and schedule your cleaning service today! Visit our website at www.maid-houston.local or call 713-665-6243.
we will provide you the best Maid Service in Houston.

Super Simple Mango Salsa

Ingredients
2 mangos – peeled, seeded, and chopped
1 large tomato, diced
1 small onion, minced
1 small jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced
1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro

1 lime juiced

Salt and Pepper to Taste

Stir all of the ingredients (minus the salt & pepper) together in a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Refrigerate one hour before serving to allow all of the delicious juices to meld together.

As I was sipping my lemon infused water this morning it occurred to me that lemons are kind of a citrus rock star.  We cook with them, juice them, zest them and even (I know, this sounds terrible) but watch as our little ones try them for the first time and make that cute little “scrunchy” face. They really are handy in many different ways.  The next time you are at the store, grab a bag of lemons and continue reading on for 5 great ways to utilize theses little yellow beauties.

• Freshen and clean those pesky microwaves – I’m not sure what happens to the inside of the microwave at my house but once a week I find that it needs a little freshening up. Directions:  Put a microwavable bowl with a ½ cup of water along with a lemon that’s been cut in half in the microwave.  Microwave on high for 3 minutes and then let the steamy, citrusy bowl sit for another 5 minutes longer. Fight the urge to peek inside! Once the 5 minutes is up you will be able to wipe out all of the stuck on, nasty food bits and splatters that have accumulated over the last week, quickly and easily.  It smells amazing and the microwave looks brand new!
• Create your own multi-purpose citrus cleaner – If you have kids and pets like I do, then you probably are concerned about what cleaning items are people and pooch friendly.  I LOVE this homemade cleaner.  It works great, smells good and I don’t have to worry about little hands coming into contact with it.  Directions: Put a few lemon peels in a mason jar with a tight fitting lid.  You will want to fill it about half way up.  Then fill the jar the rest of the way with white vinegar.  Let the lemon/vinegar concoction sit for a few weeks.  After the third week, drain the mixture into a bowl with a mesh sieve.  What you are left with is a lovely, citrusy liquid that you can fill an old spray bottle up with and use like you would with any other all-purpose cleaner!
• Get rid of that stinky garbage disposal smell – This seriously takes no more than 2 minutes and you are left with a fresh clean disposal.  Directions: Take a couple lemon peels, 3-4 ice cubes and a handful of kosher salt and add them to the inside of your disposal.  Turn on the disposal and voila!  No more smell!
• Remove not-so-pretty underarm stains – The next time you go to throw out those t-shirts or blouses with tough to clean underarm stains, STOP!!!  I have a super easy and fast way instead!  Directions:  Take equal parts of lemon juice and water and scrub the stained area vigorously.  The lemon juice will lift the stain and you can avoid costly dry cleaning bills and marvel at your “pretty pits”!
• Remove seafood smells from counters or fingertips – If you have ever been to a crab feed or crawfish boil, you know that smell often likes to stick around.  Directions: Simply bring along a bag of lemons and rub the cut up lemons on the countertops, hands or whatever else you are looking to substitute the seafood scent for a citrus one.

This list is really just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to all the different uses for lemons.  Get creative and come up with your own ways to “citrify” your home!
Learn more about Houston Maid in the Shade, and schedule your cleaning service today! Visit our website at www.maid-houston.local or call 713-665-6243.
we will provide you the best Maid Service in Houston.

Did you know that we spend an average of 26 years in our lifetime in bed?!  It would stand to reason then, that a good quality set of bed sheets is a must!  But how do you know what really is the best and does it make a difference?  The answer is YES and here are some tips to finally “put to bed” the argument on what is best for the bed.

1. Thread count or not to thread count- Thread count is the number that’s used to indicate the number of threads contained in 1 square inch.  The answer is that thread count matters to a degree.  A 600 thread count is definitely better than a 200 thread count but once you reach anything over 800, there really isn’t much difference after that.  The next 3 qualities below should weigh heavier in the decision making process
2. Material – There are about 4 kinds of materials to choose from when it comes to bedroom linens:
   • Egyptian cotton- This can be the most expensive but you really get what you pay for here.  It has great durability and extra-long fibers that create a luxurious feel.
   • Pima or Supima- Less expensive than Egyptian cotton, this material uses medium to long fibers and produces a soft, comfortable fabric.
   • Linen- These sheets are known for their longevity thus explaining why they are so expensive.  These sheets are great for warmer climates and they actually improve with age like a nice bottle of wine.
   • Polyblend- These sheets ae about ½ the cost of the other sheet materials and do not wrinkle very easily.  They are also pretty durable, especially the cotton-Polyester blend.
3. The Weave- The weave of a sheet is really where people should pay the most attention when picking out bed linens.  It plays a significant role in the quality of the linen. The weave really represents the feel of a sheet.  There are 3 kinds to choose from:
   • Flannel- Twil weave, medium weight
   • Percale- Closely woven, light weight, one of the highest quality
   • Sateen-  This technique creates fabric with more yarn surface on the face, super soft, resembles satin
4. Let’s finish with “The Finish”- Sheets are usually finished with chemical processing to keep from shrinking and prevent wrinkling.  It is recommended to try and buy “organic” cotton when at all possible because the material will be free from chemicals.

And there you have it! You are now “Linen extraordinaire”! The next time you are looking for bed linens you can feel armed and prepared to get the most for your buck or your back!

Learn more about Houston Maid in the Shade, and schedule your cleaning service today! Visit our website at www.maid-houston.local or call 713-665-6243.
we will provide you the best Maid Service in Houston.