Entrance rugs are better than ice cream!

A little bit goes a long way. Don't you love it when you get a big bang for your money and time? This week we put in new entrance rugs at our home. I know, I know I should have had better ones years ago but like the rest of the world we aren't perfect, but peddling the best we can.

Talk about a multitude of great reasons for high quality entrance rugs. Did you know 75-80% of the soil that comes in your home or business comes from the outside- mainly through your front door, garage door, back door and any other door you have and use. It gets tracked on feet, paws and the wind. My philosophy is, if you can prevent it from happening then by all means do!

Here is the low down and benefits of effective entrance rugs.

1. #1 cause of damage to floors is tracked in soil that acts like sand paper on your floors
Entrance rugs minimize soil tracked in your home

2. The soil that we track in isn't just dirt... it can also be:
lead, pesticides, allergens, sand, road dust, tire fragments, mold spores, plants....
the list is long and sometimes a little scary.
Entrance rugs minimize the contaminates tracked into your home.

3. What doesn't come in doesn't have to be dusted, vacuumed and removed!
Entrance rugs minimize over all soil- which means less to remove.

Entrance rugs are so helpful in the health of your home, reduction of dirt and extending the life of your surfaces. It is one of those almost to good to be true products.

When shopping for entrance rugs call us. We offer tons of high quality, multiple sizes and beautiful colors. The bigger, better and cleaner the entrance rug the better it will serve you.
Keep in mind- your entrance rugs are like filters to your home and business. Keep them clean!

Wishing you a healthy and happy home.
Denise
Blue Sky Services
253-946-2056

That evasive little thing called... balance

This morning as I catch my breath from a very busy week, the topic of balance seems a good place to start. Balance is that blissful place we find ourselves in when life is running smooth. Out of balance is something we kind of stumble into where it feels like we are driving down a bumpy road -holding on for dear life.

Cleaning and maintenance of our homes is all about finding balance. The balance between perfect and chaos, between under cleaning and over cleaning, between being too concerned about your home and not even caring. On and on it goes. I teach a lot of prevention in my home care classes but of course there is still a balance to over prevention and under prevention.

My basic philosophy is: Our homes should be a place where we can be healthy and regain our health; A place to feel safe and to relax; A place for families and joyful gatherings; A place to unwind and kick back; A place where your creative juices have fertile ground. What our homes shouldn't be is the source of our un-health and stress.

My suggestions of home care are just that- suggestions. Will they help keep your home clean and healthier? Absolutely. Will they help your surfaces last longer and look better in the the process? Yes. If overdone can they become irksome and frustrating? You bet. My goal is always to help you find that balance in your home so it serves you and you can enjoy living with less stress and dust.

Our lives and homes have a kind of flow, some weeks they are fast and furious and others slow and methodical. (I would guess most homes have more fast and furious). No matter the speed of your home, always keep in mind, what you want from your home. That is your foundation. What I teach are tools to help you achieve that foundation.

Wishing you effortless balance,
Denise

A little rug treasure found in Seattle

Craftsmanship is not lost in Seattle. Repairing and reweaving Oriental and specialty rugs is not your ordinary profession but one that takes great skill. Today, I got to meet Julie and Em of

DA Burns. Em is pictured above and Julie just below. These lovely and amazing ladies can restore your rug treasures.

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Being green has been a very popular topic. I was moved today to see the value of this skill in keeping our rug treasures in our homes and out of the landfills. What a tragedy to have heirloom, antique or just beautiful rugs thrown away because you didn't realize they could be restored. One of our favorite pastimes is restoring beautiful stone & tile verses someone having to tear it out and have it replaced. Natural stone and Oriental rugs are meant to last a long, long time.

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I didn't ask how long it took Julie and Em to learn this trade of reweaving and repairing Oriental and speciality rugs. But considering how many countries these rugs can come from, how much they can cost and the span of ages made, I would guess this wasn't a weekend training course! They did restore a rug at the Frye Art Musium -way cool!

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Before you consider dumping an old love give these amazing ladies a call. They can be found at DA Burns 206-782-2268

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Wishing you a healthy and happy home.

Denise

Blue Sky Services

Natural stone, tile and grout- cleaning and sealing

Sustainable, healthy and beautiful homes

My emotional tie leads to dangerous product use

Apparently, no one is immune from emotions.
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Last night at my Master Home Environmentalist class I was in for a surprise....
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Maybe I should go back a bit. When I was little, my grandparents made furniture for us kids. In my house, I have beautiful wooden tables, dressers and book cases. All made by hand and each with amazing love from my grandparents. They meticulously hand sanded and hand oiled each piece over and over until the color was rich and the finish smooth. They used Old English furniture polish and so I have used Old English furniture polish to care for their/my furniture ever since.
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I love my grandparents, unfortunately they are no longer with me except in my memories. Each week as I clean, especially when I clean the things they made me, I always feel a little closer to them and appreciate their gifts more and more as time goes.
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What does this have to do with my class or with dangerous products? Everything! Because of my love, respect and use of a product over decades, I didn't read the label. I didn't even question this product- which is so unlike me. The odors were familiar and the product handed down from people I love and greatly admire. To turn my back on their wisdom and question was not even in my field of vision.
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Until last night..... If you read the back of the Old English Lemon Oil furniture polish it says and I quote "Keep out of reach of Children. DANGER: Harmful or fatal if swallowed. May cause eye irritation. DO NOT ingest. Avoid contact with eyes. Contains petroleum distillates greater than 10%..." It continues on, but I think you get the main point. I was using a product with the key word danger, which is the equivalent of poison on the key words rating scale.
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You know, I talk about this very thing. How easy it is for us to be emotionally attached to a smell, a cleaner and method. Bleach, pine sol, disinfectants, pesticides, lemon deodorizers, fragrances... the list goes on and on. What we sometimes don't realized is the product is just the product. It is either safe or not. It is our emotional ties to our past, to family members we love and respect that can put blinders on us. Last night I felt like I had cold water thrown in my face. Apparently, I am just has emotionally connected to my cleaners as everyone else.
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I will continue to love my grandparents and cherish their wisdom and think of them as I clean.
But from now, on I just wont be using a poisonous product to do it with.
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Wishing you all a happy and healthy home from one very surprised and humbled cleaner. Who I might add is a little sad this morning-from the loss of a cleaner and the emotion that connect. wow!
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Denise Frakes
Blue Sky Services

Color- irksome or love???

What can color do for you? Yellow paint in your bathroom brightens your day, a red bench in your entry way gives you a secret joy, a little orange tea pot makes you smile.
Color is powerful.

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Color can also be a bit irksome. Who knew?

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This week we came across a couple uses of dark brown and black surfaces- already irksome and potentially irksome for our customers.

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Black pebbles with black grout in a shower, in an area with lots of hard water deposits... irksome. Dark brown hard wood floors in a house with lots of life and pets...irksome.

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In the showroom, there is no hard water deposits, no dog hair or paw prints and a much lower chance of unexpected messes. Consider your soils, your lifestyle, location and how much time you want to spend keeping this specific look, looking showroom pretty.

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It could be that your love is so strong it is worth the extras that will be needed to maintain. But if your love is just momentary or average, consider using another color so you can create loves and passions elsewhere in your home.

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If you ever have any questions, give us a call. In our business, we have the rare opportunity to see and visit with homeowners about what happens... after the new wears off.

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Wishing you a happy and healthy home,

Denise

Blue Sky Services

A commercial gets my goat...

Last night Dallas and I were watching the finals of the NCAA tournament. Great game. I was cheering for Butler but I like Duke so it was still good when Duke one. Still, its hard not to feel for any team who as given such a gallant effort and not quite made it to the top. As interesting as the game was, it is not what I wanted to visit with you about this morning. It was a commercial we saw while watching the game that made me sit back and wonder...

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I'm not going to mention any names but the commercial came from one of our main box stores that starts with the letter L. The whole commercial was about buying pesticides! Like everyone should do it, it is normal and perfectly safe. The commercial focused on dandelions and ants. My last blog was about minimizing and preventing the use of pesticides and here it was big bold and in full color.

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At our home we have 2 dogs and a cat- Reggie, Sally and Penny. They eat grass every time they get a chance, run and roll everywhere and then lick their paws after they come inside. I'll come clean- we have dandelions on our property. I just think a little yellow flower isn't as dangerous as using a product that kills. I love my pets and I have no intention of bringing pesticides into my home. Plus they aren't good for our environment. I realize this is a total soap box moment but I just couldn't help myself.

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Years ago, one of our chemical suppliers, who provided us with a disinfectant to be used after a flood, gave us an interesting perspective. Disinfectants and pesticides kill organics... we are organic... as is our pets, kids, bees, lady bugs, birds, fish... always use with extreme caution.

Just a thought to ponder on..

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Wishing you a healthy and happy home.

Denise

Blue Sky Services- Natural stone, tile and grout care plus a whole lot more...

Dirt - can be a dirty little word...

Dirt: we use to play in it, its natural, it is everywhere, we plant in it. Dirt is as natural as apple pie... right? What if your apple pie is a highly processed imitation?

I just got in from planting beets and carrots in my "dirt". In our master home environmentalist program, one of this week's topics is on dust. A lot of our "dirt" becomes our dust.

Volcanic ash, quartz, sand... this is in your dirt. It is the number one thing that damages your floors. Getting tracked in from outside, dirt acts like sandpaper on the bottom of your shoes scraping and wearing out your floors.

This is what we often think of when we think of our dust, we think of our dirt. But maybe what is in our dirt is not just "dirt". The indoor air quality of most homes is pretty poor. A big factor in the health of our homes is in the dirt we track in - or don't track in.

So just what is in our dirt anyway? Besides the stuff that damages your floors, there is a ton of other possibilities including: lead, pesticides, bacteria, pollen, road/street dust, and other toxic substances from air pollution. All this and more can end up in our "dirt".

So what is a family to do? Not to panic, there are 3 simple prevention steps you can take.

1. Install great entrance rugs at every entrance to your home. Think of these rugs as filters to your home. Get good quality commercial rugs, keep them clean, and get them as big as you can. In our home, we usually come through the garage. This is a perfect place for a long commercial grade runner.

2. Take off your shoes. This is huge in keeping contaminates out.

3. Minimize pesticide use. Many weed and feed type products for our lawns also contain pesticides. It's often the stuff you spray to remove ants, wasps, dandelions and other little annoying plants and critters. Outside, these pesticides may get broken down a little, - although many end up in our water. But inside, we don't have rain, sunshine or wind and those pesticides and herbicides come into our homes...to stay.

There are lots of other tips for dirt control but this is a great place to start. Not only will your homes and families be healthier, you won't have as much to clean and remove and your floors will last longer. Not a bad days work! I'll be giving you some dust prevention and containment tips later this month, but dirt prevention is a good place to start.

Wishing you and your family a healthy and happy home,
Denise Frakes
Blue Sky Services

More info for:

natural yard care:

www.ecy.wa.gov/boyondwaste/compost.html

http://mastergardener.wsu.edu/gardening.html

toxins

http://www.toxipedia.org/

http://watoxics.org

healthy homes

www.alaw.org