October 25, 2010

Why Cleaning the Floors is a Major Score

Filed under: Cleaning,Who are the Moxie Girls? — Miss Moxie @ 11:33 pm

I use to dread cleaning the floors. Images of Cinderella came to mind, and thoughts of spending hours on my hands and knees did not sound pleasing.  As a parallel, one of the first things I learned with Moxie Girl was that a properly cleaned floors can make or break a living space. If you skimp on vacuuming or mopping, the room will always look sloppy and, quite frankly, sad. This left me questioning my own floors–I hadn’t vacuumed or mopped since moving in last August. What I found was alarming, to say the least–upon close observation, my carpet was covered with hair (my roommate at the time and I both have thick, long manes). Immediately grossed out, I borrowed a neighbor’s vacuum.

Most of my Moxie clients possess this space-age floor-cleaning contraption, something that looked as familiar as a space ship to me the first time I was expected to use it. From the detachable hose to the hundreds of buttons, I had no idea what I was doing. It took a good tutorial before I was confident enough to let myself lose with the appliance in another’s home. In all actuality, the vacuum itself is relatively easy to operate once you identify the various parts. Some benefits include the bag-less filter and breezily easy navigation. I don’t think I’m ever going back! Check Dyson out for yourself here.

My lesson of the week may seem overtly simple, but it’s a single-girl-in-the-city’s basic: cleaning the floor is a score. Never again will I go two months without a good vacuum, and never again will I question the importance of clean and shiny floors in the home of a client or friend–I’m starting the Clean Floors Movement. :)

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October 15, 2010

Halloween Tips: How to avoid getting told off by preschoolers

Filed under: Halloween,Holidays — Tags: , , — OMG - The Original Moxie Girl @ 6:11 pm

Last Halloween we had the cutest little girl come up to our door. She smiled with her princess smile, took her candy, said “Thank you,” and turned to leave. Then she abruptly turned to look at me and said in her best bossy 4 year old voice, “Why are these things in my way?” She was referring to our overgrown bougainvillea plants that forced her off the sidewalk and into the landscaping rocks. This year, in an effort to not be told off by pre-schoolers, we will be preparing for Halloween the week before. 

 A few tips that you can follow with us:

 1- Give kids a safe path to walk from the street to your door. Make sure the path is well lit and free of obstacles (like huge thorny plants).

 2- When decorating, think safety first! Many times kids have long, flowing costumes. If your sidewalk is uneven, mark it well to prevent kids from tripping while they can’t see their feet. Also, avoid using candles in your exterior decorations. Nothing ruins Halloween like a costume going up in flames.

 3- Start buying big bags of candy now. They won’t go on sale closer to the holiday, so postponing your candy purchase only increases your chance of being the house with crappy candy.

 4- Make sure you have a large bowl to put the candy in. Avoid glass bowls which could fall and break if a bunch of sugar-crazed kids knock the bowl out of your hands. Plus, it will be slightly lighter so you don’t wear yourself out holding the candy all night.

 5- Finally, be prepared to hand out candy from dusk until mid-night. If you run out of candy (or energy) before midnight, simply shut off your front lights, including decorations, and lock your front door. A dark house is the universal sign for “No Candy.”

 Happy Halloween from Moxie Girl!!

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October 11, 2010

Whoever Doesn’t Cook, Cleans

Filed under: Meal Planning,Stress Free Living,Who are the Moxie Girls? — OMG - The Original Moxie Girl @ 5:13 am

When my husband and I started dating, he always cooked for me. Sometimes it was the romantic, courting type of cooking, but more often than not, it was just a normal dinner. If he didn’t feel like cooking, he would announce we were going out for dinner. One night, about a year into our relationship, I invited him to my house and cooked him a gourmet, 4-course dinner. When we sat down to eat, he looked at me with a blank stare and said, “You can cook?” I simply smiled and replied, “You never asked.”

Now that we have been married almost 4 years, the dynamic in our kitchen has changed slightly. My husband still cooks occasionally, but for the most part I do the cooking. I am the first to admit that I am not the most coordinated chef (I have been known to flick sautéed vegetables across the stove, fling tomato sauce up the cabinets, and dump a whole cup of couscous on the floor), so some days I really feel bad while I watch Jon clean up after me. Then I remind myself that it took 45 minutes to cook dinner, so the 20 he spends cleaning up is totally fair.

Before you start thinking we are one of those couples who happily divvied up the household chores, I should tell you that our “Whoever doesn’t cook, cleans” rule came out of a huge fight which included a major melt-down by yours truly. From this I learned:

Marriage lesson #1: Men are NOT mind readers. If I want my husband to do more around the house, I have to ask.
Marriage lesson #2: Men quickly learn that doing the dishes makes a wife happy. And a happy wife makes a happy husband (wink, wink).

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October 4, 2010

To Wash or Not to Wash Dry Clean Only

Filed under: Laundry,Stress Free Living — Tags: , — Miss Moxie @ 9:40 pm

Confessions of a Moxie: I’m a serious shopaholic. An admitted, addicted, head-over-heals shoe addict. The number of pairs in my closet is in the triple digits and I have been known to wash dishes in six inch slingbacks for the added excitement. Enjoying and appreciating  luxury clothing items is a blessing and a curse–while I drool over a Micheal Kors silk blouse at Nordstrom, I am haunted by the lingering advise of my mother:

“You know that’s going to be dry-clean only…and you don’t want to wash dry clean only!…”

And, annoyingly, she’s right (as mother’s usually are). Does this mean that my days of dry-clean only tunics and sensitively dyed jeans are over? Don’t be silly! Let me pass on to you some zeal for fearless shopping and some tips on dos and don’ts of delicate laundry, dry-cleaning, temperamental garments, and whether or not you should wash dry clean only garments.

  1. My mother’s way…Turn delicate items inside out and soak them in a sink of warm water with a mild soap for ten minutes. I use Ivory. Gently ring out extra water and hang the items to dry.
  2. Know when to throw in the towel…Satin gowns and business suits require a trip to the dry cleaners. It’s worth it–have a Moxie pick it up for you! :)
  3. Delicate Stain Removal… Using hydrogen peroxide to spot-treat stains on delicate items is a milder solution to harsh stain removers.
  4. If you’re lazy…Most ready-to-wear (casual) garments that say “dry clean only” can be washed in a machine. When in doubt, put it on the coldest and most delicate setting. I always hang-dry these garments to avoid any accidents (shrinking, discoloration, textural wear, and other nightmares). Just remember that when you wash dry clean only items you do so at your own peril. While some items can handle it better than others it still may decrease the garments shelf life.

Now you too can be a garment goddess–so stop worrying and start shopping!

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