This summer, your home will become a place for neighborhood gatherings, school vacation chilling, barbeques and casual evenings on the patio watching fireflies. You can free up your time for fun activities like these by scheduling regular house cleaning services–through Lilly’s! Create space in your calendar for time with your kids and lunch with friends. When you aren’t doing your own housecleaning, your time is your own—for fun and family. Then, take advantage of your “summer helpers” and get the whole family in on the home cleaning game. Of course, your kids probably won’t be on board with becoming your maid service, but here are some hacks for incorporating cleaning and decluttering in everyday summer life.

* Plan a garage sale. Use the summer months to minimize clutter and make it easier to keep things clean. Challenge each family member to fill a box with items for the sale—the person with the most discarded items wins. Declutter and make a few bucks, too.

* Tis the season: Play outside. This cuts down on inside toy clutter and dirt. Plus it gives you and the kids a healthy dose of vitamin D and fresh air.

* Speaking of fresh air, bring the outside in! Air it out, open windows and screen doors and let in a fresh, clean breeze.

* Start by keeping dirt out. Keep your Lilly’s clean longer—make it a summer policy to take off shoes upon entering the house.

* Here’s an easy way to enlist the kids—store pop-up cleaning wipes in the bathrooms and give the kids free rein to use them. Say goodbye to toothpaste in the sink and tub rings!

Start with a clean slate by calling Lilly’s for cleaning services first thing this summer, then regularly throughout the season. Then have some fun with these ideas and all your newly discovered free time!

In the 2019 year, Mother’s Day hits the calendar on Sunday, May 12.  While over 40 countries celebrate this special day, honoring moms in a variety of ways and for a variety of reasons, the root of modern Mother’s Day in the United States is actually quite sweet and simple.  

According to Wikipedia, Mother’s Day was first celebrated in 1908 in West Virginia, when Anna Jarvis held a memorial to honor her mother, Ann Jarvis–a Civil War peace activist who died in 1905.  Anna went on to trademark the holiday, and to promote and clarify her initial intent, which was for each family to honor its own mother and to celebrate the sentiment of a mother’s love.  

Anna believed the 2^nd Sunday in May should be a recognized holiday because a mother is “the person who has done more for you than anyone else in the world.”   Anna promoted simple gifts like personal and handwritten notes of thanks to mothers.   In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson issued a presidential proclamation, celebrating the role of mothers in the U.S.  

While this holiday does have elements of a commercial event, with stores hawking cards, flowers, and balloons, plus lots of knickknacks and clutter of which your mom (and Marie Kondo) would probably disapprove, you can still celebrate your mom simply.  

Even if your own mom wasn’t literally a battlefield hero, she certainly works hard and helps keep the peace.  In reality, she probably “has done more for you than anyone else in the world.”   This year, honor Mom with a gift from the heart, a gift that she’ll really use:  home cleaning services from Lily’s Cleaning Service.  Tell her how much you appreciate her by giving the gift of time. Call Lilly’s at 301.990.4179 to purchase a gift card for your Mom.