June Newsletter 2022

Denver Concierge on June 30, 2022

Happy Green 4th of July

Did you know that Denver Concierge was the very first certified green cleaning company in Colorado? Every year we get recertified with the Green Clean Institute and 2022 was no exception, as we have just been recertified for the year.

Back in 2007 we applied for certification and have proudly carried that with us through today.

What does that really mean for you? Simply it means that you are doing your part for the environment by using a certified company. Every product we use has been vetted as 100% green. Our people are trained in green cleaning practices and we take every step to ensure that we are taking care of the environment as we clean.

We do our best to stay humble over here, so we don’t really like to blow our horns too loudly. That said, we are very proud of this certification and what it means to our clients and the wonderful city we live in.

Also, this month we have a guest writer who covers the benefits of going green in your home. We hope you enjoy it.

We also want to wish you and your families a safe and happy 4th of July weekend. Denver Concierge will be closed on Monday the 4th so our folks can enjoy some time with their families as well.

Finally, some fun facts about the 4th. Did you know that 150,000,000 (yes million) hot dogs will be consumed in America on the 4th of July? “Enough to stretch from D.C. to L.A. more than five times,” according to the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council.

Fun facts like that and many more can be found here, thanks to Parade magazine.

We hope you have a fun 4th of July weekend, as always thanks for being part of the Denver Concierge family.

School Enrollment Plummeting

What exactly is going on with Denver area school enrollment?

Of course, it seems that COVID started all of this, but we didn’t expect it to stay this way.

Jefferson County, for example, has proposed a plan to close multiple elementary schools in the district due to low enrollment levels.

From the article on Fox News, “According to Jeffco, the district has the capacity to serve 96,000 students in their traditional schools and currently has 69,000 students enrolled. Jeffco expects the enrollment to continue declining to 66,000 by next year.”

“Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, online and at-home learning became the new norm for students in Colorado. When schools reopened to in-person learning, many failed to return to the traditional in-school education.”

The folks at Westword also did a piece on this, and they believe the declining population in Denver is also a factor.

Even as Colorado’s population grew (prior to 20-21), its public-school enrollment shrunk. Enrollment was generally increasing until 2020-2021, when it rapidly fell by a whopping 30,024 students, according to Colorado Department of Education data.

Most definitely a challenging time for education as funding is allocated on a per-pupil basis. Denver Public Schools predict another 6% enrollment decrease in the next 5 years and the plan is to establish criteria for permanently closing schools with low enrollment by 2024.

Finally, it seems we are not alone here in Denver. The New Y0rk Times recently published a piece on this topic and it can be found here.

Wages & Inflation

Before COVID, most of us were pretty happy with that good old 3% wage increase.

These days, it might not be enough.

One of the concepts few employees understand is effective purchasing power.

It is super easy to get intoxicated by a higher wage, but if all the goods and services around you are going up at a higher rate (see the chart above), then purchasing power is lost.

So even though wages have skyrocketed and are up 4.9%, inflation is up 6.2%, a net loss.

Closer to home, and from the DBJ article on this topic,  “In Denver, median weekly earnings rose 6.5% over the past year from $1,163.80 to $1,239.38. Meanwhile, the cost of living rose 12.9% since 2019.”

“That combination of factors means what would have been a traditional raise two or three years ago may not cut it for many employees — especially when it’s far from what they could fetch on the open market.”

It is certainly safe to say we are in trying times both as employees try to pay their bills, and companies do their best to retain talent with fair pay.

Sadly, the inevitable conclusion of all of this could likely be fewer jobs, as companies strive to automate and eliminate humans wherever possible.

Meanwhile, we will do everything in our power to keep a happy and well-paid workforce in your homes.

Navy Seals & Neuroscience

So, a Navy Seal and a neuroscientist walk into a bar…….

Just kidding, but it sounds like the beginning of a great joke.

In reality, it was a five-hour podcast between  Andrew Huberman, a neuroscientist and professor at Stanford School of Medicine, and Jocko Willink, an ex-Navy Seal officer.

This was a treasure trove of information about how the human mind and our nervous systems actually work. More importantly, how can we use them to our advantage.

For example, do you know what “optic flow” is? We didn’t either but it can relieve stress.

Also, if you are like us, we hit the coffee button right when we rise in the morning.

We learned that the timing of the first caffeine in your body is important and that you should wait 60-90 minutes after waking to ingest it.

This is due to a molecule called adenosine. We won’t bore you with the details, but it’s all in this wonderful article we found on Medium.

The title of the article is 15 Learnings From a Conversation Between a Neuroscientist & Navy SEAL Officer and we found it to be one of the most informative pieces we have seen in a long while.

So, if you want to learn about cool things like adenosine and dopamine, and how a simple sigh might lower your stress, this is the place for you.

The full article on Medium.com can be found here, we hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Going Green in Your Home

By Guest Writer Ethel Lair

Whether you’re looking to buy a new house or planning some home improvements on your existing property, think about the many benefits of having an eco-friendly home and garden. Going green isn’t just good for the planet, it can also save you money. So here are some things to consider when you’re looking for a house, or if you want to turn your existing abode into an eco-friendly haven:

Save Money on Your Energy Bill

To keep your home cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter, thus reducing your need for costly air conditioning, make sure it is well insulated, from attic to basement. When buying a home, look for one that has been outfitted with dual pane windows that keep the outside elements from affecting the temperature inside the house.

Solar panels have become increasingly popular over the years, and for good reason: they allow homeowners to harness the sun’s energy to power their house by turning it into electricity. Additionally, installing a solar energy system will increase the value of your home, and may even help it sell faster.

When making home improvements, make sure you take before-and-after pictures of your remodeling and energy-saving projects, and keep all receipts and invoices you’ve received, both for labor and for materials. This will allow you to quantify the increase in value of your home when you’re ready to put it on the market.

Reduce Your Consumption

If you have leaks and drips around your house, you are wasting precious water and increasing your utility bill. Check your appliances such as refrigerator, dishwasher, and washing machine regularly to detect such problems early on, and replace your older appliances with high-efficiency machines that use fewer resources.

Upgrading your bathroom fixtures will also help in reducing your water usage. Replace your showerheads, faucets, and toilets with low-flow, high-efficiency options that are as effective as their older counterparts but use a lot less water. It’s a low-cost home improvement that can lead to big savings over time.

In your backyard, install an irrigation system that will help you conserve water while keeping your landscape beautiful year-round. Smart sprinklers deliver a fine mist of water that covers an area more efficiently, and if you install weather or rain sensors, they will prevent the unnecessary watering of your lawn, helping you reduce water waste.

Another way to reduce consumption, especially if you have a business, is to find ways to go paperless. For example, you can rid yourself of the hassles of printing by switching to a digital scheduling tool or a cloud based accounting system. You even save time by having automated processes and using efficient workflows. Plus, you’ll only pay for what your business needs with software that can grow with your business.

Reuse and Recycle

Use less paper and plastic products by investing in reusable cloth bags to do your grocery shopping, and opt for permanent storage containers instead of disposable plastic bags to store leftover food and snacks. Avoid using plastic cutlery and paper plates that end up in landfills, and save on gift bags and wrapping paper by creatively recycling what you already have on hand.

Choose reusable cloth rags over paper towels to clean your windows and countertops, and reusable mop covers to clean your floors instead of disposable ones to keep your home sparkling clean. Avoid harsh cleaning products that contain unhealthy chemicals, and use the power of steam to clean and disinfect your floors and other surfaces naturally. For a certified green cleaning experience created to reduce indoor air pollution, call on the services of Denver Concierge.

Repair and refinish old furniture to give it a new life instead of buying new pieces. A fresh coat of paint and some new hardware will update an old desk or dresser for a fraction of the price of a new piece of furniture. If the item is beyond repair, try repurposing the wood by turning it into a tray, frame, or bookshelf.

An eco-friendly house will save you money over time and protect your environment. Whether you’re in the market for a new home or planning some renovations, consider the green alternatives currently available and invest wisely, both for yourself and for the planet.

Denver Concierge provides more than 15,000 certified-green house cleanings per year. To see what makes us different, please visit our website or contact us today!

Monthly Award Winners

Our monthly award winners for May were Patricia Rodriguez, Gabriela Barrancas, Maria Zapata, Maria Concepcion Reyes, and Guadalupe Caloca.

In the Team Leader ranks, it was Paz Jimenez and Mayra Soto

We are so proud of our winners, and of all the folks that are in and out of your homes each week.

We continue to be grateful to you for allowing us into your lives during these challenging times.

Please join me in congratulating our best performers for the month of May.

Queen Bee Corner

by Angela

I just completed 21 years with Denver Concierge. I have been working alongside the same two women in the office and several of our Team Leaders during the entire time. Pretty impressive.

However, I would be remiss to not include in my congratulatory mood, the many, and there are many, of our clients who came to Denver Concierge the same time I did.

Imagine 21 years of bi-weekly cleanings, given a holiday here and there. 21 years of births and marriages, celebrations and anniversaries, remodels and construction, leaky ceilings, and flooded floors. The good the bad and the ugly; we’ve been there for you through it all.

When I take on a new client it really does feel like I am welcoming them into the Denver Concierge family.  We are so proud that we have stood the test of time with our clients. It is no small feat. The service industry can be brutal.

As always, thank you!

Bee

May Newsletter 2022

denverconcierg on June 8, 2022

Memorial Day

For most of us, this means a day off from work, grilling with family and friends, traveling, or just plain relaxing. It also signifies the beginning of summer for some.

For others, it is a solemn day to remember those in our lives that have been lost defending our great nation and freedoms.

Here at Denver Concierge, we are very grateful for the sacrifices that have been made so that we can run a business, send out a newsletter, and exist in our own peaceful way.

For those reasons and many others, we annually take this time to express our gratitude and humility as we know without those sacrifices things might not be the way they are today in our land.

So, in that spirit, we want to share some interesting facts about this special day. Some facts you may have seen in past newsletters, as well as a couple of new tidbits we ran across.

For starters, Memorial Day used to be called Decoration Day. Originally conceived to honor the over 600,000 people that died in the Civil War, by the 1900’s it became a day to celebrate all Americans that have died in service around the world. It was renamed in 1967 and became a federal holiday in 1971.

This year it falls on Monday the 3oth, and of course, Denver Concierge will be closed.

Did you know that at 3 PM on Memorial Day every American is to stop what they are doing to remember and honor those who have died in action? Also, the flag is supposed to be flown at half-mast until noon, then raised to full mast until sunset on Memorial Day.

Many of us wonder why the end of May was chosen. Was it a significant battle, anniversary, or date? Way simpler than that, the date was chosen because flowers would be blooming all around America. So the blooms would be abundantly available for decorating soldiers’ graves.

Also, while no one is quite sure where this tradition originated, many locations claim to be the first to recognize this day. Some records indicate that one of the first such spring rituals took place in Charleston, South Carolina less than a month after the Civil War ended.

Columbus, Mississippi is also cited as an early location of celebrations when a group of women visited a cemetery to decorate graves in 1866. Overall, more than two dozen locations in both the north and the south all claim to have hosted the first Memorial Day traditions.

But in 1966, the federal government headed by Lyndon Johnson proclaimed Waterloo, New York as the holiday’s official birthplace. It was there, a century earlier, that a celebration to honor Civil War vets first took place and went on to become an annual tradition.

Finally, even in this time of relative peace in America, 25 people per day are buried at Arlington Cemetery.

Please join us in honoring the fallen this Memorial Day. We wish you the best for a safe and relaxing holiday weekend.

Best Places to Live 2022

How things change.

For years we have promoted our fine state and cities here as they rose through the ranks of U.S. News and World Report’s annual “Best Places to Live” rankings.

As you might expect based on many factors, our place in the rankings has dropped.

There was, however, a change in methodology this year, as they added air quality to the rankings.

We aren’t sure how much this affected our ranks, but all of our cities except one dropped in stature.

Starting with Boulder, which was ranked #1 in 2020 and 2021 which fell to #4.

Colorado Springs was the only Colorado city on the list to receive a better ranking this year and they came in at No. 2, improving upon a No. 6 rating in 2021.

Fort Collins sank to No. 54 from last year’s No. 17, and Denver plummeted the furthest, hitting No. 55 after being ranked No. 14 in 2021 and No. 2 in 2020.

The top spot? Huntsville, Alabama, with Green Bay, Wisconsin coming in third. Evidently, the weather doesn’t factor in, as any Packer fan will tell you about winter in Wisconsin, but we digress.

The full and always interesting rankings direct from U.S. News and World Report can be found here.

Property Tax Relief

For those of you that own a home in Colorado, there is good news and bad news.

One check of Zillow will probably make you feel very good about your real estate investment.

Then, the property tax bill comes due.

Nearly all of us who own homes will feel this burden, as home values have skyrocketed and the government will be happy to collect more from us in taxes.

Thankfully there is a bit of relief on the horizon.

In early May, a bill was approved to ease the rising tax burden that comes with rocketing property values. It caps the amount of value that properties are taxed for the 2023 and 2024 tax years.

From the Denver Post article, “In its unveiling, Gov. Jared Polis said it would save the owner of a $500,000 home an average of $274 a year. It will cost the state an estimated $700 million over two years, funded via one-time money, as tax refunds required under the Tax Payer Bill of Rights or simply chalked up as lost revenue.”

“The measure was designed to head off proposed ballot initiatives, including one from state Rep. Colin Larson, R-Littleton, to cap property tax increase at 3%. But those backers, including others backed by liberal and conservative groups, put down their metaphorical arms, right down to signing affidavits as political peace treaties.”

Along with the tax refund we are all receiving (see last month’s newsletter if you missed it), this provides a bit of relief for a problem nearly all of us share in.

A full recap of the bill, as well as assessment rates for 2023 and 2024 can be found here, courtesy of Coloradonewsline.com.

Lastly, we ran across an article on ways to reduce your property tax and it can be found here.

Is Your Home at Risk?

The tragic Marshall Fire over the holidays last year was a stark reminder about how quickly the things we have can be gone.

We know a number of people that were displaced and our hearts go out to them.

Sadly, many stories have come out regarding underinsured homeowners, problems with replacement values, etc.

In fact, the problem was so rampant that many insurance agents weren’t even taking calls about it immediately after the disaster.

We ran across an informative piece by insurance.com that goes through the ins and outs of underinsurance and what you can do to protect yourself. It can be found here.

From the article, “Most homes are underinsured. Nationwide estimates that about two-thirds of American homes are underinsured. Some homes are underinsured by at least 60 percent and the average is about 22 percent. CoreLogic estimates that three out of five American homes are underinsured by an average of 20 percent.”

The bottom line? Talk to your agent and make sure you have coverage that includes new (and higher) building costs and that you are fully covered for any disaster.

The only thing worse than losing your home is realizing you are not able to rebuild it without a significant financial penalty, sometimes in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Finally, we found a website that will actually calculate your risk of fire or flood based on your address and it can be found here.

Let’s hope that we never encounter these problems, but in the event we do, let’s make sure our insurance is in order.

Airport Expansion & New Gates

We have used this space frequently in the past to shed light on the debacle that has been the DIA expansion project.

It is only fair that we call out any progress that is being made and we have some news to report.

If you haven’t flown for a bit, you may be surprised to see that there are 16 additional gates developing on the C Concourse.

From the DBJ article. “Southwest Airlines will soon have 16 more gates available to travelers at Denver International Airport, bringing the airport another step closer to its goal of having the capacity to handle 100 million annual visitors in eight to 10 years.”

In fact, the new space is the largest physical expansion by DIA since the Westin hotel was built in 2015.

The ultimate goal is for DIA to handle up to 100 million passengers per year in 8-10 years.

Lots of new things to do out there as well, including eight new shopping and dining options by 2023 including Black Canyon Market and Goods, Longs Peak Market and Goods, Aviano Coffee, Mister Oso, Bar Dough, Cholon Modern Asia, Marczyk Fine Foods and Teatulia Tea and Coffee Bar.

Exciting times at DIA, and nice to see some progress on this long and drawn-out project.

The complete piece from the DBJ can be found here, and for those of you with a Denver Post subscription, their take on things can be found here.

Happy travels Denver!

Monthly Award Winners

Our monthly award winners for April were Gabriela Caloca, Maria Zapata, Gabriela Barrancas, Ivette Amaro, and Haydee Espinosa.

In the Team Leader ranks, it was Mayra Soto and Laura Varela

We are so proud of our winners, and of all the folks that are in and out of your homes each week.

We continue to be grateful to you for allowing us into your lives during these challenging times.

Please join me in congratulating our best performers for the month of April.

Queen Bee Corner

by Angela

Handling client cancelations is one of the toughest challenges in the service industry. To reach a balance that recognizes and accepts the client’s need to cancel while minimizing disruption to the schedule is no small feat.

Our daily schedules are made well in advance and the workload is distributed equally among the teams.  If a client cancels it leaves a gap in one of the team’s schedules.

Cancelations requested in advance allow the scheduler a chance to fill the space from a short waiting list, and the team does not lose work hours.

In the case of last-minute cancelations, it is less likely that the space can be filled on such short notice, and in all probability, the three ladies on the team will lose work hours that day.

Emergencies are part of life and are unexpected and unavoidable. We understand and graciously accept this fact of life.

However, we hope the above clarification will raise awareness of the importance of canceling in advance whenever possible.

Just a small request.

Bee

March Newsletter 2022

denverconcierg on April 5, 2022

Another 20 Year Employee

How lucky are we?

Over the past couple of years, we have celebrated 20-year anniversaries for two of our wonderful staff, Angela and Maria.

This month, we celebrate our 3rd 20-year employee, our Office Manager, Blanca Garcia. Blanca started out with us cleaning houses and was quickly elevated to Team Leader. If there is a “jack of all trades” in our office, it is her for sure.

That’s her on the left, next to our leader and General Manager, Maria Herrera.

She is Maria’s backup on payroll and office matters, she makes sure our ladies get to your houses on time and follow the work orders. She is our backup driver as well, helping us manage our fleet of vehicles and get them to the right place as needed.

Not to mention she knows a lot about how to clean a home and assists Maria in making sure our quality is always top-notch.

In her spare time, Blanca loves to cook and has a wonderful family that appreciates her almost as much as we do. 😊

Please join me in congratulating Blanca on her 20 years with the company. We love you Blanca!

Denver Car Thefts

Cars are a hot commodity these days. If you have tried to buy one lately, you won’t be haggling and you will probably have to wait 3 months to get it.

Unless you steal one.

That seems to be the prevailing problem in Denver, with nearly 40,000 vehicles stolen in 2021 alone, an average of over 100 per day.

According to the latest statistics from the Colorado Auto Theft Prevention Authority, there has been an 88% percent increase in motor vehicle thefts since 2017.

So which cars are being targeted? The most stolen vehicle in 2021? The Chevrolet Silverado. This vehicle was involved in 1500 thefts in ’21, beating out the Kia Optima by nearly 600 thefts.

The full list of most-stolen makes and models can be found here.

The Colorado Auto Theft Prevention Authority has a great site on this topic with tips for prevention, etc.

Finally, much like the password article in this month’s newsletter, a lot of problems can be solved upfront.

The typical stolen vehicle has the keys in it or is running. Makes it pretty easy for the thieves.

Finally, if you do have your car stolen, there are groups out there using technology to help you find it.

More information on “ethical hacking” can be found here, meanwhile, let’s hope you never have to use it.

There is also a Facebook page for stolen cars in Colorado.

Lock your cars, Denver!

Password Security 

What do you think the most common password is?

If you guessed “password”, you were close, it came in fourth.

The most common password?

123456

We have no words for this, but if you want to be entertained, here is the list of the most common passwords leaked on the Dark Web.

Moving on, and from Lookout, which makes cloud security apps for mobile devices, noted in a December blog post that, on average, 80% of consumers have had their emails leaked onto the dark web. You could easily be among that majority without even knowing it.

Much like leaving your keys in the running car, having a simple password opens you up to all sorts of security issues.

On to the next question….how many of you use your browser’s “autofill” function for passwords to the various websites you visit?

We do, and boy were we surprised at what a bad idea it is.  It seems this common practice exposes all your passwords, and in many cases could include credit card information.

So what is the bottom line? Identity theft costs consumers $56 billion in 2021 alone.

The moral of the story is as follows:

1. Use complex passwords

2. Change them often

3. Enable 2-factor authentication

4. Don’t use autofill in your browser

Simple stuff, but we all get too busy and don’t do it until sometimes it’s too late.

For those of you looking for a great password manager, we love Keeper. They have a family plan and everything is 100% encrypted.

A full list of the best password managers can be found here.

Best Bars in Denver

There are days when we just need a drink.

The fine folks at 5280 Magazine published the best 26 bars in and around Denver, and we were intrigued.

From old standbys like Green Russell to new speakeasies like B&GC in Cherry Creek, (most mysterious) they did a wonderful job of outlining some great watering holes in Denver.

Everything from dive bars to the best romantic bars are listed, and we wanted to try them all (well most of them anyway).

For those of you that prefer a nice glass of wine, they published a list of the top wine bars in Denver and it can be found here.

We still love CRU, but they didn’t even make the list. Old school.

Now that COVID seems to be winding down, let’s hope we can all let our hair down a bit and enjoy a fresh libation!

Bottoms up!

2022 Interior Design Trends

Things change quickly in the world of interior design.

So, when we need a refresher we reach out to our friend Marina Dagenais at Designer Premier.

They were recently quoted in a Redfin article on 2022 design trends, so congratulations are in order.

Our interior design skills can always use an update, and we found some things that were super interesting.

For example, who knew what Scandifornian was? Well, it’s just what it sounds like, it blends California modern with Scandinavian. Here we come Ikea!!

We also learned about biophilic design which is a concept used within the building industry to increase occupant connectivity to the natural environment using direct nature, indirect nature, and space and place conditions.

Fascinating stuff for sure.

The complete Redfin article on “13 Trending Interior Design Styles You’ll See in 2022” can be found here.

As always, if you need a pro, reach out to Marina for first-rate service.

Monthly Award Winners

Our monthly award winners for February were Maria Zapata, Gabriela Barrancas, Josefina Quinonez, Aurora Dominguez, and Ivette Amaro.

In the Team Leader ranks, it was Natalia Olivas and Paz Jimenez.

We are so proud of our winners, and of all the folks that are in and out of your homes each week.

We continue to be grateful to you for allowing us into your lives during these challenging times.

Please join me in congratulating our best performers for the month of February.

Queen Bee Corner

by Angela

Congratulations to my co-worker Blanca on her 20-year anniversary with Denver Concierge. Bravo!

The three women who together run the offices of Denver Concierge have now all been with the company for over 20 years.

Our General Manager Maria completed her 20 years two years ago, and I completed mine last year. That means 63 years of combined experience at your service!

In spite of, or possibly because of, the diverse skills and backgrounds each of us brought to the job, we formed a strong bond that became the engine that has driven Denver Concierge for the past 20 plus years.

Our all-for-one and one-for-all attitude has allowed us to weather the challenges that have come our way through the years, and still maintain a unified front for our employees and our clients.

I’m so proud.  Well done, us!

Bee

February Newsletter 2022

denverconcierg on February 25, 2022

Is the Pandemic Over?

No, we aren’t trying to be controversial here. Hopeful, maybe?

Mask mandates are dropping everywhere, and our incidence rate is trending in the right direction. Couple this with what looks like a much milder version in Omicron, and we are feeling better about things for sure.

In fact, estimates show that 73% of our population in the U.S. is immune to Omicron. Experts expect this to rise to 80% by mid-March. 

Denver is lifting the public health order requiring vaccinations of city and county employees on March 4.  Private employers are not affected by this and can still decide to require vaccination if they desire.

For any of you that want to “geek out” on the potential end of the pandemic, The Lancet wrote an exhaustive piece on the end of this wild ride. Titled “Covid-19 will continue but the end of the pandemic is near“, it does a great job of analyzing data and trends.

From that article:

“The impacts of future SARS-CoV-2 transmission on health, however, will be less because of broad previous exposure to the virus, regularly adapted vaccines to new antigens or variants, the advent of antivirals, and the knowledge that the vulnerable can protect themselves during future waves when needed by using high-quality masks and physical distancing. COVID-19 will become another recurrent disease that health systems and societies will have to manage.”
“For example, the death toll from omicron seems to be similar in most countries to the level of a bad influenza season in northern hemisphere countries. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated the worse influenza season during the past decade in 2017–18 caused about 52 000 influenza deaths with a likely peak of more than 1500 deaths per day.”

“The era of extraordinary measures by government and societies to control SARS-CoV-2 transmission will be over. After the omicron wave, COVID-19 will return but the pandemic will not.”

We are sure hopeful that those thoughts and projections are correct. Of course, we don’t know what new strain might show up, but it seems to be weakening thankfully.

In the meantime, we will continue to wear masks in your home out of an abundance of caution. We have been very lucky in having few infections and have no cases of transmission from us to a client.

There are still some places with mask mandates, and the full list of mask mandates by county can be found here.

Stay safe folks, let’s hope this beast is winding down.

Wacky Weather

Have you ever looked outside and thought “Make up your mind weather!”

We have, quite a bit recently.

A couple of newsletters back, we were lamenting our lack of moisture. In fact, our snow drought had us conjuring up images of a nice early spring (much to the chagrin of our skiing clients).

It was not to be. In fact, we have been catching up on snow ever since. January dropped 13.4 inches of snow, ranking it as the 13th highest total ever.

February was similar racking up 15.8 inches, which was good for the 14th highest ever. The law of averages and regression to the mean are real things, even for the weather.

Throw in the recent “arctic blast” we experienced, with record low temps and we don’t know what to make of it all.

On the 22nd, the National Weather Service recorded the highest temperature for Denver at 8 degrees which set a new record for the coldest high temperature for the day.

The lowest high on Feb. 22 was 13 degrees back in 1913, according to the NWS. Another record was set on Wednesday morning when Denver recorded a record low for the day of minus 7 degrees.

The previous record low for Feb. 23 was minus 4 degrees. That was set in 1899, according to the NWS.

Wacky weather indeed. We hope you all have a Colorado wardrobe, as next week will be back into the 60s and 70s.

It’s why we love Colorado. Stay warm, or cool, but watch the weather.

International Women’s Day

Indeed, and it occurs on March 8.

A great opportunity to celebrate the wonderful women in our lives. From our very own Queen Bee to Maria Herrera our GM, we are so fortunate to have the most amazing women around.

That’s even before we talk about the dedication and commitment of the women who clean your homes (yes, they are all women, we haven’t found a man that can clean as well as they can).

If there are any men out there that want to give it a shot, we are always hiring. 🙂

From Wiki: “International Women’s Day (IWD) is a global holiday, celebrated annually on March 8 to commemorate the cultural, political, and socioeconomic achievements of women. It is also a focal point in the women’s rights movement, bringing attention to issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence and abuse against women.”

We love the women in our lives and want to take this time to thank them for all they do for us. We couldn’t be more grateful.

For all the details on this holiday and all that it recognizes, visit them here.

 

Real Estate Update

So much for the real estate market slowing down.

While the common wisdom is that as interest rates tick up, borrowing will get harder and slow the housing market, it’s not happening yet.

In fact, the inventory of homes across the Front Range is lower than it has ever been for January and February.

We found a very detailed report courtesy of Norada Real Estate that we thought was very interesting.

From that report:

“Denver metro area remains a seller’s market with January 2022 being yet another unusual month. The latest report from DMAR shows that the market ended the month down 17.77 percent in new listings from 2021, a 31.04 increase over the previous month. Usually, the market typically experiences a 70% increase in new listings from December to January. Similarly, the market ended the month with an all-time low of 1,184 active listings. To put this in perspective, that is over ten times less inventory than is typical at this time of year.”

Wow, still rocking, and the median sales price in January was $595k, which represented a nearly 17% increase over January 2021.

So, the trend continues at least for now. Great news for sellers, not so much for buyers.

 

Guest Article

Creating a Home that Works for You

By Curtis Fisher, Guest Writer, Tradesbright.org

Whether you rent or own your home, you want to feel comfortable in your surroundings. The decor in a home can significantly contribute to the ambiance of a dwelling. Denver Concierge offers some tips to help you turn your space from cold and impersonal to warm and inviting.

Working From Home

Depending on the amount of space you have, working from home can be a challenge. If you are in a rental, you cannot knock down walls or build additions, but you can make the area you do have more efficient. Zenbusiness shares some ideas for creating a functional home office including using spare closets or even the corner of a room. You can add shelving to the walls of a closet or purchase an L-shaped desk for that under-used corner of your living or dining room. You need a spot where you can focus on your important work, so think about how you will use the space and what will be most convenient for your own needs.

Making Space for Your Children

Kids tend to accumulate a lot of stuff. Between the toys and crafting supplies, you may feel as though you are drowning in your children’s belongings. Ideally, every household would have a playroom to store all of these items. However, this is not the reality for many families. Nevertheless, there are many convenient storage options available to help declutter homes. Ideas for organizing the kid chaos include cube storage bins, installing shelving in their bedrooms and common areas, and donating toys that are no longer used.

Entertaining Regularly

If you have the entertainment bug, you want your home to enhance your ability to host. Try developing natural pathways through your space when you have company. This will make guests feel welcome and steer them to the area you prefer. In an open concept dwelling, you can place the furniture to separate seating areas and dining areas. To make fragmented spaces feel airier, try opening drapes or blinds to allow as much light as possible to enter the home.

Unwinding Comfortably

A nice method to ensure you can relax in your home is to dedicate one room for relaxation. Decorate in calming colors and purchase furniture that you can rest comfortably on. Studies show that incorporating houseplants in your decor could help to reduce stress and anxiety, so try adding a few into your home. If you have a favorite couch or chair that has seen better days, check into having it reupholstered rather than purchasing a replacement piece. Read several reviews online before meeting with a company representative to get a quote. A large couch could cost between $1,200 and $3,500 to reupholster depending on size and the fabric you choose.

Seeking a New Space

If you have done all you can in your current space and it still does not meet your needs, it may be time to consider moving. Before making any plans, research the local housing market to determine if you can buy or need to find a larger rental. Homebuyers should look into mortgage pre-approval before officially beginning their search to ensure they qualify.

Making your home a place you can enjoy and unwind with friends and family is essential to your well-being. Take the time to create an inviting atmosphere in your abode. If you cannot achieve this in your current space, consider relocating. Reach out to Denver Concierge for healthy and convenient housecleaning.

 

 

Monthly Award Winners

Our monthly award winners for January were Patricia Rodriguez, Maria Reyes, Aurora Dominguez, Maria Zapata, and Gabriela Barrancas.

In the Team Leader ranks, it was Paz Jimenez and Mayra Soto.

We are so proud of our winners, and of all the folks that are in and out of your homes each week.

We continue to be grateful to you for allowing us into your lives during these challenging times.

Please join me in congratulating our best performers for the month of January.

Queen Bee Corner

by Angela

Just a short and sweet Queen Bee Corner this time.  I want to extend our sincere sympathy to those clients who have lost pets this winter.  The girls get quite close to our clients’ pets, so they also feel the loss when they arrive and are not treated to the usual enthusiastic welcome.

All pet owners have been there and it’s heartbreaking. “Having a dog will bless you with many of the happiest days of your life, and one of the worst.”

On a more soothing note, the girls have recently been introduced to several new puppies and a few shelter dogs.

A welcome addition to our cleaning experience; even those who are overly zealous in their eagerness to help and are subsequently sent to their room. We love them all and they make the world a better place.

Bee

January Newsletter 2022

denverconcierg on January 30, 2022

Why Us?

An odd heading for sure.

But a valid question to ask. In these crazy times with COVID and the “great reset” we have expressed many times our desire to find people that will clean the way we always have. It has been a challenge to say the least.

Many employees across all industries have left to do something else, or to go out and start their own business. This is true of housecleaners as well. We are quite sure most of you have had flyers on your door, or even some person knocking that wants to clean your house, typically for a very low price.

So, why stay with a premium service like Denver Concierge? We have lots of reasons and wanted to share a few of them here.

The primary driver of our business is quality. We expect your home to be spotless when we complete it. Each member of our team is specifically trained and evaluated on how clean your home is. Individual cleaners, while they might be detailed, don’t have a senior person inspecting their work each and every time. Our people are evaluated each month and ranked, and we use that data to continuously improve what we do.

Secondarily, we want you to have no liability when we are in your home. We carry a huge general liability policy, a service industry bond, and full Worker’s Compensation insurance as required by the state of Colorado. This means if someone has an accident in your home, you have no liability, and our insurer would step in immediately.

This is not the case with independent workers. Most of them carry no insurance, so when something accidentally gets broken (see Queen Bee this month) it may not be very easy to get things resolved.

In the case of injury, the homeowner could be on the hook for a big claim if an injured worker was uninsured in their home.

We have also heard of theft cases, where things disappear and shortly thereafter, the thieves disappear as well, back to their home countries. No insurance makes this a bad deal for the homeowner, with no recourse.

We are also 100% green, the first certified cleaning company, all the way back to 2006. That is a whole different discussion, but with us, it’s built-in.

What’s the old saying? “The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten.” We thank Benjamin Franklin for that one.

We believe Denver Concierge has been in business for nearly 25 years because we do things the right way, and just as importantly we stand behind every single clean. When things go wrong, and Murphy says they inevitably will, we will always be the company to make things right again.

A couple of years ago, we published a letter on our website about what makes us truly different from anyone else out there. It encapsulates what we do and how we do it differently. We encourage you to take a look, as all of those principles still apply today.

That letter can be found here.

Thank you for your support, kindness and loyalty to our locally owned small business. As always, if we can do something better, please let us know.

DIA Project Update

Last time we flew, we thought “OK, DIA is coming together, when this is done it will be awesome.”

In fact, phase one of three is officially complete as of October 2021. What about the next two phases?

See you in six years.

We have updated this project a few times over the years, including the collapse of the project with the prior vendor in 2019.

On January 10, the Denver City Council approved of $1.1 billion to complete the project, which will bring the total cost of the DIA project to just north of $2 billion.

Airport leadership says Phase 3 will be done in 2028. That will mean the Great Hall project will have lasted 10 years.

From the Denver Business Journal article: “Phase 1 was a critical first step to create capacity for Level 6, where 74% to 75% of traffic is,” said Michael Sheehan, senior vice president at DIA. He points to Level 6 as a model of what the entire Jeppesen Terminal — the main terminal at the airport containing baggage claim, ticketing and security — will look like once the Great Hall project is complete.

Phase 1 added new state-of-the-art ticketing counters and expanded United’s ticketing capacity to 44 positions. The United area now has a quick bag drop, where customers who have checked in online and have indicated they have a bag to check can walk up to a kiosk, scan their boarding pass, tag their own bag and be on their way.”

DIA airport traffic is expected to hit 100 million travelers by 2035, so the improvements are much needed.

The full piece from DBJ can be found here.

The airport authority also has its own updated project page (no paywall), and it can be found here.

What Does Crime Cost?

If someone steals $50, the cost is $50, right?

Well, not exactly. Leave it to MoneyGeek to come up with what crime actually costs us on a per capita basis.

The methodology?

“The direct economic costs of crime to individuals and society include medical and mental health care needs of victims, damage to and loss of property and police and corrections costs. Aside from the imminent danger of crime, people living in higher crime areas see depressed home values and pay higher prices for crucial needs, including home, renters and auto insurance.

To assess the safest cities, MoneyGeek analyzed crime data, including violent crimes such as murder, rape and aggravated assault and property crimes such as home burglary and motor vehicle theft. MoneyGeek calculated each city’s cost of crime and ranked the cities based on the cost of crime per capita. Additionally, researchers have quantified how much more violent crimes cost a community than property crimes.”

Some interesting data in this study for sure. The safest/cheapest city for crime? Naperville, IL, where it costs each resident $187 on average each year. Virginia Beach, VA is the safest/cheapest large city with an annual cost of just over $600.

The worst? Brace yourselves, it’s St. Louis, MO, with an average per capita cost of $11,574. Yikes, that’s a big bill.

What do some Colorado cities look like? Centennial tops the list here with a per capita cost of $351 annually. Arvada is next at $997 and Thornton at $1079 annually.

The most expensive place based on cost of crime? Pueblo at just over $3k a year. Denver comes in at $2600 and Aurora at about $2300.

The full article on the true cost of crime can be found here on MoneyGeek.

The original piece courtesy of Fox Denver can be found here.

The Secret to Happiness

It s0unds so simple. There must be a secret, right?

If you are anything like us, it comes and goes. We do know that it starts within and that external stuff tends to bring only limited happiness. So, what is it, at least for most of us?

Well, we aren’t really sure, but the folks at Harvard are. They have been running an 80-year study on human happiness.

80 years! It caught our eye for sure. From the article on Medium.com:

“For over 80 years, Harvard’s Grant and Glueck study has tracked the well-being of two demographics: 268 graduates from the batches of 1939–1944 and 456 poor men growing up in Boston since 1939.

Since pre-World War II, they’ve painstakingly scrutinized blood samples, performed brain scans, collated surveys, and actually interacted with these men.

In fact, the sheer length of the study demanded the dedication of multiple generations of researchers.

And the windy and diverse +75-year life-paths of those 700 odd men led to a shockingly common and solid conclusion.”

It isn’t money, fame or any of the other stuff we seem to endlessly chase.

It’s relationships.

To quote psychiatrist Robert Waldinger, director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development:

“The clearest message that we get from this 80-year study is this: Good relationships keep us happier and healthier. Period.”

We could write a long piece on this but figured we would let you take it from here. The original article from Medium can be found here.

The Harvard Gazette did a recap of the study a few years ago and it can be found here. 

Here’s to being happier (and closer).

The U-Haul Index

Ah yes, the old U-Haul index. Wait, what?

Another thing that caught our eye that we wanted to share.

It seems U-Haul has what they call the “U-Haul Index”.

This simply measures growth states by calculating the net gain of one-way U-Haul trucks entering a state versus leaving that state in a calendar year.

Migration trends data is compiled from well over 2 million one-way U-Haul truck customer transactions that occur annually.

It certainly gives another data point on where people are moving around in the U.S. today.

Some of the takeaways? Well for starters, Texas edged Florida for the largest net gain of one-way U-Haul trucks in 2021; California and Illinois saw the greatest net losses.

Tennessee ranks third, South Carolina fourth and Arizona fifth among the top growth states.

From the article: “Indiana, Colorado, Maine, Idaho and New Mexico round out the top 10 growth states of 2021 as self-movers target the Southeast, Southwest and Rocky Mountain regions as their destinations of choice.

Select Northeast markets showed year-over-year migration recoveries as Maine rose 21 spots, Vermont 14 spots and Connecticut 25 spots in the U-Haul Growth Index. Yet three of the six states with the largest net losses were also in the Northeast: New York (45), Massachusetts (47) and Pennsylvania (48).

California remained the top state for out-migration, but its net loss of U-Haul trucks wasn’t as severe as in 2020. That can be partially attributed to the fact that U-Haul simply ran out of inventory to meet customer demand for outbound equipment.”

Interesting way to look at migration in the U.S. for sure. I think it’s safe to say we know people are moving here.

The complete article from U-Haul can be found here.

Monthly & Annual Award Winners

Our monthly award winners for December were Patricia Rodriguez, Sandra Vidales, Maria Zapata, Maria Reyes, and Guadalupe Caloca.

In the Team Leader ranks, it was Mayra Soto and Socorro Ibarra.

Of course, it is the time of year when we announce our top associates in both the Cleaning Associate and Team Leader ranks.

Our winner for top Cleaning Associates in 2021:

1st Place – Aurora Dominguez

2nd Place – Maria Zapata

Our top Team Leaders:

1st Place – Isela Mendoza

2nd Place – Juana Olivas 

Please join me in congratulating our top performers for 2021.

We are so proud of our winners, and of all the folks that are in and out of your homes each week.

We continue to be grateful to you for allowing us into your lives during these challenging times.

Queen Bee Corner

by Angela

Just a quick word on breakages/damages that unfortunately can occur while cleaning.

Working efficiently but carefully is the team’s attitude while cleaning.  It’s a delicate balance and at times yes, we have accidentally broken things.

Our Team Leaders are quick to report a breakage to me with a photo. If the client is home, apologies are made.  Then I follow up with a text or phone call.

The ladies always feel very badly if they break something, and we appreciate our clients treating our ladies so graciously in these situations. Even more so if I learn later from the client that the breakage involved a work of art, an object of sentimental value, or a family heirloom.

On the other hand, I think it’s important for me as manager to let the team know the extent of any damage, whether grave or trivial.  It heightens awareness of their surroundings and serves as a reminder that a lighter touch is always preferable.

We try to turn any negative into a learning tool. It is more effective than harsh reprimands.

We thank you again for your appreciation of our work.

Bee

December Newsletter 2021

denverconcierg on January 17, 2022

Welcome 2022, Goodbye 2021

When we wrote our newsletter last December, we were hoping that in a year the majority of COVID would be behind us.

Alas, that is not the case.

Delta came this summer, and now we have Omicron. We don’t know which variant will come next, but we certainly won’t be surprised when it does.

2021 was a challenging year for us at Denver Concierge. We spent a good sum of money on safety protocols, equipment, and the like, trying to keep our workplace (and your home) as safe and sterile as possible.

As a result, we ended up managing the situation very well, with only one COVID case in our ranks. We were able to avoid any outbreaks or disruptions due to the virus and we feel good about our safety protocols.

We will continue our vigilance going forward. Your safety and the safety of our people are more important than a clean house, and we will always feel that way (even though we really like clean houses).

The labor situation could be a lot better. We are struggling to find the people we need to do the work at a level that we are satisfied with. Like everyone, we have raised wages to remain competitive, but it remains our biggest challenge for 2022 and beyond.

We thank you for your patience, kindness, and support. We hope you have a safe and enjoyable New Year’s Eve, and we will see you on the other side.

We appreciate you more than we can express. Happy New Year and here’s to a prosperous 2022.

Our Healthy Resolution

We don’t love New Year’s resolutions. Seems like most of the ones we have tried are over by February.

However, with all the stress around us these days, we have found ourselves in need of better rest.

In fact, good sleep is associated with boosting our immune systems, preventing weight gain, and strengthening our hearts, to name a few benefits.

In our quest for better sleep, we found a couple of great pieces for you.

In the 7 habits of exceptionally good sleepers, we learn that good sleepers go to bed when they are sleepy, not tired (nope, not the same thing). 

Finally, if you have ever said “I’ll sleep when I am dead”, you may be rushing towards that goal.

Berkeley Psychology published a great article on this, and the highlight for us was:

“Every disease that is killing us in developed nations has causal and significant links to a lack of sleep,” he says. “So that classic maxim that you may [have] heard that you can sleep when you’re dead, it’s actually mortally unwise advice from a very serious standpoint.”

That was enough for us. We are off on our journey in 2022 to improve our health in one of the most underrated ways possible.

 

Denver Housing Trends

I bet you are thinking that Denver is one of the hottest real estate markets around.

We were too until we realized we aren’t.

In fact, 9 News published an article that says we are only 48th out of the top 100 metro areas in terms of projected sale increases in 2022.

From the article, “Denver’s predicted increase is much less compared to other Western markets, like Salt Lake City, Boise, Idaho and Spokane, Washington, which are all expected to see a combined increase of more than 20%, according to the Realtor.com analysis.”

Shocking, considering at one time this year there were more realtors in Denver than properties available.

As we researched this topic, we found another item that could drive down demand, higher interest rates.

CPR news did an article on the impact of rates going up and it can be found here.

Finally and longer-term, there are 180 million people that will be looking for homes in the coming years. Who are they?

Millennials. We didn’t realize they are the largest living adult generation (yep, we thought boomers too).

Denver Business Journal did a nice piece on the impact of millennials and housing demand, it can be found here.

Still looks like a seller’s market to us.

U.S Consumer Spending Trends

How COVID has changed our spending habits.

We dove into this and were surprised by some of the trends.

For example, only about 3 to 4% of grocery shopping in the U.S. was done online before COVID-19, according to research from Bain & Company.

Fast forward to 2021, and the grocery delivery industry has drastically evolved due to the pandemic and emerging technology. In fact, a study by Coresight Research found that 60% of U.S. consumers are now buying their groceries online. Wow.

Also, the three rounds of stimulus boosted overall spending in the U.S. by 15.3% OVER pre-pandemic levels. Surprising.

Another interesting tidbit? It seems wealthy people “pulled back” the most, with the theory being the wealthy didn’t need the stimulus for consumption,

The best piece we found on this was done by Bloomberg News, and it can be found here.

It ties in race, inflation, and other factors. Fascinating data and conclusions for sure.

This chart clearly shows we have exceeded pre-pandemic levels of spending.

Let’s hope inflation doesn’t knock the legs out of all of it.

Guest Article

Get Tidy, Feel Mighty! Tips on Creating Tidiness Habits in Your Home

By Alice Robertson, Tidy Home

https://tidyhome.info

People encounter so many sources of daily stress. We worry about work deadlines, our health and whether or not we’re getting enough exercise, our children’s health or learning environment, money – you name it, stress has taken hold of us all at some point or another. The last thing we need is another source, yet if your home is disorganized and cluttered – or more succinctly put, messy – then you have unwittingly created yet another source of stress for yourself.

You will feel much better and more relaxed if you start to take control of the disorganization around you. While some people like to dive right in, you may find that integrating small steps each day creates longer-lasting habits that can more effectively ward off future disorder. To help you get started on your tidiness journey, the house cleaning experts from Denver Concierge share the following tips.

Reconcile that you can live without certain items

Have you ever unpacked a box that’s been in storage and recognized contents you haven’t seen for months – or even years – and come to the realization that your life functioned perfectly without them? Sure, it’s also nice to find that favorite shirt or a missing earring, but most of us, if we were truthful, would admit to stockpiling items that we don’t need and wouldn’t miss.

Ridding yourself of this extraneous clutter will energize you and help in creating your tidiness habits. Start with one goal. Don’t make it too ambitious; if you have to leave in an hour and you know cleaning your desk will take you two hours, you’re setting yourself up for an incomplete project and feelings of failure. Opt instead for tossing expired food out of the refrigerator or pantry or emptying your bookshelves of old paperbacks that you’ll never read but that might be better donated to a non-profit.

Start getting habitual

Once you’ve shed yourself of unnecessary items, ignite the tidying routine with one daily task that will be the start of your tidiness habit. For some people, it’s making the bed. It’s relatively easy to do, and this simple act can change the look and feel of your room. Or, if you spend more time in the kitchen, make sure that the dishes are done early each morning or in the evening. If you easily get overwhelmed by laundry, do a load a day instead of two or three over the weekend — and then be confronted with hours of folding and putting away.

While much of this is focusing on your home’s interior, don’t forget about your yard. Your outdoors should be a source of solace and relaxation, which is hard to achieve with overgrown weeds and grass or a complete lack of luster to your landscaping. If doing it yourself seems overwhelming, why not take advantage of your local landscape design services to help you out? You can hire an expert to help get your yard under control and add enhancements, like planting welcoming flower beds and additional greenery, and then you can take over. Or, if it’s in your budget and your thumb is more fuchsia than green, hire one to perform regular maintenance, like trimming hedges and mowing the lawn. It’s easy to check out reviews online and get a few quotes from local landscapers.

Finally, you’re not the only one who will benefit from the more relaxed ambiance of a tidy home, so get your family on board. They can all make their own beds each morning, and rinse their dishes after each meal. Have a discussion about what would work best with their schedules and your tidiness goals. For example, making them responsible for one room daily or one overall weekly task, like vacuuming or dusting.

Create your castle

Your home really should be your castle — and we’re not talking turrets and moats. It should be a welcoming place of warmth, security, and peace. Those feelings fight for their spot when they’re outmatched by an untidy room filled with dust and clutter. Of course, if you need extra help keeping your castle spotless, turn to the cleaning services of Denver Concierge, the Front Range’s premier house cleaners.

Monthly Award Winners

Our monthly award winners for November 2021 were Patricia Rodriguez, Maria Reyes, Luz Reza, Josefina Quinonez, and Maria Zapata.

In the Team Leader ranks, it was Rosa Chavez and Socorro Ibarra.

We are so proud of our winners, and of all the folks that are in and out of your homes each week.

Our annual winners will be announced next month, we have some tight races so stay tuned!

We continue to be grateful to you for allowing us into your lives during these challenging times.

Please join me in congratulating our best performers for the month of November.

Queen Bee Corner

by Angela

Happy New Year!

Firstly, a big thank you to our clients for keeping our teams busy for another year, for the appreciation you have shown them, and for all of the year-end gifts.

As a company we can only do so much to keep our employees happy; how our ladies are treated in the homes they clean is equally important to their day-to-day well-being.

On another note, I would like to hear from you with recommendations for any work that you have had done in your home, to your satisfaction.

Clients ask me frequently for references and I have added a few pros and cons myself. It isn’t easy finding reliable, reasonably priced technicians or contractors who we actually feel good about letting in!

Again. thank you for yet another year. Will text you in 2022!

Bee

November Newsletter 2021

denverconcierg on December 5, 2021

Holiday Schedule & Message

We hope that you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. With holidays upon us, we thought that we would publish our holiday schedule for this year.

With Christmas falling on a Saturday this year, we will be working one day longer than normal. We will give our ladies Friday the 24th off for Christmas Eve.

We will also be closed on Friday the 31st for New Year’s Eve.

For us, the holidays always bring out the desire to show the people we care about how we feel about them. Thanksgiving, of course, is the time to give thanks and we want to do that.

2021 has been nearly as challenging as 2020 for us as a company and we are grateful to still be here cleaning homes across the Front Range. Our clients are the best in Denver, and boy are we lucky to have you.

Between all the issues that COVID has created and the subsequent labor issues, many days have been a challenge, to say the least.

We want to thank you so much for your kindness, understanding, and patience in dealing with all the issues that have arisen during these challenging times. We couldn’t ask for a better group of clients to have, and for you, we are grateful on the deepest levels.

We wish you the best for a peaceful, quiet, and relaxing holiday season. Whether you are celebrating Christmas, Hannukah, Kwanza, Boxing Day, or just the season, we join you in celebrating the ones you love, as we celebrate you here.

Thank you for being part of our locally owned company.

Angela, John, and Maria

Let it Snow. Please?

Ok, this is getting ridiculous.

As we compose this newsletter, we have gone 222 days without measurable snow. How does this stack up in history?

Currently, it ranks 4th and counting. The longest we have ever gone without measurable snow is 235 days, dating back to the 1800s.

If we make it two more days, our streak will move into the 3rd longest, and we are a scant two weeks or so from setting the all-time record for a lack of snow.

The average snowfall in Denver is 56.4 inches. The lowest snowfall ever? 21.8 inches in 2016-2017.

Oh, and we already set another record, the latest snowfall on record. The old record for the latest first Denver snowfall was set on Nov. 21, 1934.

The full article including our annual snowfall totals for the last ten years can be found here.

For those of you that have turned off your sprinklers or stopped watering for the year, it might be a good idea to water your trees, I am sure they are thirsty.

Here’s to some moisture soon!

Gift Ideas Made in Colorado

We do our best here to support local and Colorado-owned businesses.

As a local business, seeing our dollars stay in our local community and in our state is very important.

Beyond the obvious stores and shops that we encounter on a given day, what are easy ways to support our economy and buy locally?

We are glad you asked.

For starters, we found a site called Created in Colorado, which is a consolidated list of all things Colorado.

Also, the folks at 5280 Magazine published a great guide for Colorado-made goods and it can be found here.

Finally, did you know that this past Saturday was “Small Business Saturday”?

NBC News published a nice piece on how to support small businesses, including everything from gift buying to leaving positive reviews.

We thank you for your support of our small, locally owned business.

Happy Shopping!

Savings by Age

We remember when we were young and starting our careers, we always tried to earn our age. Those were the days.

Now we are thinking about things like IRA’s, 401K’s, and like you, how we will make it to the finish line with enough money to retire.

So just how much should you have saved, by age, for retirement?

The folks at Quicken wrote a great article about savings benchmarks and net worth by decades of age.

Did you know that the median US savings for age 40 is $63,000? By 50 it nearly doubles to $117,000.

As far as net worth goes, the benchmark net worth for someone 40 years old is twice your annual salary. At 50 it should be four times your salary, and at 60, six times.

Fascinating data, and even if you are personally set going forward, there are some great numbers for the younger people in our lives that may just be getting started.

The complete article can be found here.

Data Visualizations

Before we found this very cool article, we honestly had no idea what a “data visualization” really was.

Then we clicked and realized how much fun they are.

How about a moving chart that shows how COVID spread in the U.S.? So interesting to see.

How about our health and wealth history, in a minute, encapsulating 221 years of prosperity? You can see the effects of everything from the Vietnam War to the impact of COVID, all in one fast-moving chart.

Our favorite one is a 3D map of the entire fiber-optic network around the world. Who knew there were so many cables under the ocean?

We pulled those two from a fabulous piece on medium.com, which you can find here, entitled “The 10 Best Data Visualizations you of 2021”.

We love finding cool stuff for our readers and we are confident this will qualify!

Monthly Award Winners

Our monthly award winners for October were Aurora Dominguez, Patricia Rodriguez, Sandra Vidales, Josefina Quinonez, and Maria Zapata.

In the Team Leader ranks, it was Juana Olivas and Natalia Olivas.

We are so proud of our winners, and of all the folks that are in and out of your homes each week.

We continue to be grateful to you for allowing us into your lives during these challenging times.

Please join me in congratulating our best performers for the month of October.

Queen Bee Corner

by Angela

Denver was recently rated the Booziest City in the country, but one only must look back at our immigrant history to see that we have worked hard to merit this distinction.

German immigrants in 1880 owned nearly a third of Denver’s taverns. Patrons could sing and speak in German, read German newspapers, eat German food and drink German Bock. Basically to feel at home in a foreign city.

The Irish immigrants came with the advent of the railroad and established bars between their homes and the tracks, where many had settled. By 1900 the Irish population of Denver was 3% but they owned 10% of the bars.

Jewish immigrants also found the liquor business easy to enter. One of the first sources of Kosher food in Denver was in a Jewish delicatessen established next to a synagogue.

Italian immigrants recruited to work on the railroad gradually moved into the north Denver area where they operated their Italian bars and restaurants. When prohibition came, rather than close, they moved operations to their basements.

Other ethnicities soon immigrated to Denver. By 1920, the Russians were the largest immigrating group and the Slavs had already established their community in Globeville.

Although few of the immigrant establishments remained after prohibition, they were the first of a grand tradition that we have proudly carried on to this day.

Happy Holidays!  Cheers!

Bee

October Newsletter 2021

denverconcierg on November 1, 2021

Happy Halloween Denver

Last year was our first Halloween under the blanket of Covid.

While we are a little old over here for trick or treating, we always worry about the little ones and how this crazy world we are in affects them.

So, what has changed and where is trick or treating allowed this year? Of course, each neighborhood is different, but our friends at 5280 Magazine published a comprehensive list of all things Halloween around Denver, and it also includes the best 7 neighborhoods for trick or treating.

9 News also published a good list of events for the little ones, including a trick or treat parade at Union Station (it’s called BOOnion Station, which we think is cute).

It looks like we are back in business for places to take the kids, but what about adults?

We do know people that like to dress up every year regardless of age, so we wanted to share some things for them as well. Denver.org put out a great list of fun things for all ages and that list can be found here.

The weather on Sunday looks a little dicey but between now and then it should be beautiful.

The Broncos also host a game on Halloween at 2:25 at Empower Field, which should be full of Halloween celebrating fans.

All in all, we are inching back towards normalcy and it looks like a pretty nice weekend to be out and about.

Whatever you decide to do, please do it safely and have a Happy Halloween 2021.

Denver Performing Arts Reopening

After a long 18-month hiatus, the Denver Performing Arts Center (DCPA) has reopened as of October 5th.

With a holiday slate planned for the winter, they are currently building up to the Lion King, which opens on December 2,

The big event? Hamilton, which opens February 16 and will run until March 27, 2022.

So what do you need to know? There are new requirements for both vaccines and masks, including children under twelve needing a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours.

All adults will need to be vaccinated to attend the DCPA.

Masks are required for all audience members, and food and beverages will not be allowed inside the theater, instead offering designated areas for food and drink consumption.

The complete lowdown on the DCPA reopening and all of its requirements can be found here.

Winter Heating Bills up 54%

Yes, you read that correctly, 54%, which is a crazy number.

That is the average increase that is being projected around home heating bills this winter.

It seems the inflationary economy is impacting us all, and according to the article:

“With prices surging worldwide for heating oil, natural gas, and other fuels, the US government said Wednesday it expects households to see their heating bills jump as much as 54% compared with last winter.”

About half the people in our country use natural gas, with electricity running second, making up 41% of usage. Those of you heating with electricity can expect a more modest increase of 6%.

Natural gas is up to its highest price since 2014 and is up 90% over last year’s levels.

Crazy indeed.

The complete article on energy costs and what to expect this winter can be found here. 

Small Talk

“How are you”? “What about this crazy weather?” “Come here often?”

We all do this version of small talk, and studies have shown that we all hate it.

So why do we do it? How can we avoid inane conversations that add no value to either party?

Medium posted a great piece on this phenomenon that we felt compelled to share.

Evidently, most of us believe that strangers simply don’t care that much about us. From the article and the study:

“People kept conversations light-hearted because they each believed that’s what the other party wanted. They expected to “be met with blank stares and silence” if they revealed something personal. As it turned out, both parties felt the same way but held back for fear of awkwardness.”

We love stuff like this, as we hate small talk as well.

For some pointers on how to get out of this trap and engage others in a more meaningful dialogue, check out the full piece here.

We also found a nice article by business insider on tips to get past this awkward habit and it can be found here.

Here’s to trying new things with the next stranger we meet. Maybe they won’t be strangers for long.

Denver Restaurant Update

What a long road for all of the restaurants in Denver.

We have discussed the labor shortage here at length, but beyond that what is new around Denver and our restaurant industry?

Well, for starters, outdoor dining has been approved permanently.

Mayor Michael Hancock recently announced the City and County of Denver will work to create a permanent outdoor dining program in 2022 that builds off the success of temporary patios and dining space expansions throughout the city.

Great news for our restaurants and for all of us who like to enjoy the cuisine of Denver for sure.

Also, there are some new (and very brave) restaurants that have opened recently, and 5280 Magazine did a piece on 12 new restaurants to try, it can be found here.

We also ran across the 45 best dishes to try in Denver these days, and those can be found here.

We continue to support our local restaurants and hope that we can all do our part to keep them going in these tough times.

Monthly Award Winners

Our monthly award winners for September were Guadalupe Caloca, Sandra Vidales, Aurora Dominguez, Josefina Quinonez, and Maria Reyes.

In the Team Leader ranks, it was Isela Mendoza and Juana Olivas.

We are so proud of our winners, and of all the folks that are in and out of your homes each week.

We continue to be grateful to you for allowing us into your lives during these challenging times.

Please join me in congratulating our best performers for the month of September.

Queen Bee Corner

by Angela

Of all the diverse celebrations in Denver throughout the year one of my favorites is Dia de los Muertos, not surprising, as it has a Mexican history.

The ritual of Dia de los Muertos, November 2nd, also known as All Souls Day, was started 3,000 years ago by the Aztecs.

When the Spaniards landed in Mexico in the 16th century they viewed it of course, as sacrilegious. Nevertheless, it has prevailed to the present day as a religious festival in parts of rural Mexico.

Celebrated now much more widely as a secular and popularized part of the Hispanic culture, Dia de los Muertos has taken on political aspects, spawned impressive literature and poetry, art, and tales of fantasy.

In Denver for instance, there is a yearly celebration at the Botanic Gardens and two days of festivities on Santa Fe Drive, appropriately.  There are many other venues.

As Denver grows, we are celebrating more traditions from other countries and from our heritage and history, and this can only  be advantageous to the vibrancy of our city.

Bee

September Newsletter 2021

denverconcierg on October 5, 2021

Labor and Wages

What a crazy world we are living in. No one can find qualified help, yet wages are going up.

In fact, according to Forbes, wages have grown at the fastest rate in 35 years in the U.S. Yet 48% of companies are looking to hire (including Denver Concierge).

As you know, our people are what make us who we are. Many of our staff have been with us for nearly 20 years, and it’s safe to say they know how to clean houses better than anyone around. We don’t want to lose those people.

So, in the spirit of transparency, we offered our folks a very significant wage increase in August. We did this because they deserve it and also because external wage pressure is higher than we can remember.

Along with this wage increase comes a price increase. Our regular readers know that we take great pride in being open and honest about our company, and the truth is we could not absorb 100% of this increase and still run our company the way that you love.

Angela will be reaching out to each of our clients to discuss the increase and answer any questions you may have.

While we hate ever having to raise prices, this crazy economy has really left us with no choice.

As always, we appreciate every client we have and we hope that you understand what we (and most other businesses) are going through to keep our staff and our service levels.

Thank you for your loyalty and kindness during these challenging times.

Home Costs Going Up $36k

The perfect storm. Wonder why housing costs are going up? Well, besides crazy demand, there are other hidden reasons tied to the pandemic.

Our friends at Designer Premier published a great article about the “perfect storm” of events that are adding to housing costs.

From the article:

“Framing lumber prices have declined in recent weeks, but the overall prices of wood products, steel mill, copper, drywall, and gypsum used in home building continue to soar.”

“Supply chain problems delay projects and raise costs even more. Lumber cannot come down from Canada anymore, and builders have to wait for equipment to show up.”

The bottom line? Supply and demand for materials and labor are completely out of whack. On average, this is adding $36k to the cost of every home sold, which is a big number.

The full article from Designer Premier, which includes strategies to keep home constructioon costs down, can be found here.

What is “Meow Wolf”?

So, we weren’t sure what a “Meow Wolf” actually was, but we have heard so much about it we figured we better investigate and pass it along to our readers.

Based in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Meow Wolf is now open in Las Vegas, and most recently, Denver.

Great, you say, now what is it?

From their website:

“We create immersive and interactive experiences that transport audiences of all ages into fantastic realms of story and exploration.”

By collaborating with hundreds of local artists, Meow Wolf has created an immersive, artistic space, where visitors are encouraged to interact and touch everything inside what is known as Convergence Station.

The Denver Post did a complete article on the opening of Meow Wolf and it can be found here (might be paywalled).

More details of this very unique concept can be found here, on Meow Wolf’s website.

Economically, city leaders hope this will draw visitors much like Santa Fe, where the attraction has seen two million visitors since it opened in 2016.

Coloradans & Drinking

How many years of your life would you give up for the ability to have a drink?

The average Coloradan says THREE. Yes, you read that right, the average Coloradan would give up three years of their life to maintain the ability to drink.

Tops in the U.S.? Nevada, Idaho and South Carolina residents would all give up five years of their lives to keep drinking.

Also from the study and article:

“Alcohol.org surveyed 3,700 people and also found one-third of respondents would also give up caffeine for life if they could keep drinking booze.

The research goes on to show 30% of people admit they ignore studies warning about alcohol health risks.”

The full study, titled “Life vs. Liquor” can be found here. 

Wow, I guess we are serious about our drinking here in the Rockies.

The complete article from Fox Denver can be found here.

Fall in Colorado

Welcome to fall, all you leaf peepers! Yes, we are right in the heart of the leaf-peeping season, and we wanted to give you some of the best places (and ways) to do it.

Fall in Colorado can be truly spectacular for the color changes and dramatic backgrounds of the mountains.

In fact, fall in Colorado has its own Twitter feed and Facebook page, #fallorado.

We found a great guide for you intrepid souls, courtesy of Our Community Now, and it can be found here.

For those of you that like to travel and view your leaves in style, 5280 Magazine put out a list of the five best train rides you can take to go see the colors, and it can be found here.

We hope you enjoy the changing of the seasons as much as we do, happy viewing!

 

Monthly Award Winners

Our monthly award winners for August were Maria Zapata, Aurora Dominguez, Yesica Censo, Katherine Crespin, and Enedina Mendoza.

In the Team Leader ranks, it was Laura Varela and Isela Mendoza.

We are so proud of our winners, and of all the folks that are in and out of your homes each week.

We continue to be grateful to you for allowing us into your lives during these challenging times.

Please join me in congratulating our best performers for the month of August.

Queen Bee Corner

by Angela

While most companies rely on feedback through client surveys or emailed questionnaires, we find ourselves in the enviable position of having our clients’ feedback unsolicited.

It seems that every interaction I have with a client ends with some form of compliment or praise for our ladies, regardless of the initial subject of our conversation.

I repeatedly thank our clients for their feedback, and I also continually thank our ladies for their hard work.

We have been fortunate in that our management style over the years has meshed well with our employee base to form not only a great company but a stellar company, with employees that truly care.

Without further ado, let me say thank you again for supporting our company and remind you that we know how lucky we are to have you.

Bee

August Newsletter 2021

denverconcierg on August 29, 2021

COVID Update

Here we are, 18 months or so into a global pandemic.

Lots of things have changed here at Denver Concierge, and we are sure it is the same in your world. It has been a while since we communicated our COVID protocols, so we wanted to refresh everyone on what we are doing to stay on top of the situation.

In short, not much has changed here. In the time since COVID, we have yet to have any issues in your homes with COVID transmission. We have certainly had a few cases (unrelated to our workplace), but all of those folks have been cleared to return to work.

We currently have zero cases of COVID at Denver Concierge.

Our ladies will still be wearing masks and all other required personal protective equipment. We are also still taking all precautions to make sure our workforce is healthy before we send them out to you. Anyone not feeling well or exhibiting a fever is asked to stay home.

The best advice we can give to 100% ensure there are no issues going forward is to simply keep your distance from our teams. This is for the safety of both parties, as there is no 100% effective way to know if either of us might be contagious for whatever reason.

Any instructions should be given to Angela in our office and those will be relayed directly to our Team Leader in the field.

Finally, we do try to keep our website updated with any news on this front, and our current protocols can be found here.

We remain very confident in our ability to clean your home safely and without incident. If you have any questions about this or need further clarificati0n, please contact us at your convenience.

Thank you for helping us clean your homes safely and efficiently!

Top of the Town 2021

Ah yes, the best stuff in Denver. Back to our friends at 5280 Magazine who annually publish the best places in our fair city.

From culture and nightlife to dining and shopping, 82 categories in total are covered.

In fact, over 26,000 votes were cast, so this is truly a list of what “we” love in Denver.

The best burger? Well Cherry Cricket, of course! Santiago’s chimes in with the best breakfast burrito and GQue Barbeque won their category as well.

We still think it’s a bummer that they don’t list housecleaning companies in their poll, but we hope to get that changed sometime soon!

We certainly hope we would get your vote!

The complete 5280 2021 Top of the Town list can be found here.

Cherry Creek Arts Festival

We are so happy that the Cherry Creek Arts Festival has returned this year, celebrating its 30th.

It will be held over Labor Day weekend, ending on Monday evening the 6th at 6 PM.

As we crawl back to normalcy, it is nice to see a Denver “staple” back in business.

There are some changes for this year to be aware of, however.

For starters, the festival has been moved from downtown Cherry Creek to the creekside area of the Cherry Creek Shopping Center.

More importantly, the festival is using a timed entry approach, which requires free registration via Eventbrite.

Beyond those changes, the festival will still be providing fabulous art and entertainment.

The music and entertainment schedule can be found here.

For registration information and to get your free timed entry spot, visit CCAF here.

We hope to see you there!

A Smarter Home

Just how smart is your home? We aren’t sure about ours, some days it is smarter than others.

Seriously, though, we know many of you have Amazon Alexa. Did you know that Alexa can control smart lights, switches, and plugs?

Even crazier, there are wi-fi-enabled light bulbs that can connect to your home network, with or without Alexa or the Google Assistant.

Of course, there are easy-to-use things like the Ring doorbell and Nest, but what about next-level tech? We have saved a lot of money in water by using Rachio, for example, which is a system that controls your sprinklers via an app, saving you water.

From smart lighting outside your home to carbon monoxide detectors, nearly every device in your home can be remotely controlled.

How fun to come home and have the lighting and temperature right where you want it, with your favorite music playing.

Not sure we can get something to have the wine ready, but that is another discussion.

PC Magazine did a fabulous piece on the best tech of ’21 room by room and it can be found here.

We also found a short article by TechHive that gives more insight, and it is here.

Lots of really cool stuff out there, pretty soon we will have flying cars like the Jetsons! 

U.S. Life Expectancy

For the first time in a while, U.S. life expectancy has dropped. In fact, life expectancy in 2020 was down 1.5  years, the largest drop since WWII.

Fairly obvious why this happened, as COVID-19 contributed to 74% of the decline. Not surprisingly, drug overdoses are making their way up the list as well, with more than 93,000 people dying in 2020.

We found some interesting quirks in the data that we wanted to share with you here.

From the article: “The study found the U.S. decrease in life expectancy in 2020 was 8.5 times greater than the average decrease in peer countries.”

“And the U.S. declines were most pronounced among minority groups, specifically Black and Hispanic people.”

“U.S. Hispanics — who have a longer life expectancy than non-Hispanic Blacks or whites saw the largest decline in life expectancy during the pandemic, dropping three years from 81.8 years in 2019 to 78.8 years in 2020. Hispanic males saw the biggest decline, with a drop of 3.7 years. COVID-19 was responsible for 90% of the decline among Hispanics.”

The full article by NPR can be found here.

While we weren’t surprised by the decline, the demographic breakdown was more than a little disturbing to us.

We aren’t smart enough to know the solution to these heady problems, but we do have a strong feeling that we can all do better for each other going forward.

Monthly Award Winners

Our monthly award winners for July were Aurora Dominguez, Paz Jimenez, Maria Zapata, Maria Salazar, and Josefina Quinonez.

In the Team Leader ranks, it was Juana Olivas and Isela Mendoza.

We are so proud of our winners, and of all the folks that are in and out of your homes each week.

We continue to be grateful to you for allowing us into your lives during these challenging times.

Please join me in congratulating our best performers for the month of July.

Queen Bee Corner

by Angela

Almost from the beginning of the company, our image has been somewhat retro; proudly old school.

With technology leaping ahead to make lives easier we have been reluctant to partake in certain aspects of this new world.

We believe in customer contact in real-time with a real person. No bots or answering services here.

We also believe in letting the teams clean the way they have always cleaned; a full-on deep clean; you never have to worry about robotic vacuums here either.

Sometimes a little nostalgia can act as a soothing balm for the stresses of the world. We hope we are that to you.

Bee