FAQs
- What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
One the types of work listed on my profile is yard and garden clean up. My training comes from 20 years in my own garden. We built our small house in a new neighborhood. We started out with dirt. I landscaped our yard and went on creative instincts and training from a 10th grade horticulture class. I built rock retaining walls, flagstone steps and walkways. I planted my yard to look like a secret garden with elements common in nature; wildflowers, moss rock, spruce and aspens. Now that it is established into large trees and beautiful bulbs and perennials I can enjoy the fruits of my labor. I am currently taking online classes to be certified in Garden and Landscape Design.
- How did you get started doing this type of work?
My mom was a nurse and I learned from an early age how to keep a house clean. I became better at it as an adult especially with those memories of making beds with "hospital corners" and my moms ability to take things apart to clean them. Windows are a great example as she always took out the screens to hose them down before wiping down the glass. My first apartment was a fun experience as she and I went into a clean apartment and wiped down every shelf again before putting shelf paper down in the kitchen cabinets and took apart the refrigerator, washing all the shelving with soap and water in the sink. That is still one of my favorites. While I was finishing up my college degree 20 years ago, I was trained by a friend who had a cleaning business. I took over a few of her houses to do recurring cleanings along with a small local church that I cleaned once a week. In 2002 I started up a small business that grew to include a concession trailer and learned all the aspects of cleanliness that qualifies for a great inspection through the health department. About eight years ago, I was hired by a friend of my moms to clean college rentals during spring move out. That has given me the most beneficial training. My daughter and I had a short period of time to get about 10 - 12 houses clean for the next college tenants. Many times we had to work around belongings from the previous tenants, most of them hadn't been cleaned during the nine months of occupancy. This was a great challenge and it helped to grow our ability to accomplish what needed to be done. This isn't the only time my daughter has worked with me. The eight years I had my small business, my daughter was also my helper starting at the age of nine.
- Describe a recent project you are fond of. How long did it take?
I put in a quote for a yard project that no one else had sent a quote to. The yard seemed like it would be a rather large one but just the type of garden work I was looking for. The yard was a newer one in a beautiful neighborhood and had been professionally landscaped. This was my first hire for yard work and I was very excited to use my self-taught abilities. I spent the first day in the front yard trimming bushes and ornamental grasses, doing some edging and pulling weeds. The next time I had a full day to work I pulled weeds, trimmed bushes, more ornamental grasses and did some edging that had river rocks and mulch. The third day, I was determined to finish the trimming since we were forecasted for some lengthy rain. I got all the rest of the bushes and ornamental grasses trimmed. It looked awesome! The yard was estimated on the request as 5,000 - 10,000 sqf. This was the largest yard I have ever done. The completed project looked so good and I had 14 large black garbage bags full of clippings. That was a big accomplishment for me and very enjoyable to be outside working.