November Newsletter 2022

denverconcierg on December 1, 2022

Holiday Schedule & Fun Stuff

We hope you had a safe and enjoyable Thanksgiving with family and friends.

In that spirit, we wanted to outline our schedule for December and early January, as well as kick off the holidays with some fun things to do in our great city.

For starters, we have an odd Christmas this year, falling on a Sunday. We will then be working on Friday the 23rd but will be closed on Monday the 26th in line with the national holiday celebration.

Regarding New Year’s Eve, it falls on a Saturday this year, and we will be working on both Friday the 30th, and Monday, January 2nd. Different timing this year for sure with both holidays falling on the weekend.

As far as fun stuff to do in our city and around the Front Range, we have ideas! We love all the lights during the holidays and there are lots of places to see them this season. From the Blossoms of Light festival to the Parade of Lights downtown, Denver has some amazing things to see.

The nice people at Denver.org pulled together a great list of Lights Extravaganzas and it can be found here.

If you want to see creativity at its finest, there are some great neighborhoods to drive through with extensive light displays. People are amazing, and we found a quick list of places to go visit, it can be found here.

Finally, the arts season is back in full swing, and Ellie Caulkins Opera House is currently showing the Nutcracker, an all-time classic, and A Christmas Carol is also showing at DCPA’s Wolf Theatre.

A comprehensive list of theater, music and dance events can be found at denver.org here, and the folks at Westword added their take on the holiday events in our town here.

We cannot believe how fast this holiday season came up, but we are certainly going to enjoy it!! We wish you the best for a safe and enjoyable holiday season with family and friends.

Thank you, as always, for supporting our small business.

Happy Holidays!!!!!

Colorado Recycling Changes

As a certified green company, we do our best to recycle. We are far from perfect, but we give it our best, as we are sure most of you do as well.

Due to a midterm ballot initiative, Measure 306, things on the recycling front are about to ramp up in Denver.

This new ordinance got us doing a bit of research and what we found wasn’t great in terms of our recycling habits.

From the article on CBS News,  “Colorado’s recycling rate is only between 15 to 16% — far below the national average of 32% — and it hasn’t improved over the last five years, according to reports from the Colorado Public Interest Research Group and Eco-Cycle.”

Passing with over 70% of the vote, Denver residents and businesses are now required to recycle and compost.

We were surprised to learn our recycling rate was so low. For all the details on this new ordinance and what is required it can be viewed here.

Finally the state is involved as well, with the passing of the Producer Responsibility for Recycling, which puts more pressure on the packaging and paper industries to help fund a recycling program.

I am sure we can all do better and hopefully these new programs will steer us up from where we currently sit.

Denver’s Decade of Growth

We love to watch our skyline. We also love when we find cool things to share with our readers (that’s you).

Denverite.com created the most interesting set of maps which outlines where our city has gotten taller, and denser over the past 10 years.

The different maps illustrate where we have grown, both in terms of neighborhood density and verticality, depicting the height of much of the building going on as well.

Some of the densification is a logical response to our housing problem. If you cannot spread out, go up, which is why we have seen such an increase in taller buildings.

From the article: “According to a 2021 report from Root Policy Research, Colorado as a whole needs to add about 41,000 homes per year between now and 2030 to keep up with demand but is so far projected to fall short. While we might be a big state, a lot of that burden will fall on the metro.”

As always, lots of big changes in our city. A link to the maps and article can be found here. 

Unemployed Colorado

We are as baffled by this as anyone.

As a small business, we are in touch with lots of other businesses and the common theme is that no one can find employees.

Yet here we are with unemployment higher than we are used to.

In February of 2020, just before COVID, we had the nation’s 10th lowest unemployment rate. We are now the nation’s 23rd highest.

Yes, you read that correctly, we have completely flipped our position and our rate is now one full point higher than its low of 2.8% pre-COVID.

For the past 10 years or so, Colorado typically ran about a point below the national average.

KDVR did a nice piece on this and it can be found here.

We don’t know the answer to this problem, but something is amiss when nearly all businesses need workers and unemployment is historically high.

We remain perplexed.

If you are interested in the data behind all of this, the BLS website provides that here.

Color of the Year 2023

Ok, maybe not the COLOR of the year, but how about colors?

As you know it is difficult to get anyone to agree on anything, but when we saw the headline “color of the year” over at Designer Premier we had to investigate.

The hard part is getting a consensus on what that color is. We had no idea that the different paint companies even published these color predictions, so we are learning right along with you on this one.

For example, from Sherwin Williams:

“People have been drawn to nature-inspired and earthy tones the past couple of years, and this is something that will continue into 2023 and beyond,” says Sue Wadden, director of color marketing at Sherwin-Williams.

“We wanted the 2023 Color of the Year to reflect what we’ve been seeing in terms of neutrals warming up. Homeowners opt for warmer whites, beiges, pinks, and browns. Redend Point SW 9081 is an earthy color, and its subtle pink undertones exude a feeling of warmth and exploration—something people want to feel in their homes. It also leans into the macro trends around empathy and care culture. While self-care is vital, care is also about looking out for each other and our communities.”

From the folks at Behr: “As we look to 2023, we understand that comfort will still be a driving force behind design decisions and style statements,” said Erika Woelfel, vice president of Color and Creative Services at Behr Paint Company, in the press release.

Lots of options and kind of a fun thing to ponder.

Meanwhile, if you need help with colors or interior design, please reach out to our friend Marina Dagenais, who can pair you with the right designer for your needs.

The link to her newsletter and this interesting article on 2023 colors of the year can be found here.

Monthly Award Winners

Our monthly award winners for October were Mary Moreno, Guadalupe Caloca, Aurora Dominguez, Josefina Quinonez, and Cecilia Reyes.

In the Team Leader ranks, it was Isela Mendoza and Rosa Chavez.

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

We are also very appreciative to be a part of your lives and your homes. You provide the platform for our teams to perform, and for that we are grateful.

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

Queen Bee Corner

by Angela

Denver has been losing residents to other states for a few years now; reasons include traffic, bad drivers, cost of living, politics, crime, weather, or all the above.

But where to go that satisfies so many diverse tastes?  Denver has such a wide array of options for really any lifestyle, especially for those with varied interests.

We may not be in Paris but we have exhibits from the Louvre pass through town as well as authentic French restaurants.

It’s not New York but Broadway shows come here. Not Nashville either, but we have great country acts at Red Rocks and other venues.

Want solitude? Head to the mountains.  City vibes? Open a window.

It’s all here. Flamenco, German beer fests, Cinco de Mayo, Gay Pride, Italian and Greek festivals. Opera and sports, The Ritz Bar and dive bars, Cherry Creek and Colfax.  Cuisine from every nationality.

My Ode to Paris!

Queen Bee

Happy Holidays!

October Newsletter 2022

denverconcierg on November 1, 2022

Happy Halloween

We can thank the Celtics for this annual tradition. No, not the Boston Celtics, but the original Irish ones, dating back to 500BC.

Back then, New Year’s Day was on Nov. 1, which they called Samhain. The belief was that prior to the new year, the door between the worlds of the living and the dead swung open.

The trapped souls of the recently dead were then free to pass to the underworld. Since they thought spirits came out after dark, this supernatural activity reached its peak the night before, on Oct. 31.

Rituals were created for protection to fool the spirits. These included costumes and disguises. They lit bonfires and stuck candles inside carved turnips – the first jack-o’-lanterns – to scare away any spirits looking for mischief. If all else failed, they carried a pocketful of treats to pay off wayward spirits and send them back on their way to the underworld.

So, we can thank the Irish, who brought Halloween to our country in the 1800s. While the origins of Halloween had many religious undertones, the current version is most definitely an American one.

The history of Halloween is fascinating and the folks at the History Channel can give you all the cool facts if you are curious.

More locally, what is going on around Denver this weekend to celebrate this spooky holiday? Well, there is the Trick or Treat Trail at the Denver Zoo, for starters. How about Trick or Treat Street at McGregor Square?

We also found this nice list of events around the Front Range, including corn mazes and haunted houses to visit.

For the exact time and date of door-to-door trick or treating, you should consult with your local folks, as those vary quite a bit, even by neighborhood. The generally accepted window is from 3:30-7 or so on Monday the 31st, but some cities have their own rules on that one.

We did find a fun list of “candy hot spots” from last year, courtesy of 5280 Magazine and it can be found here. 

Meanwhile, we hope you have a fun and safe Halloween!!!!

Big Tax Changes

We are going through a rough time economically here in the U.S.

Experts vary in their opinion on whether or not we are in a full-blown recession, but it feels like it to us.

The good news is that the IRS has made some sweeping changes to ease the pain a bit going forward.

Due to inflation, the bracket thresholds will be going up about 7% in 2023, which should increase our take-home pay.

Also, the standard deductions and exemptions changed and will rise by $900 for single/separate filers, $1,800 for joint returns, and for heads of households, it will rise by $1,400.

This marks the largest adjustment to the standard deduction since core features of the tax system were first indexed to inflation in 1985.

The folks at SHRM did a great job recapping this and the full tables can be found here.

To read it directly from the IRS, the entire list of changes can be found on their website here as well.

We welcome any financial relief during these strange post-COVID times, and we hope this helps all of us going forward.

How Safe is Denver?

For many years, we have always felt that Denver was a generally safe city.

Over the past few years, that feeling of safety has certainly diminished and the most recent statistics back those feelings up.

Of course, safety comes in many forms. Whether physical, financial, or safety from natural disasters, we all want to feel good about our situation.

Wallethub did a comprehensive study on safety and analyzed 182 cities across the U.S. for a complete look with the following methodology.

They ranked crime rates, concentrations of first responders, homelessness, traffic deaths, and drug overdose rates. Natural disaster risk accounted for the likelihood of floods, earthquakes, wildfires, hail, hurricanes, and tornados. Financial safety considered a city’s unemployment and foreclosure rates, household financial metrics such as job security and savings levels, and other economic indicators.

The bad news? Denver ranked 164 out of 182. We were sandwiched between Little Rock and New Orleans in terms of overall safety, which is also quite concerning given New Orleans’ reputation for crime.

The safest city in the U.S.? Columbia, Maryland. The least safe? St. Louis, Missouri.

A very interesting read and the full report courtesy of Wallethub can be found here.

We aren’t sure how to fix this situation, but we have the overwhelming feeling that our fine city can do better.

Is Your Phone Spying on You?

Last month we talked about your boss spying on you, this month we tackle your phone.

For years people have surmised that your phone hears what you are saying and then makes recommendations that are tied to what it hears.

While it’s complicated, the short answer is yes, it is.

In many cases, we enable this with voice assistants such as Siri, Alexa, and Google. With those enabled, we have certainly given permission for our information to be shared.

What about normal conversations?

Without getting too far into the weeds, we would recommend reading this piece we found which covers this in a comprehensive manner.

It includes a test by a user of mentioning things around his phone for a few days to see if ads show up. (spoiler alert, yes, they do).

Finally, there are cases where malware infects your phone, and this goes well beyond marketing, which is the root of most of our concerns.

If your phone battery is draining quickly, overheating, or randomly rebooting, you may have a phone virus or malware that needs to be cleaned up.

The folks at Consumer Affairs did a good job of outlining what to watch for regarding malware and those 10 things to look for (in two parts) can be found here and here.

Norton also put out an article on why your phone is listening and how to stop it.

The bottom line? We should probably all be more vigilant about what we put out there around our phones, and what level of access they truly have to our lives.

The global marketing machine is indeed listening to us and learning more about us every day.

Is Exercise Killing You?

Every now and then we catch a headline that grabs us.

Common wisdom about exercise is that anything helps, but vigorous, frequent exercise is the key to longevity.

But is it really? Much like the food pyramid of the 70s, we are finding that many of our long-held beliefs about things were plain wrong.

Recent data indicates this may be the case with exercise.

Fortunately, we have the Mayo Clinic to fully examine this phenomenon and turn common wisdom on its head.

From the article on Medium: “While higher volumes of weekly sports training (cardio exercise, but also ball sports, weight-lifting, and anything that makes you sweaty or short of breath) initially led to a big drop in mortality risk, those benefits began to regress among people who trained hard for more than 4.5 hours per week.”

“Their mortality risks were still much lower than those of non-exercisers, but they didn’t fare quite as well as the people who took a more measured approach to physical activity.”

A similar study was done in 2015 and corroborates the “U-shaped” risk curve among runners and high-impact training.

The big takeaway?

If you’re aiming for optimal lifespan extension, the best heart and mortality outcomes are associated with roughly 150 minutes of weekly vigorous exercise, and no more than 60 minutes of weekly weight training.

Anything more can be dangerous and have lasting effects on our cardiovascular systems.

The nuts and bolts data can be found here, courtesy of the Mayo Clinic and Science Direct.

Leave it to us to finally prove that less exercise might be better for us!!!

Monthly Award Winners

Our monthly award winners for September were Maria Zapata, Mary Moreno, Maria Concepcion Reyes, Josefina Quinonez, and Juana Luna.

In the Team Leader ranks, it was Laura Varela and Rosa Chavez.

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

We are also very appreciative to be a part of your lives and your homes. You provide the platform for our teams to perform, and for that we are grateful.

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

Queen Bee Corner

by Angela

How do you choose the right cleaner for your needs?

There are various categories of cleaning,  Residential Cleaning, Commercial Cleaning, Disaster Cleaning, and Restoration.

Residential cleaning falls generally into two categories; an individual or a company.

Who to choose should be guided by the client’s personality. Do you want a company that will come in with 3 or 4 trained cleaners, who bring their own products and equipment and clean your house while you walk the dog or go shopping?

Or would you prefer to be in a hands-on supervisory position while an individual cleans your home?  You choose and supply the equipment and products and train an individual in the way you like things done, and therefore want to be home during the cleaning.

When I speak with a prospective client, I outline the pros and cons of company vs individual and there have absolutely been times when we both leave the conversation agreeing that an individual would better fit the need.

Determining your personal style before hiring will greatly improve your chances of having a happy cleaning experience versus a frustrating one.

Bee

September Newsletter 2022

denverconcierg on October 4, 2022

2023 Wage Changes & FAMLI

Things are changing in both Denver and Colorado on January 1st.

For starters, the minimum wage in Denver will go up to $17.29/hour. This will apply only to businesses based in the city of Denver, as well as all city employees. Currently, the minimum wage in Denver is $15.87, so this represents nearly a 9% increase, which is tied to the consumer price index for the Denver metro area. That number came in at 8.94%.

The state minimum wage will also go up from its current rate of $12.56/hour to $13.65/hour, an increase of 8.68%. 

Also, Colorado employers will have to begin paying into a fund for FAMLI, or Colorado’s new Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program.  This was voted in by Proposition 118 in November of 2020 and it provides up to twelve weeks of paid leave for employees, with an additional four weeks under certain circumstances.

While employers will start paying into the fund in January, employees will not be eligible for the paid leave until January 1, 2024.  Employees will also have deductions for their share of this program taken from their paychecks beginning on January 1, 2023.

The rate is 0.45% for both employee and employer, so if you see an odd-looking deduction on your checks in January, this will explain it.

Of course, both news items will affect all businesses, some more than others. As always, we will do our best to maintain our pricing, but raising wages and charging businesses for paid leave puts pressure on already thin profit margins for many in this post-COVID economy.

We have always tried to take great care of our associates here at Denver Concierge. We were the first cleaning company to offer vacations and have always paid our people well.

We will continue to do these things to the best of our ability but wanted to make you aware of the big changes coming to our city and state.

As always, we appreciate your loyalty and support of our small business.

Aggressive Driving

Road rage. We have all seen it, and hopefully none of us have experienced anything violent.

Unfortunately, we live in a state that is notorious for aggressive driving.

Forbes recently published a piece on aggressive driving by state, and sadly Colorado ranked third.

Surprisingly, the seemingly nice folks from Utah rated first in this category, followed by Missouri. Don’t ask us to explain that one.

From the article, “Centennial State drivers were the third most likely in the nation to say they were followed by another driver who proceeded to exit their vehicle to yell at or fight with them (14%).”

“Drivers in this state tie with Alabama, Connecticut and Washington as the fourth most likely to report being insulted or threatened by other drivers (46%). And more than half of survey respondents (52%) reported witnessing other drivers making rude or offensive gestures.”

The scariest part? 25% of us report they know of someone who sustained injuries after a road rage incident.

The full article and report can be found here. 

Be kind to one another folks, this isn’t a list we should be proud of.

E-470 Widening

Good news on our tollway. Following the most recent widening of E-470 back in 2021 which expanded the tollway from Quincy Avenue to I-70, there is a new one underway.

This project will add a third lane in each direction between I-70 and 104th Avenue.

It also includes a four-mile expansion of the High Plains Trail from 26th to 64th Avenues to continue the bike trail network in the east metro area.

Construction began four days ago on the 26th, and fortunately, most of the work will be done at low-traffic times.

There will be new interchanges at both 38th and 48th Avenue as well, along with a widening of the bridge near the Gaylord Rockies resort.

The full project webpage can be found here, and if you have any questions you can reach the folks in charge at [email protected].

The project will be complete in 2025.

Spying Bosses

Boy did COVID change the way we work. Back in the old days, your boss would just swing by your office to see if you were there.

Today, not as easy to do.

We believe most folks are good and do the work they are supposed to do. That said, there are some bosses and companies that want to make sure.

One of the new terms in employment is “quiet quitting”, where an employee doesn’t officially quit, but the notion of doing anything beyond the minimum is rejected.

As you might expect, this has some employers worried, and many have taken steps to make sure you are still working while physically away from the office.

How do they do this? Well, primarily through your computer. According to a new study by VMWare, 70% of employers are utilizing monitoring software to make sure remote employees are working.

Yes, you read that right. 70%. From simple tracking software to monitoring your webcam (that’s creepy) there is more of this going on than we realized.

The full article from Mic.com can be found here. Scary stuff, as it seems some of the trust between employer and employee has been broken.

VMWare did a great job covering this as well and that piece can be found here.

Maybe Orwell was right….Big Brother is watching.

Are Earbuds Dangerous?

We sure do love our earbuds. We have some cool ones from Apple, another pair from Bose, and the ones that Samsung makes are pretty cool too.

Beware, however, as it seems many medical experts are concerned about the effect they may be having on humans.

For years there have been concerns about holding a phone next to our heads with lots of invisible waves floating about.

Wireless technology seems to have mitigated some of that, and the good news is that earbuds give off 10 to 400 times less radiation than smartphones.

The problem is that this technology hasn’t been around long enough to really measure the impact on our brains and bodies.

From The Healthy: “There is some scientific evidence that there may be a link between exposure to radiofrequency radiation (RFR) in the range used by wireless earbuds and cancer. A 2020 rodent study by the National Toxicology Program found evidence of an association with malignant heart tumors, and some evidence of an association with malignant tumors in the brain and adrenal glands, among rats that had been exposed to RFR.”

Yikes.

On top of this, a few years back, EMF (electromagnetic field) scientists highlighted their concerns with an international appeal to take a look at the electromagnetic fields given off by these devices.

We aren’t smart enough to give advice on what is or isn’t going to happen regarding wireless technology and health. Life is full of risks and each of us needs to make our own decisions.

That said, it is probably worth some research and study going forward.

Monthly Award Winners

Our monthly award winners for August were Guadalupe Caloca, Nimia Espinoza, Josefina Quinonez, Maria Concepcion Reyes, and Maria Zapata.

In the Team Leader ranks, it was Isela Mendoza and Rosa Chavez.

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

We are also very appreciative to be a part of your lives and your homes. You provide the platform for our teams to perform, and for that we are grateful.

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

Queen Bee Corner

by Angela

Over the past few years, longtime Denver residents have mourned the demise of iconic Denver businesses; bolted doors and boarded windows offer a nostalgic reminder of the past.

However, several Colfax landmarks have emerged from their slumber to new incarnations. Tom’s Diner, sitting dormant for several years, has emerged as Tom’s Starlight, a Palm Springs era 1970’s cocktail venue. Major renovation plus a large outdoor seating area, brings a new vibe to the old building.

Further west on Colfax, Casa Bonita, another grande dame of the 60’s/70’s is under new ownership.  The owners have some creative ideas that will retain the building’s history while ushering it gracefully into the present day.

It’s heartening to see the effort at saving the past.  There is so much of it in Denver but plans for one condo with retail space can demolish a block of old brick buildings from one day to the next.

We can’t stop progress, but perhaps we can manipulate it to our advantage.

Bee

August Newsletter 2022

denverconcierg on September 13, 2022

Happy Labor Day  

The unofficial end of summer. At least that is what Labor Day is known for. Since it feels like summer just started, we aren’t sure we love that moniker.

Although we are pretty much over 95-degree days, so there’s that.

In the spirit of Labor Day, we thought we would provide some fun facts you probably don’t know.

We can thank labor unrest in the American Midwest for the creation of Labor Day. Way back in the 1880s, thousands of workers in Chicago took to the streets to protest poor labor conditions and to demand an 8-hour workday.

The first holiday created due to labor unrest was actually May Day. Now called, International Worker’s Day, it happens on the first of May. Here in the United States, we celebrate our version on the first Monday in September every year. While there have been efforts to move our holiday to May 1, they have been unsuccessful to date.

So, in 1894, Labor Day was created in our country. It is remarkable to note that while Labor Day was considered a conciliatory gesture to organized labor, it wasn’t until 1938 that the Fair Labor Standards Act limited child labor, set a minimum wage, and mandated a shorter workweek, with overtime pay for longer shifts. By the 1940s, the average workweek had fallen to five eight-hour days, which is our current standard.

In short, the history of Labor Day is deeper than barbecues and gatherings, it was born as the first volley from overworked laborers to industry, and it stands today as a tribute to treating workers fairly.

For a great timeline of this interesting holiday, check out this history.com article, good stuff for sure.

More locally, we do our best to take great care of our workforce and are so lucky to have our dedicated team of professionals in your homes each week.

This year, Labor Day occurs on September 5th. We hope you have an opportunity to recharge and spend time with family and friends. We will be closed, reopening on Tuesday the 6th.

Happy Labor Day!

Unclaimed Property

Do you have unclaimed property or funds with the state?

We hadn’t really thought about it until we received a note from the state telling us we might indeed.

We investigated, and sure enough, we had $20 coming from Microsoft. Can’t really tell you why, but we reclaimed it.

From the state website: “The Great Colorado Payback is responsible for reuniting Coloradans with their lost or forgotten assets.”

“Even businesses lose track of property and payments, occasionally resulting in unclaimed property which can be claimed. Corporations, schools, hospitals, and small businesses are also listed among the many individuals whose assets are in the possession of the State.”

“Money or property turned over to the State Treasury for safekeeping always belongs to the owner or heir of the account and there are no time limits for filing your claim. The Colorado State Treasurer currently maintains a list of over 1.7 million names of individuals as well as businesses for whom property is available.”

The good news is it’s free to check and see if there is anything out there with your name on it.

To see if you might have missing property or funds, you can get started here.

Happy hunting everyone!

Knowing vs. Doing

Most of us know the right thing to do. Why don’t we always do it?

This question has been raised many times by academics, business leaders, and self-help gurus.

Quite simply, the knowing-doing “gap” is the difference between knowledge and action.

For example, we read a book, and gather lots of information in doing so, but then fail to implement anything we just read.

Or we go to a cool training class, walk away with a ton of ideas, then go right back to where we were before.

It’s real and it’s hard to overcome. We all know that exercise is good for us, but we don’t always do it. Same with diet.

Also the same in business, where organizations can fall into the same traps.

One of our favorite books on this topic is “The Knowing-Doing Gap” by some really smart folks at Stanford Graduate School of Business.

So now that we know there is a gap, what in the world do we do to bridge it? How do we start to take meaningful action when we get new information?

We found a wonderful piece on Medium that gives some good advice on how to do this. (hint, start small)

As Picasso once said, “Action is the foundational key to all success.”

Finally, we found a very illustrative piece on LinkedIn that further demonstrates this phenomenon, and it can be found here.

Here’s to taking more action with the knowledge we have.

“Brushing” Scam 

Has anyone heard of “brushing”?

Not your hair or your pet, but a new scam that clever thieves are using to steal your information and use your name for fake online reviews.

From the Whatis.com website: “A brushing scam is an exploit by a vendor used to bolster product ratings and increase visibility online by shipping an inexpensive product to an unwitting receiver and then submitting positive reviews on the receiver’s behalf under the guise of a verified owner.”

“Vendors on Amazon and other websites use the scam to increase visibility for their stores and drive further sales.”

Who doesn’t like free stuff? While it certainly seems harmless, it isn’t.

From the United States Postal Inspection Service website: “While it may appear to be a victimless crime—you did after all get some free stuff—the reality is that your personal information may be compromised.”

“Often scammers obtain personal information through nefarious means and with ill-intentions, and use it for a number of scams and other illicit activities in the future.”

“In other instances, bad actors are using a person’s address and account information to receive merchandise then steal it from the home before the resident is able to intercept it.”

Not good. For ways to combat this scam and make sure you don’t fall victim to it, visit the USPIS website here.

Denver Air Quality

Air quality alerts. We have been getting them for some time now.

It’s one thing to see smog in Denver, but entirely another when we found out that this issue could lead to increased gas prices.

It seems that our state has not been able to cut down emissions fast enough to meet the 2008 federal ozone standards.

Ok, you say, “what does that mean for me”?

Depending on which expert you believe, the pending crackdown on emissions could add $.20-.50 per gallon to our already very high gasoline prices.

In fact, the EPA is planning to redesignate our area and ozone status this fall. In doing so, Colorado will be expected to change to something called “reformulated fuel” which is less volatile than current gas.

The problem is that the current refineries serving Colorado don’t make reformulated gas, and that is made worse by the fact only 40% of our gas is produced here.

Denver Business Journal did a nice job of outlining this problem and the complete piece can be found here.

Unfortunately, there probably isn’t much we can do about this one, but we wanted to make sure you knew about it.

Monthly Award Winners

Our monthly award winners for July were Sandra Vidales, Guadalupe Caloca, Haydee Espinoza, Nimia Espinoza, and Aurora Dominguez.

In the Team Leader ranks, it was Rosa Chavez 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 are also very appreciative to be a part of your lives and your homes. You provide the platform for our teams to perform, and for that we are grateful.

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

Queen Bee Corner

by Angela

When I receive an inquiry regarding our housecleaning availability and it happens that our schedules are full to bursting, I have been asked why we don’t just bring on more staff.

Logical question from a layperson.

Firstly, the labor force in Denver is insufficient to carry the businesses needing employees.

Secondly, the problem is compounded by our determination to hire employees who actually want to clean houses, who basically see dirty and feel the need to just step in and clean.

These people do not grow on trees.

However, because over the years we have hired only these people, we have gained the respect and trust of our clients, a satisfied workforce, and a reputation that attracts potential clients.

It really doesn’t get any better than that.

Bee

July Newsletter 2022

Denver Concierge on August 1, 2022

Best Neighborhoods in Denver

For the record, we love all the neighborhoods that we visit our clients in.

But people love lists, so here we go. Courtesy of the fine folks at 5280 Magazine, who recently published the “25 Best Neighborhoods in Denver”.

The rankings are based on four weighted variables, including home prices, crime data, school rankings, and an X factor score. The X factor includes things like open space access, restaurants, shops, and the like.

They looked at 73 total neighborhoods and were able to narrow it down to the best 25. One of the more interesting things to be aware of is that areas like LoHi or RiNo will not be mentioned, as the rankings used the city of Denver’s official map.

So, what neighborhood is considered the most desirable? That would be Wellshire. Followed closely by Belcaro and Wash Park. Platt Park and City Park round out the top five in our fine city.

We found some interesting items of note on this list. We were quite shocked that Cherry Creek came in 19th! We have lots of clients there that will surely demand a recount. Also surprising to us was the Highlands Area, with West Highlands coming in 24th and the Highlands 25th.

I guess the good news is that all of those places made the list, as over 50 neighborhoods did not.

The entire piece from 5280 Magazine (along with their complete methodology) can be found here. 

Partners We Love

One of the major costs in any business is health care. Rates continue to rise and each year it becomes more difficult for many companies to balance affordability with the quality of the plan.

This is where our friend and partner Mike Shores at Rocky Mountain Insurance Consultants comes in.

Mike has been doing health care brokerage for 28 years and is the expert that we go to for all our health plan needs.

We asked Mike about the biggest changes in his industry, and he had the following to say:

“When the next annual renewal comes across the business owner’s desk, and they see their new group medical plan premiums for the coming year, they should be asking their broker what they are going to do about helping manage those costs.”

“What are the alternatives? Believe it or not, there are a couple of really good alternatives that can save substantial premiums, and they should be examined every year at renewal, and sometimes even during a mid-year review.  Level Funded health plans and an ICHRA are two options that need to be evaluated by the business owner every year.”

We don’t have the brain power (or the space here) to go into detail on ICHRA or level-funded plans.

However, Mike does, and he would love to have a discussion with anyone interested in more information on how to save on healthcare plans, or just to chat about the industry and where it is headed.

Mike can be reached directly via email here, or at 303-523-1690.

New Delivery Fees

July brought in the enaction of some impactful laws in our state.

In a quietly publicized law change, some new delivery fees went into effect in Colorado on July 1st.

Were you aware that every retail delivery that you now receive has now had 27 cents added to it?

We weren’t either until we ran across an article outlining this new law.

From the article:  “Colorado has implemented a new “retail delivery fee,” which is a tax of $0.27 per delivery of a taxable product. The fee, effective July 1, 2022, will be imposed on the buyer but will require retail sellers and marketplace facilitators to collect and remit the tax by filing a separate return.”

Yep, this means every DoorDash, Amazon, Instacart, and Uber Eats order that shows up on your doorstep has had this fee added to it, starting on July 1st.

Also, there was a $0.30 fee added to all rideshares, so if your Uber seems more expensive than last month it likely was.

On a happier note, driver’s license fees were frozen for this year after lawmakers came up with $4 million to avoid it.

Finally, the 2-cent per gallon gas tax that was set to go into effect was postponed due to an ongoing lawsuit filed by Advance Colorado Institute and Americans for Prosperity over the fees, arguing voters should have had a say before it went into effect.

Not the best news for an overheated economy. The complete article on these new fees can be found here.

Colorado & Illicit Drugs

We all know the story behind Colorado’s legalization of cannabis and all that has come with it.

It wouldn’t come as a huge surprise to hear that we use a lot of it here in our state.

However, it does seem that our drug use expands beyond the legal stuff and into the illicit, at a higher rate than you might imagine.

Wallethub did an exhaustive study of drug use in the United States and the information was very enlightening.

Colorado ranks 7th in illicit drug use. We are only behind West Virginia, DC, Arkansas, Missouri, New Mexico, and Nevada. Not a great list to be on.

We also ranked 14th in the share of teenagers who have used illicit drugs in the past month and 30th in drug overdoses.

The saddest stat we read was that Colorado ranked 2nd in the share of adults who could not receive treatment for their drug use in the past year.

The lowest illicit drug use in the United States? Minnesota, with Hawaii, Utah, Idaho, and Iowa rounding out the bottom five.

The full breakdown along with methodology, main findings, and full analysis can be found here.

 

Denver’s New Skyscraper

It’s a big one. In fact, it will be the largest built in Denver in more than 40 years.

Developers have broken ground on the project at 1900 Lawrence.

At 30 stories and boasting over 700,000 square feet of office space and 10,000 feet of ground-level retail, this building will reside in the heart of Denver’s business district.

From the article  on 9 News: “Riverside Investment & Development Company in partnership with Convexity Properties and Canyon Partners Real Estate, and represented by JLL, held a groundbreaking ceremony on Thursday, April 21.”

“1900 Lawrence will set new standards for the workplace environment, so as to empower businesses and their employees,” said Chris Payne, Vice President for Riverside. “As the premier office building in Denver, the project is designed to include next-generation innovations in sustainability, health and wellness, technology, and amenity programming. We are excited to deliver an industry-leading office building that promotes collaboration and creativity.”

The project is slated to be complete by the second quarter of 2024.

Complete details of the project can be found here if you would like more information.

The views should be pretty sweet.

Monthly Award Winners

Our monthly award winners for June were Sandra Vidales, Brenda Garcia, Aurora Dominguez, Maria Zapata, and Josefina Quinonez.

In the Team Leader ranks, it was Mayra Soto 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.

We are also very appreciative to be a part of your lives and your homes. You provide the platform for our teams to perform, and for that we are grateful.

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

Queen Bee Corner

by Angela

I would like to send out a reminder to please run all instructions for your team through me here at the office. Sometimes the ladies are unsure of the instructions given by the client but are too shy to ask them to explain.

In the same vein, our insurance company is very strict as far as what the ladies are allowed to clean in the houses, how they clean (e.g., no ladders higher than 3 steps), and what products can be used.  This is strictly for the safety of the employees, and my involvement adds another layer of assurance.

I meet with the teams each day before dispatch to give out instructions and convey any client concerns or compliments.

As always, the easiest way to get me special requests or instructions is via text at 303-588-6847.

Happy summer! Stay cool!

Bee

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

April Newsletter 2022

denverconcierg on May 1, 2022

National Small Business Week

The first week of May is indeed National Small Business Week.

Way back in 1963, President John F. Kennedy issued a proclamation announcing National Small Business Week, which recognizes the critical contributions of America’s entrepreneurs and small business owners.

So, what defines a “small business”?

According to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), a small business has no more than 1,500 employees and less than $38.5 million in average annual revenue, depending on your industry.

We think $30 million is a pretty large business! If you look at the government definition based on the Affordable Care Act, they would characterize any business under fifty employees as small.

As a point of reference, 90% of businesses have fewer than twenty employees.

Supporting local businesses keeps tax revenue in the state and city as well as providing jobs and support for the overall economy. While we love Amazon too, buying locally has tremendous benefits for the community you live in.

We found a nice piece published by Verizon that gives 10 great ways to support small businesses and it can be found here.

We also know that COVID sadly put the hurt on so many small businesses and we know they need our help, which is another great reason to shop local. Colorado is also doing their part to support small businesses, and they have a great toolkit for promotion and it can be found here.

As a small business, we are so grateful to be part of your lives. As always, we will continue to earn your trust every day.

Thank you!

Universal State Tax Refunds 

Looks like we all have a refund coming and who doesn’t like free money?

It was recently announced that each individual in Colorado that files their 2021 taxes by May 31, 2022, will receive $400. Joint filers will receive $800.

The amount is fixed and will not be modified based on income or any information on your 2021 tax return.

From the article on the Denver Channel:

“Under the Colorado Taxpayer Bill of Rights, when there’s a TABOR surplus, it gets refunded to taxpayers. What would normally come to taxpayers in April 2023 is being given in an advanced payment, due to the proposal, to address the rising costs of inflation, officials said.”

It seems that the coffers of Colorado are overflowing with money, and we are happy to see the state giving it back to the residents.

The complete article from the Denver Channel can be found here.

Denver’s Exodus

For years it seems we have been talking about the massive inflow of people into our city.

That trend is over.

For the first time since the early 2000’s, the population in Denver declined.

In fact, the population declined by just about 1%, with a dip of just over 6,000 residents.

Statewide, however, our population did indeed grow, but only by 28,000 residents. This is only about one-half of one percent over the previous year, which is well below our recent run rate.

It seems we are not immune to the migration pattern that seems to show folks leaving big cities for the country, or for cheaper locales.

New York City, for example, lost 328,000 residents, and metro Los Angeles gave up 176,000.

We aren’t smart enough to know what this all means. Part of it could be COVID, part of it could be rising costs in the city or our increasing crime rate.

At the risk of piling on, Denver was recently listed among the top 5 least affordable metro areas to live in. The only cities worse than Denver were San Francisco, San Diego, Los Angeles, and Miami.

Those of you that have been wishing for people to stay wherever they are and not move to Denver may have finally gotten your wish.

Here is hoping this trend reverses and our city transforms into one we can all be proud of, and that more people want to live in.

What’s in a (baby) Name?

We are always fascinated by the trends in baby names.

The days of Beverly, Doris, Chester, Clarence, etc. may be winding down except for the most traditional of parents.

There was a book written a while back called Freakonomics and they devoted an entire chapter to the evolution of baby names

The authors keep this concept going and their latest ideas can be found here.

Of course, there are many societal aspects to naming your baby. The most interesting tidbit we ran across was from the co-author of Freakonomics, Steven Levitt, who said:

“I think it really is about the parents. As I’ve studied naming, what I’ve come to believe is that the primary purpose, when a parent gives a name, is to impress their friends that they are whatever kind of person that they want to be”

Very interesting statement, don’t you think?

Ok, so enough about the evolution of baby names. What are the top baby names for 2022?

For starters, the national trends are trending towards playful (Buddy, Sonny, Coco), earthy (Bali, Sequoia, Forest), and regency (Benedict, Simon, Genevieve). Also, for societal reasons we are seeing more gender-neutral names as well, such as Blair, Shiloh, and Wren.

Without further ado, here are the top three baby names in Colorado in 2022:

Girls-Olivia, Charlotte, Emma

Boys-Liam, Oliver, Noah

As you know, we are pretty old school over here, so we were happy to see William come up 7th and James 8th. No such luck on the girls as Sophia was the most traditional name we found.

The full piece on Colorado baby names can be found here.

Finally, Parade magazine listed the top 350 baby names of 2022, and their comprehensive list can be found here.

Oh, and folks….be careful giving your baby a hard to pronounce name. We don’t have an opinion on this, but studies indicate it may make life difficult for your future adult.

How Wise are You?

What is the difference between being intelligent and being wise?

Well, the photo we chose this month says it all. As we thought about this, however, it brought up many questions about wisdom and the difference between that and intelligence.

We know a few very, very smart people (intelligence) that may not function in society very well. Conversely, we know some people with high school educations that we go to with all of our problems because they are wise (wisdom).

Yes, you can be smart and not wise, or vice-versa. Intelligence is typically measured with innate ability and/or IQ. Wisdom is about experience, knowledge, and overall good judgment.

So, how do we cultivate wisdom?

As our loyal readers know, we love Medium and we found a lovely piece there about the 3 stages of becoming wise.

What did we learn? Becoming wise is a process, and fully cultivated it becomes a guide for your life.

Finally, an extensive piece on this was located at Upjourney, and it features a lot of depth on the matter. 

Here’s to being wise….and smart.

Monthly Award Winners

Our monthly award winners for March were Gabriela Barrancas, Josefina Quinonez, Maria Zapata, Katherine Crespin, and Reyna Galvez.

In the Team Leader ranks, it was Juana Olivas 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 March.

Queen Bee Corner

by Angela

I have a referral I would like to share.

Absolute Electrical Heating and Air is a company that by pure chance I used for an ongoing heating issue I had been plagued with for years. They diagnosed and fixed the problem and restored my faith in the American work ethic. All in the space of an hour.

Imagine if you can a company whose technicians are thoroughly trained and knowledgeable, equipped for the job at hand, who show up on time, polite and respectful but not chatty.

Their customer service folks answer promptly and listen to you. I’d even say I’ve met my match in that arena.

The list of their capabilities is long. Basically most anything that can happen in the lifetime of your home is under their care. What a soothing thought!

Forgive my over-enthusiasm but I think we can all agree that the service industry is sorely lacking on many levels. An exception deserves public applause, recognition, and gratitude. I offer all three.

You can find Absolute on their website, linked above, or at 720-381-1767.

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