February Newsletter 2023

denverconcierg on March 7, 2023

What Can We Do Better?

Surveys. We are not big fans of the way most places handle them.

It seems like most companies shove them in our faces every time we engage in the most basic of commerce. Then we respond, give feedback, and nothing changes. That is precisely how companies lose their most valuable resource and the people that pay the bills. 

That would be our clients.

If you have been part of the Denver Concierge family for any time,  you know we do things differently. We are that rare company that prefers human contact. We also like to think that our clients are pretty good at keeping us on the straight and narrow by giving us feedback in real-time.

We are lucky to have you and by the looks of things, we feel like we are doing a pretty good job for you.

But we want to know more. Rather than invite you to click on some link or go to some third-party site, we prefer good old-fashioned communication.

So, we ask today, please let us know what we can do better. Our loyal and trusty Angela is standing by to ensure you are always 100% satisfied with what we do.

We know we aren’t the least expensive company in town. Our goal each and every day is to exceed your expectations to the point where you believe every penny you spend with us is a great value.

So please email us at [email protected]. Or text us if that is easier, at 303-588-6847.  If you want to call directly, you can do so at 303-975-2808 as well. We promise a quick and positive resolution to whatever you might have going on.

Remember, in the absence of feedback, we will assume we are doing things perfectly. The only way for us to improve at what we do is when you tell us. 

Don’t be shy, we love getting better.

As always, thank you for being part of the unique company that is Denver Concierge. We will continue to earn your trust every day.

Senior Care Resources

The difficulty of caring for an aging loved one is a burden that one cannot relate to until you have gone through it.

We recently heard from the nice people at senioradvice.com about promoting their services and after doing some research we are happy to do so.

These folks have put together a wonderful resource for anyone looking for assistance with an aging loved one.

Their website not only includes a comprehensive list of providers but also other resources like the best cities for retirement, as well as advice, and much more.

From their representative, Julia Walker,  “Many aging adults are unaware of the available care options and programs that can help them maintain their independence and quality of life. So we created a free resource that provides comprehensive information on topics like financial support and in-home care options that are available in their area.”

We think that says it all, and we are grateful that they reached out to us for publication.

The complete website with all the wonderful resources can be found here.

What is Chat GPT? 

When we see interesting things, we love to share them with our readers. When we hear Elon Musk say that AI is the biggest threat to humanity, it really gets our attention.

So what exactly, is this ChatGPT that has been in the news lately?

From the CNBC article, “ChatGPT is an advanced form of AI powered by a large language model called GPT-3. It is programmed to understand human language and generate responses based on huge bodies of data.”

It first hit our radar when we saw college students using it to write papers. 

Musk founded OpenAI, which is the startup that created ChatGPT.

So why should we be concerned? Well, a recent article by Business Insider referenced ChatGPT “coming for our jobs” and 10 roles that AI could replace in the near future.

Those include tech jobs like coding, media jobs like ad creation and copy, and even legal industry jobs to name a few.

There is even a belief that ChatGPT could teach classes, replacing teachers entirely.

So while we may not have to worry about AI taking over the planet in the immediate term, job security could certainly become a real thing.

As long as AI cannot figure out how to clean houses, we feel pretty good, but we are watching you closely, AI, very closely…..

Dog Lovers Paradise 

The news in Colorado hasn’t been wonderful lately, as we rise up the rankings for car thefts, homelessness, and other categories we aren’t very proud of.

However, there is one nice category that we found that puts Colorado at the very top of the list.

Dog lovers. Yes, that is correct. Forbes recently did a survey and found that Colorado has the most devoted dog owners in the country.

Some fun facts about our love for furry friends:

  • Colorado dog owners were second most likely to move from an apartment to a house so their dogs would have a yard (19.5%).
     
  • 7% of Colorado dog owners left a job they liked because another company let them work from home or had a dog-friendly office (the third highest percentage, tied with Massachusetts and Ohio).
     
  • 11% stayed at a job they disliked because it allowed them to work remotely or had a dog-friendly office (the sixth highest percentage).
     
  • Colorado is also home to the fourth-highest percentage of dog owners who have lived on a tighter budget in order to afford their dogs’ expenses (43.5%), tied with Arkansas and Mississippi.

Finally, how much would you spend to save your pet? According to Forbes, 43.5% of Colorado dog owners would spend $4,000 or more out-of-pocket on life-saving medical care for their dogs.

Wow, that’s a big number but we get it. Pets are family. 

For the complete comprehensive study on dog friendly states you can also visit Forbes here.

Denver Restaurant Week

Since COVID, we have written a lot less about getting out and about. Now that it is mostly over and things are getting back to normal, it might be time again.

So, one of Denver’s traditions is back once more.

That would be Denver Restaurant Week, which has been going on here for 18 years, in some form or another.

This year, and from the Denver.org website, “Denver Restaurant Week will be held for 10 days March 3 – 12, 2023. The program will showcase the creative, exciting menus that diners have come to expect – with both to-go and in-person options.”

“Once again, Denver Restaurant Week will include three price points: $25, $35, and $45 for a three-course meal. The program will also focus on advocacy for the industry while keeping the health and safety of the community top of mind.”

Every step we take toward normalcy brings us comfort, and restaurant week is no exception.

The full list of all 221 restaurants participating, along with sortable categories including price point, location, and cuisine can be found here.

Happy dining Denver, hope to see you out there!

Monthly Award Winners

Our monthly award winners for January were Sandra Vidales, Maria Zapata, Haydee Espinoza, Maria Carmen Del Estrada, and Aurora Dominguez.

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

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

We 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 January.

Queen Bee Corner

by Angela

Confusion in the house!?

Denver Concierge Team Leaders receive instructions every morning at dispatch, so each house is custom cleaned according to the client’s wishes for that specific visit.

As Client/Team Liaison, I am the translator of instructions. 

Clean this room and not that room; this level and not that one. It sounds simple enough. Sometimes it isn’t. So I have to ask.

Downstairs as in lower level? Or basement (finished room)? Or cellar (as in wine)?

First floor as in American style? Or European/South American style (one level up from ground level)?

Every client has a unique vocabulary when describing the rooms, furnishings, and levels of their homes, based on their personal preferences and history.

A powder room sounds more delicate than a commode. Den has fallen out of favor and been replaced with library or study.  Sunroom has myriad synonyms going back thousands of years in various cultures, 

Unfortunately, to date, there has been no such upgrade for the room that is  “a filter that snares the debris of the outside before it can migrate into the public areas of the house.” 

The inelegant yet aptly named mudroom. 

I like to think I know many of the houses well enough to quasi-intuit the instructions but if Confusion arises I hope you don’t mind me asking. 

Bee

January Newsletter 2023

denverconcierg on February 8, 2023

Baby, It’s Cold Outside

Wow, it’s been a rough winter so far. We are in the middle of a very cold and snowy one, my friends. Sadly, we have had a couple of closures due to snow, and Monday we tied a 38-year-old record at -10 degrees.

We have been In Denver for many years and it’s hard to remember snow being on the ground this long. 

For those of you that have been watching your power bill, this has been a double dip this winter, as we have seen massive increases in our rates across the Front Range.

So what the heck can we do about it? Well, there are two aspects of our bitter winter that we have tried to tackle. 

First is the excessive heating bills we are seeing, as confirmed by this piece in Westword. 

For starters, if you have fireplaces, use them, as you likely won’t find a cheaper alternative than wood. Normally, it would also be wise to use your natural gas fireplace, but according to Xcel, natural gas prices have gone up faster than electricity costs.

The trend for natural gas in 2023 however, is positive, although they expect a lot of volatility going forward.

We found a good list of money-saving tips here, along with 17 ideas for lowering your heating bills here.

What about the psychological toll of a bitterly cold winter?  We have you covered there as well, with some great tips from Lifespan, and they can be found here. Of course, winter stress is exacerbated by high heating bills, so we are using every technique we know of in pursuit of a nice warm spring.

If things are really bleak (and we hope they aren’t), we found an interesting article on spoon theory, which we had never heard of.

Meanwhile, stay warm and safe Denver, and we will do our part to make sure you have a spotless home to be watching the snow from. 

Denver’s Best Areas to Live

Of course, we know that a headline is a very subjective thing.

Every year, 5280 Magazine publishes its list of Denver’s Best Neighborhoods.

They have adopted a specific formula for calculating this list.

From the article: “It includes four variables: home prices, crime data, school rankings, and an X factor score that accounts for things that can’t be easily quantified, such as access to open space, public transportation, and restaurants and shops.”

“Each category is weighted: 30 percent for year-over-year percentage change in home values; 25 percent for safety; 15 percent for neighborhood school ratings; and 30 percent for the X factor.”

So….who is number one?

Wellshire. Followed by Belcaro, Wash Park, Platt Park, and City Park.

Interesting and quite probably polarizing, the complete ranking and methodology can be found here.

Congrats to the best neighborhoods!

Are you in the top 1%? 

We don’t spend much time worrying about this headline applying to us, but we know some of you out there might be curious.

Just how much money do you need to make to be in the top 1% of earners?

In Colorado, that number is $683,000 per year. That number is 10 times the state’s median income, and more than enough to purchase a median-priced home in the Denver area.

What state has the lowest bar for the top 1%? West Virginia at $375,000. That number is just slightly lower than Mississippi, New Mexico, and Arkansas.

The highest bar for this exclusive club? Connecticut, at $955,000, followed by Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and California.

What about net worth? In order to be in the top 1% nationally, you would need to be worth just over $10M, according to Forbes.

The comprehensive study of the “1% club” by Smart Wallet can be found here.

Finally, the tax rate on the top 1%? Colorado ranks in the top third at just over 25%.

So, if you are in this club, it would seem that you are paying your fair share of taxes to our fine state.

The Best Local Hospitals 

Just how good is our medical care here around the Front Range?

Our experience is that it is pretty good, but we love data so here we go.

Every year, Healthgrades does a complete list of hospitals, starting with America’s best 250.

The complete methodology is too much for this space, but it can be found here if you are curious.

They then go down to the 100 best, and finally the 50 best hospitals in America.

It is important to note that being a top 250 hospital puts that facility in the top 5% of hospitals nationwide, a very fine distinction.

Who made it in Colorado?

Poudre Valley in Fort Collins topped the list, making the top 50 in our state. Sky Ridge (pictured above) made the top 100.

Rose, Swedish, and St. Joseph’s, along with the Medical Center of Aurora were all top 250, and they are joined by Penrose Hospital in the Springs on this illustrious list.

Overall, a very good showing for Colorado health care.

Please join us in congratulating these fine facilities on this prestigious award.

The complete list of America’s Best Hospitals can be found here.

Downtown COVID Recovery

For those of you that spend time downtown, you can probably relate to the feeling that things have dramatically changed.

We aren’t sure about you, but that vibrant, bustling feeling that we used to feel just isn’t there anymore.

It is not our imagination.

School of Cities tracked the recovery of 62 North American cities and the results are very interesting.

From the article, “Among 62 cities in the U.S. and Canada, Denver’s recovery ranks 35th. It ranks 33rd out of 52 U.S. cities, and 19th among the 27 cities west of the Mississippi. Its recovery rate is similar to that of Tulsa, Austin, Houston, and Phoenix.”

We were surprised that four cities have actually exceeded their pre-COVID levels of activity, led by Salt Lake City which is nearly 140% of past levels.

Denver sits at 59% of activity, barely half of what it was in 2019.

The complete study, entitled “Death of Downtown” can be found here.

Here’s hoping our great city recovers in 2023 and beyond.

Monthly & Annual Award Winners

It is that time again when we recognize our top performers for the year.

First off, the monthly Cleaning Associate award winners for December were Haydee Espinosa, Sandra Vidales, Maria Zapata, Cecilia Reyes, and Nimia Espinosa.

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

Now the important part, our annual winners. In the Cleaning Associate category, the winner for 2022 is Guadalupe Coloco. Runner up was Maria Zapata.

For Team Leaders, our annual winner for 2022 is Mayra Soto. The runner-up goes to Rosa Chavez.

We like to think that all our people are deserving of awards and our hats are off to all of our wonderful staff.

For the winners, we thank you for setting the pace.

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.

We will be back next month with our January winners for 2023.

Queen Bee Corner

by Angela

Rugs present a challenge to housecleaning staff for the very reason that they are walked over not only by the humans in the house but also by the various pets. 

We take it for granted that the primary purpose of carpets is to cover floors and add beauty to a room, but in the 15th century, carpets were so highly prized that they were hung on walls as artwork and used as table coverings but seldom as floor coverings.  

Early paintings in the grand estate homes at times depicted the painter’s subjects standing on carpets as a way to signify their wealth and status. 

Doubtful that family members were allowed the same privilege, let alone the dogs and cats of the house. 

Many of the carpets we care for are antiques and need to be treated with a light hand. This means no beater bar to pull threads, and being given several passes with a vacuum if there is a pet in the house. 

We take very seriously our responsibility for maintaining the integrity of the furnishings in the houses we clean. 

Bee

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

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

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.

December Newsletter 2021

denverconcierg on January 17, 2022

Welcome 2022, Goodbye 2021

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

Alas, that is not the case.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Our Healthy Resolution

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

Denver Housing Trends

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

We were too until we realized we aren’t.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Still looks like a seller’s market to us.

U.S Consumer Spending Trends

How COVID has changed our spending habits.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Guest Article

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

By Alice Robertson, Tidy Home

https://tidyhome.info

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

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

Reconcile that you can live without certain items

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

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

Start getting habitual

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

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

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

Create your castle

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

Monthly Award Winners

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

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

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

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

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

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

Queen Bee Corner

by Angela

Happy New Year!

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

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

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

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

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

Bee

November Newsletter 2021

denverconcierg on December 5, 2021

Holiday Schedule & Message

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thank you for being part of our locally owned company.

Angela, John, and Maria

Let it Snow. Please?

Ok, this is getting ridiculous.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Here’s to some moisture soon!

Gift Ideas Made in Colorado

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

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

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

We are glad you asked.

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

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

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

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

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

Happy Shopping!

Savings by Age

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The complete article can be found here.

Data Visualizations

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

Then we clicked and realized how much fun they are.

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

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

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

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

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

Monthly Award Winners

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

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

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

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

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

Queen Bee Corner

by Angela

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Happy Holidays!  Cheers!

Bee

October Newsletter 2021

denverconcierg on November 1, 2021

Happy Halloween Denver

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Denver Performing Arts Reopening

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Winter Heating Bills up 54%

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

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

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

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

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

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

Crazy indeed.

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

Small Talk

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Denver Restaurant Update

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Monthly Award Winners

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

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

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

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

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

Queen Bee Corner

by Angela

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bee

September Newsletter 2021

denverconcierg on October 5, 2021

Labor and Wages

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Home Costs Going Up $36k

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

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

From the article:

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

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

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

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

What is “Meow Wolf”?

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

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

Great, you say, now what is it?

From their website:

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

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

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

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

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

Coloradans & Drinking

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

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

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

Also from the study and article:

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

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

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

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

The complete article from Fox Denver can be found here.

Fall in Colorado

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

Monthly Award Winners

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

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

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

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

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

Queen Bee Corner

by Angela

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

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

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

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

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

Bee