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(248) 543-0340 | www.janetdaviscleaners.com 27607 Woodward Ave., Berkley, MI 48072
NOVEMBER 2023
MY FAMILY'S MILITARY LEGACY HONORING GENERATIONS OF SERVICE
As soon as we finish Halloween and enter November, most Americans turn their focus to Thanksgiving, what they consider the next major holiday. However, another significant holiday in November rarely gets the attention it deserves — Veterans Day. On Nov. 11, we have a special opportunity to show our appreciation and gratitude for the men and women of our military who have sacrificed so much to keep us and our country safe. Even though I never served, my family has a rich military history I couldn’t be prouder to share with you! My family’s military experience stretches back generations. While I’m sure I had some distant relatives who served way back in the day, the only people I definitively know who served before my grandparents’ generation were two of my great-grandfathers. My maternal grandmother’s father was a member of the Swedish Armed Forces, and my dad’s grandfather served in the German Army in WWI. He came to the United States from Germany through Canada to learn how U.S. automobiles were designed. He met and married and had a daughter before returning to Germany before WWII began. His wife, my great-grandmother, was uncomfortable staying in Germany, so
they came back to the Detroit area, where he worked as an automotive designer.
the ‘80s before Desert Storm when there was no action, and many people called for the government to defund the military. He visited some cool locations worldwide, but the biggest takeaway from his service was how underfunded the military was. It wasn’t until he finished his service that military funding was increased. My dad’s brother was drafted into the Army during the Vietnam era but was sent to Korea and worked in an office supporting the war. My brother also joined the military, but like my grandfathers, he never really talked much about his service. He’s a Marine who was stationed in Guantanamo Bay. My mom was scared when he was deployed to Guantanamo because the person he replaced had been shot. Thankfully, my brother never saw combat and returned home safely to us. I honestly believe joining the military is a great way to learn more about yourself and the world around you.
Both of my grandfathers served, one in the Navy and the other in the Army, early in their lives, but like many members of that generation, they rarely talked about their experiences. My grandfather on my mom’s side served in the Navy and then went to the University of Michigan on the GI Bill. My paternal grandfather graduated from high school in January of 1944, and his Army draft letter was waiting in his mailbox. He was sent to the Philippines on a destroyer. He was so afraid of being hit with a torpedo at sea, getting trapped in his room, and drowning that he did everything possible to avoid sleeping in the bunk room. Most of the time, he slept at the highest point on the ship he could find. He spent about a year in the Philippines before he broke his leg, causing the military to send him back stateside. In the next generation of my family, I had three uncles who served in the military. My mom’s oldest brother was in the Army at the beginning of the Vietnam War, while her younger brother was a mini-sub operator with the Navy SEALs. My uncle was in the Navy during a weird time in American military history. He was enlisted during
Thank you to all the men and women who served and continue to serve our country!
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If you’ve attempted Marie Kondo’s famous “spark joy” approach to decluttering but still have too much stuff, you might want to try the CORE 4 Method designed by professional organizer Kayleen Kelly. Kelly specializes in tackling “chronic clutter” and designs her techniques to work for everyone , including people who are neurodivergent. Her CORE 4 Method has earned her millions of online fans because it includes just four steps anyone can follow to purge clutter! Here’s how it works. STEP 1: CLEAR OUT — First, choose one room of your home to work on. Then, grab a trash bag and several sturdy boxes. Use the bag to collect trash like food wrappers or broken items you never got around to repairing. Then, look for things that belong in other rooms of your home and toss them into the boxes, using a different box for each room. If you’re working in your office, for example, move extra sweaters to your bedroom box and the spare hammer to your garage box. Then, put the boxes in their corresponding rooms to deal with later. STEP 2: CATEGORIZE — Sort everything left in your room into categories. In your bedroom, you might have one pile for clothes, one for shoes, and another for hobby items. STEP 3: CUT OUT — Assess the storage in your room and use that space to calculate how many items you can keep from each category. For example, if you have a category of books, figure out how many will fit on your bookshelf. That’s how many books you can keep! Say Goodbye to Chronic Clutter — Use the CORE 4 Method to Transform Your Home!
The holiday season will be upon us before we know it. Soon, we’ll be welcoming friends and family into our homes to enjoy delicious feasts, catch up with each other, and celebrate. For many of us, this is one of the few times of year visitors spend extended time in our homes. Surely, you want to put out a good Clean Your Household Items Early! AVOID HOLIDAY MISHAPS
impression, so make sure you get all your household items cleaned before your guests arrive.
Nearly every year, we get a rush for bedding and tablecloth cleanings right before the holidays, so this is our warning to bring your stuff to us as soon as possible to ensure they’re fresh for your holiday festivities. If you have people staying with you, make sure you have spotless bedding for them to sleep in so they can get maximum enjoyment out of their visit. And don’t let a stained tablecloth become the main topic of conversation at your gathering. If it’s been some time since your tablecloth was professionally cleaned or your bedding desperately needs sprucing up, give us a call today. We’ll take great care of your items and return them to you as pristine as possible! “Janet Davis is by far the best cleaners around for many reasons. First, the attention to detail in treating every piece of clothing like it was their own is second to none. Second, if you have a stain on a garment, even the most difficult, it is miraculously returned immaculate. And finally, the friendly service, updates we receive, and even the engaging newsletter makes us feel like we're part of a family.”
Then, choose a category and go through it item by item. Kelly recommends using the “3 Second Rule”: Give yourself three seconds to decide if each item is a “Yes'' or a “No,” and consider anything you hesitate on a “Yes.” Repeat
this cycle until you have the right number of items in each category.
STEP 4: CONTAIN — Stash each category of items in its designated storage space. Kelly suggests keeping “like” items together and ensuring your regularly used things are easy to access. These four steps can help you tackle even the most cluttered spaces. With help from a few friends, you can organize an entire room in a single day!
–S.B., on Google Reviews
Don’t let your guests eat on a nasty tablecloth or sleep in a dirty bed! Contact us today to get your items ready for the holidays!
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GIVE YOUR GUESTS A GREAT NIGHT’S REST Tips for Washing Your Bedding at Home
cleaners or insufficient time between guests, causing you to clean the items at home in your washing machine and dryer. When done properly, there’s nothing wrong with cleaning your bedding at home. When you put your sheets and pillowcases into the washer, keep them separate from your garments, especially towels and other items that might shed. Washing towels in a home machine produces lint, which can stick to your sheets and bedding. This can cause your sheets to look like they’re pilling or wearing away. Also, don’t overfill the machine, trying to get all of your bedding done at once. Trying to wash too much at once can harm your machine while not cleaning your clothes as efficiently as you would hope. If you’re washing white sheets, you might feel inclined to add bleach to ensure they stay as white as possible, but this could have an adverse effect. Traditional bleach
from the local grocery or hardware store is often made from chlorine, which will cause your items to become yellow or gray over time. Use OxiClean or apply soap directly to any stains for a better solution. In addition to avoiding bleach, you should stay away from fabric softener and dryer sheets when washing bedding. Using fabric softener and dryer sheets makes your bedding less absorbent, causing it to develop an odor over time. If you’re worried about wrinkles, use a clothesline instead of a dryer, or remake the bed as soon as you’ve finished cleaning your bedding. Use these tips in accordance with your bedding’s recommended wash instructions to clean your sheets as efficiently as possible at home. If your bedding still isn’t as fresh as you want it to be, bring it to us, and we’ll do everything we can to clean it, allowing you to rest easy.
In an ideal world, you would bring your sheets, pillowcases, and other bedding to a professional cleaner immediately after your guests leave. That way, your bedding will be ready for the next guests as soon as they arrive. We know this might not be a possibility for everyone. You may not have room in your budget for weekly trips to the We put out a request last year asking you to return hangers and were amazed by your response! So many people returned hangers, but we still need more as the shortage continues. Thank you to all who have returned hangers recently! Please, keep up the good work! Thanks for Returning Them! THE HANGER SHORTAGE CONTINUES
Inspired by TasteOfHome.com
SUDOKU
Stuffed bell peppers are a common meal in many households. And as temperatures begin to drop, there’s no better way to warm up than by turning this classic recipe into a hearty — and healthy — soup! Stuffed Pepper Soup
INGREDIENTS • 2 lbs ground beef • 6 cups water
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar • 2 tsp salt • 2 tsp beef bouillon granules • 1 tsp black pepper • 2 cups cooked long-grain rice • Chopped fresh parsley (optional)
• 1 28-oz can tomato sauce • 1 28-oz can diced tomatoes, undrained • 2 cups chopped green peppers
DIRECTIONS 1. In a Dutch oven over medium heat, cook beef until no longer pink, breaking it into crumbles; drain. Add beef back to the pot and stir in all ingredients except the cooked rice. Bring to a boil. 2. Reduce heat. Simmer uncovered until peppers are tender, about 30 minutes. 3. Add cooked rice and simmer, uncovered, for about 10 minutes. If desired, sprinkle with chopped fresh parsley.
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1 Generations of Military Service 2 Tackle Clutter With the CORE 4 Method (248) 543-0340 www.janetdaviscleaners.com INSIDE THIS ISSUE
27607 Woodward Ave. Berkley, MI 48072
A Clean Start to the Holiday Season
3 Discover the Secret to Crisp and Fresh Sheets
Stuffed Pepper Soup
4 Explore the Instinctual Call of Crisp Autumn Leaf Piles
THE SCIENCE BEHIND WHY DOGS AND HUMANS CAN'T RESIST LEAF PILES
Whether it’s your boisterous toddler or rowdy pup, a perfect pile of autumn leaves might be too good to resist! You probably remember the days when you also jumped into a crunchy orange leaf pile without a second thought. But why do humans and dogs love jumping into huge piles of leaves? The main (and most obvious answer) is because it’s fun! For kids, dogs, and even some adults, jumping and rolling around in the fall leaves is a satisfying form of play that releases energy. While this may be the simple reason for humans, there are a few more reasons your canine companion can’t resist a tower of leaves. INSTINCT TO DIG Digging is a dog’s favorite pastime that dates back to their wolf ancestors. Just as
natural as sniffing and barking, digging is an ingrained behavior for dogs, and they want to follow their
your dog hasn’t experienced in a while. The result? They’ll dive right into a leaf pile and get sniffing!
instincts the moment they see a leaf pile. Whether they’re digging in to rest in the cool leaves or demolishing the pile entirely, your dog is just doing what dogs have always done.
MARKING TERRITORY Another scent factor could be your dog wanting to claim a particular leaf pile.
We already know dogs use their scents to mark territory, and rolling in a beloved pile of leaves is a way to infuse their scent. After diving head first into some leaves, they leave their scent behind so other animals can smell them and know that the leaf pile has already been claimed! Whatever the case, jumping into a pile of leaves is completely normal — and fun! — for both humans and dogs.
IRRESISTIBLE SEASONAL SCENTS
Our sense of smell doesn’t even come close to dogs’ incredible scent skills. While we have 5 million scent receptors, dogs have anywhere between 125–300 million! This means they can smell countless other scents we can’t, and autumn may bring some exciting aromas
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