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CLEANING TIPS EMPLOYEES

Office Kitchen Cleaning Checklist

The office kitchen—where coffee is brewed, lunches are shared, and conversations happen. It’s a central hub for many workplaces, creating a space for employees to recharge, socialize, and refuel during a busy day. However, with all the foot traffic and use, it’s also one of the places that can quickly become messy. Leftover food in the fridge, crumbs in the microwave, or the dreaded overflowing trash can—sound familiar?

Maintaining a clean office kitchen isn’t just about keeping things looking nice (although that’s a big part of it!). A clean and well-organized kitchen promotes a healthy work environment. It reduces the spread of germs, eliminates the risk of pests, and even improves productivity. A tidy, well-maintained space can boost employee morale, helping everyone feel more comfortable and valued in the workplace. After all, no one wants to start their lunch break by cleaning someone else’s mess!

For businesses looking to maintain a professional and healthy kitchen environment, local cleaning companies or commercial cleaning services near me can provide the expertise needed to keep the space pristine. These services often employ certified cleaning professionals in your local area, who are trained to follow proper sanitation standards and ensure high-traffic areas like the kitchen are properly cleaned.

Why a Clean Office Kitchen Matters

Before jumping into the checklist, it’s worth taking a moment to talk about why keeping the office kitchen clean is so important. For one, the kitchen is a communal space—so it’s shared by everyone. A clean, well-maintained kitchen encourages respect and mindfulness among coworkers, making it more likely that everyone will pitch in to keep it tidy.

Beyond that, office kitchens can be a breeding ground for bacteria and germs. With so many people using the same appliances, countertops, and utensils, germs can spread quickly. A regular cleaning routine reduces the risk of illness, which is especially important during cold and flu season (or when other illnesses, like COVID-19, are a concern). Hiring commercial cleaning services in the USA to sanitize shared spaces regularly can significantly reduce the spread of germs and viruses, ensuring a healthier work environment.

A clean kitchen also means fewer distractions and more productivity. There’s something refreshing about stepping into a well-organized, sparkling space—it sets the tone for a positive, focused workday.

Daily Duties: The Essentials

Some cleaning tasks need to be tackled daily to avoid a build-up of mess and ensure the kitchen is always in good shape. These small daily actions make a huge difference in keeping things tidy and pleasant for everyone.

Wipe Down Countertops and Surfaces

Countertops are a magnet for spills, crumbs, and food residue, especially in a busy office kitchen where multiple people are preparing snacks and lunches throughout the day. Make it a habit to wipe down countertops at the end of each day. Using a disinfectant wipe or a gentle all-purpose cleaner will help sanitize surfaces and keep them looking neat. This simple step helps prevent the buildup of grime and reduces the spread of germs.

Consider working with local cleaning companies who can provide the necessary supplies and even set up a regular cleaning routine for your office kitchen.

Weekly Tasks: Going Beyond the Basics

Daily cleaning keeps things tidy, but certain tasks only need to be done once a week to maintain a deeper level of cleanliness. These weekly tasks go beyond the surface, keeping your office kitchen clean and functional.

Deep Clean the Fridge

At the end of each week, take a moment to check the fridge for any forgotten or expired food. Remove items that are past their prime to prevent unpleasant odors and clutter. Wipe down the fridge shelves to remove spills and crumbs. To help keep things organized, encourage everyone to label their food with names and dates. Certified cleaning professionals can provide weekly deep cleaning services to ensure your office kitchen remains free of germs and grime.

Monthly Tasks: Deep Cleaning and Maintenance

Some tasks only need to be done once a month, but they’re crucial to keeping the kitchen in top shape. These monthly tasks ensure everything stays running smoothly and looking its best.

Check Expiration Dates

Go through the pantry and fridge to check for expired or old items. Toss anything that’s no longer good, and make a list of any essentials that need to be restocked. This prevents clutter and ensures that the kitchen stays well-organized and safe.

For offices that prefer a hands-off approach to kitchen maintenance, professional cleaners can manage these monthly tasks, ensuring everything from appliances to food storage is thoroughly cleaned and well-maintained.

A Clean Kitchen = A Happy Office

By following this simple cleaning schedule, you can ensure that the office kitchen stays clean, welcoming, and functional for everyone. It doesn’t take a huge effort—just regular attention to the details that matter. A tidy kitchen is more than just a pretty sight—it creates a space where employees can relax, recharge, and refuel, making it easier to stay productive throughout the workday.

If your office needs assistance maintaining its kitchen space, consider partnering with local cleaning companies or certified cleaning professionals in the USA. Their expertise can help create a consistently clean and hygienic environment, leaving your team free to focus on what they do best.

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EMPLOYEES In the Home

The Art of Tipping: Appreciating Your House Cleaner

Title: The Art of Tipping: Appreciating Your House Cleaner

Introduction:
At Clean and Simple, we understand the importance of recognizing the hard work and dedication of our house cleaners. Tipping, while not obligatory, is a tangible way to show appreciation for the physical effort, attention to detail, and time our technicians invest in their work. In this blog post, we’ll explore the various ways you can tip your house cleaner and other non-monetary gestures that hold significant meaning.

Tipping Options:

Cash: The easiest and quickest way to tip your cleaning technician is by providing cash at the time of the service. If you won’t be present during the cleaning, remember to leave the tip in a clearly marked envelope to ensure it reaches the intended recipient.

Quality Survey Email: Another way to tip is by including it in the Quality Survey Email sent to you after the cleaning. These tips will be added to your invoice and processed as part of your payment for the cleaning. This method allows for seamless integration and ensures that the tip is processed through payroll for our employees.

Contacting the Office: If you prefer, you can simply call or email our office to advise how much you would like to add as a tip. Additionally, you have the option to have a tip automatically added to each cleaning. Both of these methods also get processed through payroll for our employees, making it convenient for everyone involved.

Non-Monetary Appreciation:
While tipping is greatly appreciated, there are other ways to express your gratitude and make a meaningful impact on your house cleaner’s work and livelihood. Consider these non-monetary gestures:

Thank-You Notes: A simple thank-you note or a verbal expression of appreciation can go a long way in showing your gratitude. Taking a moment to acknowledge their hard work and the difference they make in your home can brighten their day.

Online Reviews and Quality Surveys: Leaving positive online reviews and responding to quality email surveys directly impact the raises and bonuses of individual cleaning technicians. Your feedback helps us improve our service and recognizes the exceptional work done by our team.

Conclusion:
Tipping and providing non-monetary appreciation are powerful ways to acknowledge the hard work, dedication, and contribution of your house cleaner. These gestures demonstrate your gratitude and provide financial support that positively impacts their livelihoods. Your feedback also helps us enhance our service and ensure that we continue to deliver the best cleaning experience possible. Together, we can create a culture of appreciation and excellence in maintaining the cleanliness of your home.

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EMPLOYEES HEALTHY LIVING In the Home

Snow Precautions to Protect House Cleaners and Your Family

Much of the Northwest saw its first snowfall this week. Waking up the first flurries of the year fell from the sky in Mukilteo, which continued on my drive to work through the Lynnwood and Edmonds area.  While snow can excite the kids, create a more traditional holiday season, and stress out drivers, it can also make for a slippery, treacherous mess.

Not only do you want to keep your family safe, keep in mind your friendly house cleaners will be dealing with snow conditions as well. Being a professional house cleaning service means snow is just another obstacle in providing you with a quality house cleaning. If you have a scheduled house cleaning in the near future make sure to keep our house cleaners safe by taking proper snow precautions.

Most people enjoy falling snowflakes when they are safe inside their home with their kids making snowmen in the yard. However, snow can be dangerous if appropriate safety measures aren’t made especially for your house cleaners. Everyone’s had the awesome experience of slipping on ice in their driveway and it never feels good. This is why clearing your driveway is so important when it snows. Professional house cleaners, like the crew at Clean and Simple Cleaning™ never put their cleaning on hold for a little snow but they hope your house is maintained so they’re not put into a dangerous situation. Here are some Snow precautions and tips you can do to keep our house cleaners and your loved ones safe:

  • Always make sure to shovel excess snow off the walkways and use a deicer if needed. Rock salt is commonly used to melt snow and ice off of driveways. While this does melt the snow, there are more eco-friendly ways to stay safe.
  • Stay on top of shoveling and don’t let the snow build up. Snow is much lighter when it is fresh. Moreover, snow  will not strain your body as much if you are doing a little shoveling at a time.
  • Sand is commonly used to help increase traction. This doesn’t melt snow, but it does provide a more eco-friendly way to keep your feet on the ground. Wearing proper boots that provide good traction will also help.
  • Avoid cat litter-some people believe this helps melt or provide traction. While it might help a little it is more expensive than sand and makes for a huge mess when the snow melts. Sand will work just as good if not better!
  • If you must go with rock salt make sure to only apply as much as needed to melt the snow. Many directions call for much more salt than is actually needed wasting your money and hurting the environment.

By using these simple Snow precautions and tips you can keep your driveway clear of snow. Moreover, it will keep you safe and help our house cleaners safely clean your home. Also remember to never rely on electricity! Heavy snowfall can cause power to go out, which in turn disables electric garage doors. If you’re like me and didn’t carry a house key until faced with this circumstance take this as a reminder to always have a spare key or have a friend that holds onto one for you.  If the power does go out make sure you have a generator or alternate form of heat. It is important to ensure that you and your family can keep warm. Taking the necessary steps to prepare for snow can allow you to stay safe and get out and enjoy the beautiful weather!

Cleanings almost always go as scheduled during the Western Washington snow. However, we will never put our house cleaners in danger while getting to your house. If you suspect that snow has caused dangerous driving conditions and are unsure if your cleaning will be cancelled there are a couple ways to check. One way is calling the office, more than likely we will have someone answering calls unless the conditions are unbearable. You can also check local schools, if the Mukilteo School DistrictEdmonds School District or other surrounding schools are canceled for the day more than likely our cleaning schedules will be disrupted because house cleaners are unable to get to work. Remember safety always comes first. Additionally, we hope these tips can keep you, your family, and our house cleaners safe this winter. Wishing you happy holidays from the Clean and Simple Crew.

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EMPLOYEES HOUSE CLEANING SERVICE

Beginning A Career As A Professional House Cleaner

Beginning a Professional Cleaning Career

The cleaning industry attracts employees from a diverse array of backgrounds. Some people come through our doors with expert cleaning skills and little education or life experience. Others come with great work ethic and no experience of what it means to be a professional cleaner, aside from the picture in the job post and a vague concept of a “maid” provided by stereotypical Hollywood portrayals.  Some employees are seeking a career they can commit to and grow in. Others are looking for a place where they can experience support and belonging while they work to move on to the next stage in their journey. All are welcome at Clean & Simple. All we ask is that they are ready to work hard.

Each person who walks through the doors of Clean & Simple is given an opportunity.  An opportunity to build a schedule that works for their lives. An opportunity to meet a variety of people and work in some spectacular homes (and some not so clean homes!). Professional cleaning can be overwhelming for anyone new to the industry. So can starting a new job with a new company. 

That’s why we start each employee in a comprehensive, fully paid training program, regardless of their experience level. Our training program is based on mentorship and employee advocacy. Each new employee is a member of the team, with something to contribute right off the bat—even if they’ve never cleaned professionally before. Everyone is starting from the same place as far as learning the Clean & Simple method and style. This article is meant to give you an idea of what your first few weeks at Clean & Simple look like.

 

The Clean & Simple Family

The term “work family” has received some negative press in recent years. However, to us at Clean & Simple, work family just means two things: 1) that management’s number one role is supporting our employees and enabling each employee’s success and 2) that work can and should be fun! Does this mean you’ll have fun at your cleaning job every second of every day? Of course not. However, that doesn’t mean you won’t have fun a lot of the time. 

First, you get to spend each day traveling to different places and seeing different homes and people. You’ll meet all sorts of different pets. If you’re an animal lover, it is a special treat to be greeted by a customer’s enthusiastic dogs, or to play with a cat who is fascinated by your dusting cloth. Many of our cleaners develop meaningful relationships with their long-term customers and become an important part of that customer’s week or month. Each day brings a new adventure—you’re not just sitting behind a desk making phone calls or staring at a screen. You get to be active and dynamic while creating a wonderful professional cleaning experience for the clients whose homes you service.  

Second, you’ll build professional and friendly relationships with wonderful coworkers. While some of our cleaners work primarily or exclusively solo, many jobs require a team effort. Working in a team makes the day go by even faster. While you won’t spend much time chatting with your coworker while on the job, our cleaners still enjoy the opportunity to interact with another cleaner throughout their day. An old trainer of mine would keep things interesting by initiating mini floor-cleaning competitions, in which we would start at opposites ends of the room and see who could reach the middle first, without missing any stray debris on the way (I always lost, but it was also always a good time, especially when I was lagging towards the end of a long day). 

Finally, management at Clean & Simple amplifies the fun with regular quarterly competitions, light-hearted weekly meetings, end of month parties, and lots of opportunities to win prizes outside of the merit-based bonus structure. At weekly meetings and end of month parties we select employees who have gone above and beyond in some way that week or month (helping a coworker, receiving glowing praise from a customer, giving a new employee a hand) and they get a chance to spin a wheel to win a prize. We frequently provide a free breakfast or other treats at end of month parties, and frequently play games and icebreakers to give everyone a chance to relax and interact with each other. We also love to provide optional out of work activities for employees to participate in, such as bowling nights, picnics in the summer, and holiday parties. 

“Clean & Simple is family” means management and your coworkers have your back. It means this is a place where you will be supported as you learn and grow. And it means that work is what we make of it—and we choose to make it something we enjoy. 

 

Starting your journey with Clean & Simple Cleaning

We want to start off new employees, no matter their experience level, on the best foot possible. This requires an intensive, nearly three-week training period. During a new technician’s training, you will receive close one-on-one attention both from office staff guiding you through policies and procedures, as well as one or more of our friendly trainers who will work with you in the field and show you the ropes of professional cleaning.

 

Office orientation

Your onboarding journey with our company begins with an orientation. Orientations usually take 2-4 hours. You are introduced to the basics of professional cleaning through industry training videos. You will also receive a one-on-one explanation of policies and procedures and some basic guidelines to what to expect from the job from a dedicated office staff member. 

Orientation is the foundational moment of a new employee’s experience, and everything you learn from that point forward will be built on this foundation. This is a great time to ask questions about the job, company culture, and expectations of employees. We’re a small company with a small office staff, which gives us an opportunity to form personal relationships with each of our cleaning technicians. No anonymous corporate bosses at Clean & Simple. You’ll meet the whole company within a few weeks of starting. 

 

Training in the field

The bulk of the training process is hands-on training in the field with one of our experienced trainers. Our trainers are specially chosen for their experience, skill, and dedication. In-field, supervised training usually takes place over a two-week period, though in some cases new technicians find they benefit from additional time in training. Intensive training is so important because professional cleaning is challenging—this is no cakewalk!

 

Getting prepared for a physically demanding job

We’re transparent about the work we do. We’re not looking to paint a pretty picture.  Cleaning professionally is labor-intensive.  Professional cleaning is hard work!  It’s not like cleaning your own home—there are rigorous quality standards to maintain, and our technicians often tackle 3-4 different jobs every day. We want you to be mentally prepared to tackle your training period like you might train for a marathon. You’re getting your body in shape to handle a physically demanding and repetitive task.

The first week is truly a test. It’s like going to the gym without having worked out in a year and getting on the treadmill to try to sprint out a 5K or 10K and not lose your breath!  It takes time in training to learn the job and the routines while adapting to the fitness level of cleaning over eight thousand square feet of houses on any given route.  One of the most important parts of the first week of your training is giving you the tools to build up your cleaning “muscles” so that you can work safely and efficiently later.

 

Learning how to provide excellent customer service

In your first week, you’re also learning how to take equipment and supplies in and out of the vehicles, meet and greet customers and pets, and navigate between jobs. 

Your trainer will show you how to read and follow a work order, how to enter and lock up a home or office, how to interact with customers, and how to create a consistently excellent customer experience in every single one of our clients’ unique homes. 

You’ll find that every home or office you service presents unique demands and requirements. Some of those will be readily noticeable in the work order, but some may be a function of the home’s layout, or the way in which the family uses the space. At some jobs you will find yourself working around the whole family as they go about their days working and studying. Other times, you might go to the same home many times and never once meet the customers themselves. You might exchange regular notes with a customer or communicate rarely if ever. Certain customers might follow you around the house to chat, while others might shut themselves in their office and avoid you while you work. At first, you’ll have to follow your trainer’s cue to know how to interact with a customer. However, you’ll find you quickly pick up on a customer’s expectations, even if you’ve never been to a home before, just based on the first five minutes of your initial interaction. 

One of the reasons professional house cleaning is such a demanding job is because cleaning technicians are expected to perform a detailed and physically intensive task while simultaneously exhibiting superb customer service skills. Most other physically demanding work doesn’t come with a strong customer service component. As a professional house cleaner, you’ll learn how to interact with customers in a way that makes them feel cared for, while at the same time ensuring you are completing the tasks assigned and not going beyond the scope of what the company has been hired to do. 

 

Learning and growing with coworkers

An important component of your first few weeks at Clean & Simple Cleaning is woven throughout your experience—meeting and spending time with your new coworkers! One of your most valuable resources as you learn about professional house cleaning is your fellow cleaning technicians. Aside from regular staff meetings, you’ll also have opportunities to interact with coworkers in the mornings when you come to the office to pick up supplies. While your trainer or an office manager should be your primary source if you have questions about the job, all your coworkers are happy to help show you around the office or assist with basic questions about equipment and supplies. 

While our team of house cleaners enjoys friendly competition, at the end of the day we all know that the company is only as strong as our weakest cleaner. Therefore, we all like to work together to put our best foot forward. There is no point in hoarding cleaning tips or advice, because the better the whole team is, the better the company does overall. 

At Clean & Simple, you might be assigned a few regular customers. However, most of your daily assigned jobs will be shared with other technicians. Part of creating a positive experience for all your customers includes helping your coworkers to be just as good as you are. This is what we mean when we talk about and Clean & Simple “family”—that we’re all in this together, working towards the same goal. 

 

Professional cleaning as a career

Finally, Clean & Simple designed the cleaning technician entry-level position to meet a variety of employee needs, from those looking for temporary, part-time work while attending school, to those who are looking for a long-term career, and many paths in between. To this end, Clean & Simple offers flexible scheduling, job growth and advancement opportunities, on the job training in a variety of different office responsibilities, and more. 

Cleaning technicians grow into trainers, field managers, and office managers. Cleaning technicians have used their job to support passions in art or music. From their positions as house cleaners, employees have gone on to start their own businesses, to complete college degrees, to attend graduate and law schools, and more. A cleaning technician job is a starting point to many paths; an opportunity to grow and learn and to support yourself doing work that makes a measurable difference in people’s lives. 

Want to learn more? You can apply through our employment application page. You can also call us at (425)673-4733 if you have questions or are interested in a career in professional cleaning. We look forward to hearing from you.

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EMPLOYEES HOUSE CLEANING SERVICE

HCT Certified Residential Cleaning Professionals

Hiring a professional cleaning company to clean your home does not mean you are just hiring someone to do the tasks that you don’t want to do. You are hiring professional cleaners who are trained to clean your home efficiently and thoroughly, using the most advanced techniques and equipment available.

Most professional cleaning companies have trained employees who come into your home to clean, but how do you know you are getting the most highly trained professional cleaners to make your home shine?

A cleaning company with the HCT (House Cleaning Technician) Certified cleaning designation has the highest standards of cleaning you can expect in the entire industry. They don’t just know how to clean a home— they know the science behind the cleaning as well.

What HCT Certification Teaches

HCT Certification goes deeper than just teaching professional cleaners proper methods of cleaning and more efficient processes. The course for HCT Certification dives into the microbiology and chemistry behind the soil and messes that will be found in homes.

This clarifies the processes for cleaning the different soil throughout a home— cleaners with HCT certification have a better understanding of why different methods are required to treat different messes. For example, the kind of soil you find in a bathroom is biologically different than what you find in a kitchen; therefore, you need to clean it differently to ensure sanitation.

HCT Certification gives cleaners the ability to identify and care for the many different kinds of materials that make up a home. The way a cleaner cares for leather is different than the protocol for cleaning, say, fabric upholstery. Here’s a short list of the materials HTC certified cleaners learn about:

• Natural Stone
• Wood Flooring
• Bamboo and Cork
• Laminates
• Clay
• Tile and Grout
• Concrete
• Resilient Flooring
• Vinyl
• VCT
• Vinyl Asbestos
• Linoleum
• Rubber
• Carpet
• Countertops and Cabinets
• Glass  Fixtures
• Metals
• Stainless Steel
• Paint
• Wallpaper

There is a good chance that homeowners themselves don’t know the proper way to clean bamboo fixtures, but your HCT certified cleaning professional will!

The Health Of Your Home

When they decide to hire a professional cleaning company, most people think about how much time they’ll save— and that is absolutely true. You will take back hours a week, time you can spend doing something you love rather than cleaning. However, you might be surprised to learn that the biggest impact hiring a professional cleaner will have is on the health of your home. A cleaning company with an HCT Certification will keep your home the healthiest environment possible for you and your family.

The HCT Certification course teaches professional cleaners about microbes and pathogens, and how hygienic cleaning can break the chain of infection. They also go over the safe practices for the cleaner, and the importance of washing hands between rooms to prevent cross-contamination from one room to the next.

Trusting The Company You Hired

When you hire a professional cleaning company for residential cleaning, you are putting a lot of trust in the people that are coming to clean your home. In most cases, you won’t be home when they clean. You need the company you work with to perform background checks on their employees. Additionally, the company needs to be bonded and insured so you won’t be financially liable for any accident that may happen while they are in your home.

If the cleaning company you hire is HCT Certified, you have the added reassurance that they have been highly trained in workplace safety, specifically safety while cleaning residential homes. They’re well versed in the use of chemicals and the reading of labels for safe use around people and animals. They know how to properly use their equipment and they’re educated on the standards of safety when using plugs and ladders. They even know the proper personal protective equipment they should use. You can rest assured that they will not only know how to protect your property, but they will be able to protect themselves as well.

How to Find An HCT Certified Cleaning Company

If you are ready to hire a company that stands out from all the rest, hiring a company with an HCT Certified employees is your first step. You can use the Association of Residential Cleaning Companies International (ARCI) to search for an HCT Certified company near you.

You would hire a professional to ensure your oil is changed correctly; the same principle applies when it’s time to hire someone to clean your house. It’s not just about saving time. It’s about getting the highest quality clean possible in your home, allowing you and your family to live in a clean and healthy environment.

If you’re looking for a residential cleaning company in and around Lynnwood, Washington, you’ll be working with the best when you hire Clean & Simple. Our customer service team members are standing by to give you your complimentary cleaning quote for your home. Let us start cleaning your home, and you get to living your happier, and healthier life!

 

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EMPLOYEES

Congratulations Janet, Winner of the 2018 ARCSI Chairman’s Award!

We are so proud to announce that Janet Swett is the winner of this year’s Association of Residential Cleaning Services International’s Chairman’s Award.  This award recognizes outstanding performance of cleaning service office personnel, and we can’t think of a more appropriate winner!  Our Operations Manager for over 9 years, Janet is absolutely essential at Clean and Simple.  She also manages to be both a stabilizing and encouraging influence on both the office and the cleaning staff.  For as long as I’ve worked at Clean and Simple, Janet has provided a sympathetic ear to employees. She is often a counselor and mentor as much as she is a manager.  Former employees keep in touch and come to visit her frequently, sometimes bringing their families.

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COMMUNITY EVENTS EMPLOYEES

Showing Flat Stanley the Pacific Northwest

I got reminded how fun acting like a tourist in the place where you live is and how amazing the Pacific northwest truly is.  Flat Stanley* is visiting us from IL which is where we lived before moving to Washington 8 1/2 years ago.

When we first moved here, we did all of the touristy things. However, the longer we live here all of the neat things the pacific northwest has to offer to seem reasonable. Moreover, we do not always take the time to enjoy them.  It was time to act like a tourist. Additionally, go on some adventures, and Flat Stanley gave us the push we needed.

We, of course, had to take Flat Stanley to Seattle!  We stopped by the Space Needle. Snapped a picture before heading to Pike’s Place Market.  I always find there is no better place to indulge your senses than at Pike’s Place.  The smell of seafood and donuts to seeing the beautiful colored flowers and fruit.

And, let us not forget fish flying, hearing the different street musicians as you walk around just makes you feel alive.

The employees at the fish market and our favorite fruit stand, Sergio’s, are very familiar with Flat Stanley and did some great poses with him.

Our next adventure was one of my boys’ request.  We headed to the Fremont Troll.  They climbed all over the troll under the bridge and even stuck their heads up the troll’s nose.  Flat Stanley smiled nicely for the picture but needed dusting off afterward.

This week we are going to the Tulip fields to take another photo with Flat Stanley and take in the rows and rows of beautiful colored tulips.  I remember going for the first time and being amazed and am looking forward to going back.  Tulips fields are a lot prettier than corn fields.

We plan on taking Stanley to the Edmonds waterfront and get a picture with one of the ferries and Everett’s navy base as well.  And of course, Flat Stanley will be taking a trip or two or three to Starbucks.  My boys have also decided that we need to send Flat Stanley back to IL with an umbrella and a Seahawks jersey too!

Where would you take Flat Stanley if he visited you?  

*Flat Stanley is a 1964 children’s book written by Jeff Brown and originally illustrated by Tomi Ungerer. It is the first in a series of books featuring Stanley Lambchop who becomes flat as a pancake after an accident and then gets to go on adventures to different places by being sent in the mail.  As a learning project in 2nd grade, many schools in the country have each child send a Flat Stanley to someone in another part of the country or world to go on adventures and then send them back with information about that place teaching them about the country and the world.