A week at home alone with 5 kids - the horror!

"Because I Said So" column for The Commercial Appeal

Aug. 5, 2010

I'm going to have to ask you all to listen closely as I type this in a whisper. This week's column comes to you from deep within my walk-in closet, just off the bathroom.

This is one of the toughest times of the year for our household -- the week before the Memphis City Schools resume for the year. My wife, Kristy, teaches English at Central High School, and teachers are required to report to work one week before the students arrive to prepare for the coming year.

At least, that's what Kristy has always told me. She leaves here early in the morning and returns in the late afternoons smelling vaguely of textbooks and happy hour.

So this is my week alone on the front lines. It's the time for me to set aside work and other activities to see to the well-being of the children. As an extra bonus, I'm watching a friend's 3-year-old son as well. That means there are five of them out there. I can hear them through the closed closet and bathroom doors and the locked bedroom door beyond.

Any family, no matter its makeup, is about working together and cooperating to get through the trying times, and the children have done just that. Like the group of stranded ruffians in "Lord of the Flies," they've banded together and claimed the kitchen, living room and my office as their own ... (read more)

Economic downturn stokes home-cleaning services

Feature story for The Memphis Daily News

Aug. 2, 2010

For many people, having someone else to sweep floors and mop bathrooms might be considered a luxury, and possibly the first item crossed off any budget when the economy spirals downward and times get tough.

Kip Uhlhorn, co-owner of 2 Chicks and a Broom, has a different take, however. “If you’re working a lot more, I guess your personal time becomes more precious.”

“People are working two jobs or more hours, so instead of me going home at lunchtime to let the dog out, could you add that to the time allotted,” Kip’s wife, Kelly, said people ask her. “Also, people don’t want to spend their time on weekends cleaning their house.”

The Uhlhorns purchased the eco-friendly home-cleaning business 2 Chicks and a Broom, where Kelly had worked in the past, from Candace Mills in September 2008. They have managed in nearly two years to grow their client base to about 2,000 clients and have expanded their reach further east.

“We tripled the client base,” Kip said. “Everything is pretty comfortable now, as far as the flow of new clients, but for a while there we were just too slammed for the amount of people we have.” ... (read more)