A friend bought us some time with Merry Maids (Thanks Joan!) and they came for the second trip today. It's a funny thing, having a cleaning service. I spend about three hours getting the house ready for people who are coming to clean it. Granted I would need an hour longer to do what they do, it still seems funny to do so much pre-work. It's just that they don't mess with the clutter, of course. They don't know where I keep this and that, so they can't be putting things away for me. So it's my job to put all Braska's toys back where they go so they can vacuum. I must put away the dishes and food and clean the kitchen counter off so they can sanitize it. I have to clear off the bathroom vanity so they can clean that too. It makes sense, yet it still seems weird to me. Maybe I'll get used to it.
It's also weird to have them here working while I'm home. Since I work from here, I just retreat into my office, which is not on their list of rooms to clean for possibly obvious reasons, and they start at one end of the house and work to the other. They're nice girls. We even chatted this time a little. But now I notice several things that they did the first time that didn't get done this time. Do I call the home office and report them? Well that seems harsh. They leave me a paper that says if they have "even slightly disappointed" me that I should tell them so they can make it better. But then what about next time? When they come I'll feel all weird for telling the teacher on them, basically. I've got to find a more diplomatic way.
It's also weird to have them here working while I'm home. Since I work from here, I just retreat into my office, which is not on their list of rooms to clean for possibly obvious reasons, and they start at one end of the house and work to the other. They're nice girls. We even chatted this time a little. But now I notice several things that they did the first time that didn't get done this time. Do I call the home office and report them? Well that seems harsh. They leave me a paper that says if they have "even slightly disappointed" me that I should tell them so they can make it better. But then what about next time? When they come I'll feel all weird for telling the teacher on them, basically. I've got to find a more diplomatic way.
One strange thing happened today with them. One of the girls called me into the hall bath to see a spider that was tucked in a corner. She said it was like Superman, all red and a little blue. I could only see part of him, but I said, "Let's just make sure we get him." (Someone in my home is not at all a fan of spiders, to put it mildly.) In another couple minutes, she said, "Wow, he's moving fast." I went to the hall, just outside Braska's door, and it was there on the ceiling. The two MM girls were just looking at it, like it was so neat or something. I told them I thought they had gotten it already, and they just said no and went back to work. Is there some kind of policy they have that says they "don't do spiders"? Is that above and beyond the call of duty? So I grabbed a dining room chair and headed down the hall, took a quick picture for such a time as this, swiped my sandal off my foot, and bade him farewell.
I can tell you it's nice to have the house smell all nice and know every floor is clean for about 10 minutes right after they leave. Then Belle takes off down the hall after being outside for a bit. And Munch comes in from work in the rain with his shoes on. And Braska knocks a spoonful of peaches out of my hand. But for that 10 minutes, it was nice. And I only have to wait 2 weeks for it to be like that again. Of course, I could better manage my time and get it clean myself, but I don't hold out hope for that anytime soon. Maybe when it takes less than 90 minutes to feed my child every few hours, then I'll get back to having a clean house.... but then again, maybe not.
Nasty, nasty picture. I think the it would be hard to have cleaners, who make you clean first. I would opt for a less well known group of cleaners, but if you got them as a gift, I guess you are stuck. Still ten minutes is ten minutes.
ReplyDeleteI've been trying to think of an alternative...for what we'll be paying for MM if we continue after the short gift period, I could pay a friend quite well, and they'd be more likely to know where my stuff belongs! :o)
ReplyDeleteI say if they found the spider they should get it! After all they've got vacuumns and rags right there. Surely some of that would work to suck up or squash the little bugger. I had another friend who had merry maids once and she said that they were not merry at all, funnny huh.Hope you're having a good day! karen k
ReplyDeleteI had to laugh a bit when I read this entry. I am the same way about my classroom before the janitor comes.
ReplyDeleteHey partner... I bet your classroom's never as bad as my house... but then again, yours has more kids than mine. :o)
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