now if only I could find some Laundry Elves for hireJuly 20th, 2008 @ 9:13 pm
Some of you may remember the picture I posted on Flickr a few months ago of when I swept the floor 5 minutes after my cleaning people finished their job. Nice, huh? Well guess what? THIS WEEK, I GET TO CANCEL MY SERVICE! muwahahahaha!
I’m finally done with my 1 year contract with them, and while things got a little bit better after that picture was taken (I called and complained for like the eleventy billionth time), it was still a pretty crappy job each time they came. Most of the time it was the same main person, but the people who were with her were different each time so things were really inconsistent. It got to the point where I literally was cleaning up some things after they left, and at the very least, I felt I had to ‘check up’ on what they had done. I know I could have fought it and probably been released from my contract, but I didn’t have any one else to take over and honestly, I just didn’t feel like dealing with it. I only had a few months left, and now, finally, they’re done! Last Wednesday was the last day.
I toyed with idea that after the contract was over, I would take over the job myself again. I am still really busy with work and taking care of Maggie, but I definitely feel like I have a better handle on things than I did this time last year when I hired them. And then I realized that would mean donning rubber gloves and scrubbing the toilets again and I was all, UM NEVERMIND. LET’S JUST FIND SOMEONE ELSE! Plus we are used to the cost every other week in our budget anyway, so why not be crazy and continue the luxury?!
I’m having a new independent cleaning person start next Monday and I am so excited. She stopped by last week to see the house and get introduced to the job, and she was shocked at all the stuff that had been missed by my cleaners (they had just been there a few hours earlier) She even does windows! WINDOWS! This means I won’t have toddler finger-prints all over my windows and the sliding doors! Plus, she was like the Nicest Person Ever. Which isn’t really a requirement, but it makes the whole bringing someone into your house thing a lot more pleasant.
Honestly, I am just really looking forward to having the cleaning-lady thing be a non-issue. The whole point of hiring someone is to make things easier, and for so long it was the opposite of that. So lesson learned here, kids? DO NOT SIGN A ONE-YEAR CONTRACT just to save $40 on your first clean. STUPID.
life
Jenn
said,
July 20, 2008 at 10:23 pm
My mom use to have a cleaning lady come to the house. The company was merry maids. We had issues with them, not really cleaning things but with them breaking stuff and not telling us and trying to hide it. She soon gave that up because it was too much of a hassle to have stuff broken. I hope the new lady is an improvement for you.
Jenns last blog post..Row Row Row your boat
Laura
said,
July 20, 2008 at 10:27 pm
I hope the new person is a lot better.
Also - you wear rubber gloves to clean the toilet? I just get in there with a rag, bleach, and a scrub brush.
My mom cleaned houses for a living for years. I got my cleaning skills from her… and also (sort of unfortunately) her high standards. I don’t think I could ever hire a cleaning service. I’d end up “cleaning up” the house before they came, and then re-cleaning after they left.
Lauras last blog post..a letter: seven months
Melissa
said,
July 20, 2008 at 10:35 pm
Sounds like the new service is going to be much better! Hopefully now having a cleaning lady will actually save you the trouble of, uh, CLEANING! hehe ;)
Maybe in 5 years or so, I’ll be able to do this, too. Thinking about someone else cleaning my toilets and floors and windows… *sigh*… heavenly.
Jen
said,
July 20, 2008 at 10:45 pm
@Laura: My mom cleaned for a lot of years too, so anyone who cleans for me is unfortunately going to be held to some high standards as well!! She actually cleaned for me a few times when I was mega-pregnant and OMG I was in love with how clean my house was.
I thought I’d feel weird about having people clean, and I thought I would clean before they came too, but I haven’t. I definitely ‘clean up’- meaning I pick up all the crap that accumulates on tables and the floor like toys and papers and mail and clothes etc- but that’s just so they can see the floors and counters to actually clean them. It’s so nice (or at least in theory, it should be!) to have someone else do it, I got over the ‘I’m so embarrassed my house got this dirty in 2 weeks!’ feeling ;)
Jen
said,
July 20, 2008 at 10:48 pm
@Melissa: The only bad thing is that once you have someone clean for you… YOU CAN NEVER GO BACK. Seriously. When I thought for a moment about possibly doing it again myself, I was like OH HELL NO! If we are ever in a situation in the future where I can’t have it anymore… I will be a very, very sad lady. lol
jesser
said,
July 20, 2008 at 11:18 pm
We had the same problem with our “service.” Never the same people. Had to tell them everything over and over. They were on some stupid rotation where certain “deep cleaning” got done every fourth time. Part of that was vacuuming the couch … only every 8 weeks?!?! We have a dog. They said they’d do it every time and we always had to remind them. We cancelled their service and they didn’t even ask why. We’ve had two independents … the first one was the best. The second is pretty good … just misses some of what I consider to be essential, but usually if I tell her she corrects it.
Rachie
said,
July 21, 2008 at 2:27 am
I can’t wait to be able to have a cleaning person! My mom has always had one and I know how crazy picky she was so I know I will be. I wouldn’t have been able to deal an entire year of poor cleaning.
Burgh Baby
said,
July 21, 2008 at 9:16 am
I dream of having a cleaning person, but can’t seem to cough up the cash to pay someone. At least I’ve managed to finagle my husband into doing a good bit of the cleaning . . .
Jen
said,
July 21, 2008 at 9:19 am
@Burgh Baby: heh that’s how I ended up hiring someone- my husband practically demanded it! He said he would absolutely NOT help me, so I should just pay someone. I was all um okay! Didn’t have to tell me twice… ;)
Kris
said,
July 21, 2008 at 5:02 pm
Oh wow, you be living the dream. me = jealous.
We can’t really afford a cleaning service. Mostly because we live in a rural area, and I can’t find anyone close by who 1) I trust, and 2) didn’t want to charge me an arm and a leg for the service.
Instead we just ended up splitting up the weekly clean into daily activites. So the house is never 100% clean at any one time, but you know, it gets the job done.
Shamelessly Sassy
said,
July 22, 2008 at 2:54 pm
I need a cleaning lady. But since I live in the middle of no where, there are no services. Just little old ladies offering their services in the paper, I’m very paranoid that I’ll hire one of the little old ladies, and something would happen and I would have to fire an elderly person. So I haven’t hired one yet.
Shamelessly Sassys last blog post..I Can Haz Nuggetz: A Fast Food How-to
Susan
said,
July 22, 2008 at 3:46 pm
Jen, my one co-worker once told me she’d end up eating dirt every night just to keep her cleaning service/person. Despite the daycare costs, I think I’m ready to eat dirt. Let me know how your person works out and if they’re available to clean other homes in the area!
Susans last blog post..Practically like going to Disney World
janet
said,
July 22, 2008 at 10:11 pm
dude, this is exciting! freedom!!!
Allison
said,
July 23, 2008 at 10:37 pm
UGH! That’s just awful. I hope the new woman is good. After your YEAR LONG BAD experience, you deserve it!
Allisons last blog post..Where The Heart Is