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Mrs. Clean.



If you didn't know this about me, I'm a little neurotic about cleaning. I have certain ways I like things done. Not to pull the "I blame my Mother card'. But...I blame my Mother. But that's not such a bad thing, as I dearly look up to my Mom and hope to be like her some day.

(I'm guilty of the above photo...)

She had "A Way" of doing things around the house. Bath towels were to be folded in thirds, beach towels in halves. Kitchen floors were to be vacuumed, and then scrubbed in a certain manner. Dishes that made it to the dishwasher had to pass a test. I used to find this annoying. Now, I'll say it. Mom, you're right! Bath towels should be folded in thirds, they fit better on a towel bar that way. And beach towels will fit better when folded in halves! ;)


Where am I going with this? Well, as I said, I'm a tish neurotic. Sometimes I've made comments like, "Some day, if our budget allows, I'd like to get a cleaning lady." Ryan usually responds to this with a very cynical smirk. Not because he doesn't approve of a cleaning lady. But because he knows I'd spend as much time b**ching about the cleaning lady as it takes to actually clean the house.

With that being said, he is right. How do I know this? We live in a hotel right now, as most of you are aware. I have lost count of how many times I have complained to the front desk about the cleaning ladies. And there's a daily under-the-breath comment I make about their lack of competency. (ie - Ugh, why did they hang the towels like this? - or - They scrubbed the floors, but missed the corners!)

Are they that bad? No. They're not. I'm too much of a control freak to hand over my living space to someone else. I could clean the room myself, I know. However, for $53 a day in a dark & sad room -- I'm taking advantage of the fact someone services this room. I'm not going to buy cleaning products - that's ridiculous. (But I did wash the towels once....)

The funny part is that when I complain to the front desk, they stare at me like I'm speaking Russian. Or sometimes they kind of laugh, and say, "Okay ma'am, we'll pass that on". Let me share some of the happenings. Please tell me I'm not crazy.....

  • 2 weeks ago, after being gone all day long - we came home at 8 pm to find our door WIDE OPEN. Yep. They forgot to shut the door on their way out. (Let me just remind you, we're living in this room -- we have 2 road bikes (>$700/bike), all our clothes, computers, MY CROCK POT?! (that $20 crockpot is irreplaceable - it now holds serious nostalgic value)
  • On more than one occasion, they completely forgotten to give us towels. It's really awesome, because both times I didn't discover this until after I got out of the shower. Nothin' like using a t-shirt to dry off after a nice hot shower!
  •  Today, I walked into the dark room (barely a window, so it gets really dark). Walked in, tripped, and FLEW across the room. Yes. I tripped over a garbage can. Why they plotted it in the MIDDLE of the room is beyond me. (Maybe they got tired of hearing about complaints from Room 204)
  • On weekends, we often come home to find a "Do No Disturb" sign placed on our door (which we didn't put there) -- so they don't have to clean our room. Awesome. 
I'm not really angry, this is just funny (and annoying) to me. Maybe living in a hotel is growing on me. Maybe I miss turning on Pandora, mixing vinegar/baking soda/orange peels to make my home-made all-star floor cleaner? Who knows. But I have been due for a rant!



Do you have quirks about how you clean your house? Have you ever stayed in a hotel so long that the housekeepers and you start clashing heads? Also, someecards that I used in this post make my laugh hysterically. I adore them!


Comments

Cherry Blossoms said…
I dream of having a cleaning lady but with summers off and working PT during the school year I have been reminded that we do have a cleaning lady and her name is Heidi.
I love pinterest for its cleaning tips. My favorite has been cleaning base boards with dryer sheets. Plus, it makes the room smell nice and I swear by baby wipes! They are awesome for getting stains out of clothes and even small spots of dirt on your floors.
Marlys said…
"You will one day become your Mother" even though you detested my ways when you were growing up! I know because "I became MY MOTHER!" Funny how that happens! I don't think I could handle living in a Hotel Room for months like you are doing. I'm glad you can rant about it as I know I would! You will have to share your recipe for floor cleanin!
I didn't get as much of mom's cleaning genes as you and Emily did... I like things cleaned and organized but am not as particular about it. I actually had a cleaning lady (well, they actually had a cleaning crew come) for years when I lived in Minneapolis and I can say with absolute certainty that they did a better job cleaning my place than I ever could have. Seriously I was so so so impressed by how clean my place would be when they came. It was spotless and it was the best feeling to walk into a spotless home when they came every other Wednesday!

One thing I did pick up from mom is her insistence that dishes be clean before putting them in the DW!!

Now I can not justify the cost but that may change depending on how things go with my hand/arm pain as cleaning is kind of tough for me right now.
Marlys said…
Yes, Lisa, I think it would be extremely hard to do deep cleaning or vacuuming with what you are experiencing! Cleaning service is great, and I would do it, too, but can't find one in our area! Too rural!

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